States Will Soon Face Huge Penalties for Their Food Stamp Mistakes
More than $1 of every $10 in SNAP benefits went to people who didn't qualify in 2025.
Government Spending
How a 700-Year-Old Work of Art Warns America
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government presents a bustling city where prosperity comes from voluntary cooperation and leaders know their place.
Washington Promised Puerto Rico $14 Billion To Fix Its Grid. Most of the Money Is Still Stuck.
A new GAO report attributes the delays to onerous regulations and poor coordination among government agencies.
The Social Security Fix That Would Send Tax Rates Soaring
There are only a handful of ways to shore up Social Security. Sens. Bernie Moreno and Elizabeth Warren are backing one of the most expensive.
Warren's Plan To 'Fix' Social Security Would Be Largest Tax Increase in Over 40 Years
Her plan is being pitched as a tax on the wealthy, but half the burden would fall on businesses. That would have dire consequences for the economy.
The New Transportation Bill Puts Special Interests Above Safety
Some safety recommendations are treated as essential—while others become negotiable once influential people object.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Raise Taxes and Give All the Money to Senior Citizens
Her plan to fix Social Security's fiscal flaws would ask workers to cover the full cost. Some Republicans are supporting it too.
ICE Largely Abandons Plan To Turn Warehouses Into Migrant Detention Facilities
The Department of Homeland Security plans to sell or offload seven warehouses it originally purchased to house migrants.
Trump Has Used Taxpayer Money To Purchase Stakes in Dozens of Companies. Congress Is About to Make It Easier.
Lawmakers should be blocking Trump's corporate socialism, not making it a permanent fixture.
Even an AI-Sparked Economic Miracle Will Not Save the Federal Budget
Congress cannot sit by and hope for AI to fix the deficit.
Terrorists and Criminals Reportedly Got $37.5 Billion From COVID Relief and Other U.K. Aid Programs
Britain has long wasted taxpayer money on frivolous projects. A secret dossier suggests it has now outdone itself.
Social Security Is Going Bankrupt Because Its Benefits Are Too Generous
Social Security's approaching insolvency is usually talked about as a revenue problem. It's actually a spending problem.
The Feds Wasted $186 Billion on 'Improper Payments' Last Year
That total is a low-ball estimate because some federal agencies didn't report their totals to the Government Accountability Office.
D.C.'s Crime Drop Didn't Require a Military Deployment
A new study finds the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., cost taxpayers over $300 million and failed to return even $1 for every dollar spent.
After 40 Years, No One Has Produced a Workable Single-Payer Health Care Plan
Vermont passed single-payer legislation in 2011 and abandoned the plan after three years of failure. Why?
Trump Is Reportedly Reconsidering His Politically and Legally Contentious 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
The Justice Department signals a retreat from defending the blatantly corrupt scheme, which provoked vigorous objections from Republican lawmakers.
Trump's Corrupt 'Settlement' With the IRS Hits Two Judicial Roadblocks
One order temporarily blocks money for the president's "Anti-Weaponization Fund." The other asks whether the agreement is a fraudulent "product of collusion."
How the Billionaire Tax Could Make California Poorer
One upcoming ballot measure would expand the state's taxing power. A lesser-known measure would limit it. Which will win?
Even Republicans Are Rebelling at Trump's Blatantly Corrupt 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
Using taxpayer money to reward the president’s allies has nothing to do with the president's claims against the IRS.
Abigail Spanberger Vetoes Mandatory Collective Bargaining, Defying Virginia Unions
The surprising move saves taxpayers from a steep bill—for now.
Review: A Sci-Fi War Movie About the Pentagon's Inscrutable Budget
The Pentagon's budget is so vast that a soldier believes the extraterrestrial machine shooting lasers at them might be taxpayer–funded.
Thomas Massie Falls, 'Samurai vs. Squatters,' Jeff Bezos
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Rep. Thomas Massie's defeat, Jeff Bezos' comments on taxes, and squatters in California.
The $1.776 Billion in Trump's 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Fits a Pattern of Fanciful Figures
In one lawsuit after another, the president has claimed damages in amounts completely disconnected from reality.
Thomas Massie Loses, Proving That Deficit Hawks and Foreign Policy Doves Aren't Welcome in Trump's GOP
If this is how the Republican Party treats the libertarian-leaning lawmakers in its midst, then libertarians should take note and act accordingly.
Trump's 'Golden Dome' Estimated To Cost $1.2 Trillion, New Report Reveals
The project’s critics have compared it to Reagan’s failed “Star Wars” initiative.
Pete Hegseth Can't Explain Why America Needs a $1.5 Trillion Military Budget
Sen. Mark Kelly says it "feels like that number was just kind of pulled out of thin air."
When Businesspeople Run Government, the Government Doesn't Become a Business
Central planning from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump, and others reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes private markets work.
Gavin Newsom's Free Diaper Disaster
Plus: AOC attacks billionaires, Trump heads into Xi talks weakened by the Iran conflict, and redistricting battles escalate nationwide
How Much Has the Iran War Actually Cost? A Lot More Than $25 Billion.
Direct military costs have exceeded $70 billion by one estimate, and Americans have paid more than $37 billion in higher energy costs since the war began.
California Spent $450 Million on a Failed 911 System. Now, the State Is Restarting the Project.
The state’s attempt to overhaul its antiquated 911 system resulted in delays and lost calls.
Trump's Government-Funded Retirement Plan Misses the Point
The fiscal objection is serious. But the deeper problem is that the proposal misunderstands the saving behavior of the households it aims to help.
Republicans Want To Borrow Every Single Dollar of the $72 Billion Bill To Fund ICE and Trump's Ballroom
The party of fiscal responsibility strikes again.
Canada's New 'Sovereign Wealth Fund' Is Actually a Debt-Fueled Spending Scheme
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is marketing his new Canada Strong Fund as a "sovereign wealth fund," but it is one of many ways the government can waste taxpayer money.
By Dropping Her Criminal Probe of Jerome Powell, Jeanine Pirro Confirms Its Political Motivation
Even Republican critics of the Federal Reserve chairman's performance rejected the notion that he had broken the law by lying about the renovation of the central bank's headquarters.
Lawmakers Seem Unlikely To Back RFK's $16 Billion Cuts to HHS
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defends his HHS budget, the modest cuts suggest shrinking government isn’t his real priority.
America's Debt Problem Is a Health Care Problem
And the government's "solution" is making it worse.
ICE Is on a $45 Billion Building Spree. Can Small Towns Support These New Migrant Warehouses?
The government is selling the policy with the same arguments you’d expect for subsidized factories or sports stadiums.
One Thing Every Modern President Has in Common: They All Spent More Than the Last Guy
The vibe shift that really matters—a reduction in the size, scope, and spending of government—hasn't happened, and America is worse off for it.
Eric Swalwell, Pope Fight, Tax Day Woes
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Eric Swalwell's fall from grace and how tax day radicalizes us every year.
'The Rich Don't Pay Their Fair Share' and 4 Other Tax Myths That Won't Die
The United States has the most progressive income-tax system in the developed world.
What if Social Security Was Capped at $100,000 Annually?
One weird trick could extend Social Security's solvency while reducing payments to the wealthiest households. But it doesn't go far enough.
Trump's New Budget—Which Proposes $1.5 Trillion for Defense—Is Unserious. You Should Still Take It Seriously.
It would be easy to wave it away and move on. But that's how the U.S. got in such a dire fiscal situation.
The U.K. Is Set To Spend $183 Billion on Pensions This Year. Nigel Farage Vows To Keep Hiking Payments.
The leader of Reform U.K. pledged to keep the "triple lock" mechanism in place, which is driving the state pension program to financial unsustainability.
Trump's Call for a $1.5 Trillion Military Budget Is Irresponsible, Wasteful, and Unrealistic
The proposal is "an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars and would make Americans less, not more, safe." Thankfully, Congress is unlikely to adopt it.
Artemis II Launches a New Era of Lunar Exploration
Artemis might return astronauts to the moon, but only after years of delays and a price tag far exceeding the government’s projections.
10 Years Ago Today, Trump Promised To Eliminate the National Debt. Instead, It Has Doubled.
Trump's ridiculous, grandiose promise tells us something about the federal government's fiscal affairs and the president's approach to policy.
