Federal Energy Tax Credits Will Cost More Than $4 Trillion. Lawmakers Might Not Cut Them.
Republican members of Congress are lobbying to keep the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits alive.
Government Waste
Biden Rushed Out Billions for Green Energy Projects Before Trump Took Office
The outgoing administration shoveled out loans for projects that private lenders wouldn't fund.
The House's Budget Bill Cuts Earmarks, but Spending Will Be Going Up Anyway
Every cut helps, but that's not where the money is.
We're Overdue To End Daylight Saving Time
The government experiment in socially engineering the country into less energy use raised costs.
Yes, Cutting Government Waste Is Important
Entitlements are a much bigger expense, but that doesn't mean the waste doesn't matter.
Contrary to What Trump Said, Even DOGE Does Not Claim To Have Identified 'Hundreds of Billions' in Fraud
The president's assertion is divorced from reality, and so are the "estimated savings" touted by Elon Musk.
The Best Part of Trump's Speech Was the List of Spending Cuts
If only they were as big as the list of new spending.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
To Cut Government Spending, Trump Targets Pocket Change
The penny is expensive to produce and has long outlived its usefulness.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
DOGE Needs Data To Survive. These Lawsuits Are Trying To Starve It of Information.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits allege that DOGE's access to government payment and personnel systems violates a litany of federal privacy and record-handling laws.
Why Is Foreign Aid Going To American Farmers?
Subsidizing American farmers is not a valid justification for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
DOGE Begins Publishing Data After Transparency Complaints
After Elon Musk promised "maximum transparency," the DOGE's website posted organizational charts of federal agencies and statistics on the federal work force.
I Tried To Fix Government Tech for Years. I'm Fed Up.
Maybe DOGE will succeed where the U.S. Digital Service (mostly) failed.
Has DOGE Already Lost Its Way?
Much cutting. Very waste. But the Department of Government Efficiency might not have the legal and budgetary chops to actually reduce spending.
Wasteful FEMA Spending Topped $9 Billion During the Pandemic
One grant for $1.1 billion was supported by one sheet of paper and didn’t include itemized costs for the project.
The Best of Reason: The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary "self-licking ice cream cones."
Is DOGE a 'Constitutional Crisis'?
Plus: USAID and Education Department cuts, tariff deal reached, and more...
Schools Are Spending Billions To Fight Campus Culture Wars
As tensions rise on campus and in board chambers, districts dish out more for security, lawyers, and staff turnover.
Many Workers Don't Want To Return to the Office. That Could Help Shrink the Government.
Remote work is a plus for many people and businesses, but that’s not necessarily true of D.C.
Finding Trillions in Federal Cuts Is Easy. But Will Trump and Musk Follow Through?
DOGE won't necessarily have to kill any of Republicans’ sacred cows—but they will have to be put on a diet.
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary 'self-licking ice cream cones.'
The Improbable Rise of MAGA-Musk
Is Elon Musk a reactionary with a defective bullshit meter or the best part of the second Trump administration?
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents approved the severance package for Joseph Shepard after a state audit highlighted $364,000 in "wasteful" and "improper" spending.
The Federal Government Is Spending Over $15 Billion To Push Electric Vehicles
Despite the wasteful spending, E.V.s remain unpopular with large portions of the country.
Cancerous Politics
Plus: Taking gerontocracy to new heights, a real life Arc Reactor, Happy Festivus, and more...
Federal Government Has 'Grown Too Big, Promised Too Much, Subsidized Too Many,' Warns Former GAO Boss
This week's House Budget Committee hearing showed bipartisan agreement about the seriousness of America's fiscal problems.
DOGE Sets Its Sights on High-Speed Rail
After nearly two decades and billions in federal funding, California’s high-speed rail project still isn’t up and running.
Bidenomics Goes Out With a Whimper
There's a good reason Biden eventually stopped saying Bidenomics. Americans didn't like the results of his economic policies.
The Department of Energy Misspent Nearly $1 Billion in 2024
While $1 billion is a drop in the wasteful spending bucket, fiscal irresponsibility of all sizes must be eradicated.
Now More Than Ever, Reason Needs Your Help To Abolish Everything
It's Giving Tuesday, and we're asking for your support.
Promises To Cut $2 Trillion Clash with Trump's Expensive Plans
Ambitious budget cuts will meet political reality in Trump’s second administration.
Congress Is Fiscally Reckless. Will Lawmakers Step Up?
Trump is talking about cutting government spending, but that's mostly in Congress' hands.
The Best of Reason: Abolish the DEA, ICE, and the Small Business Administration
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending the DEA, ICE, the SBA, and everything else.
Donald Trump Wants To End E.V. Subsidies. Gavin Newsom Is Trying To Save Them.
California's governor is considering revamping wasteful state rebate programs for low-emitting vehicles.
Tampa Bay Rays Cancel New Stadium Plans After Local Government Stalls Funding
If funding were approved, St. Petersburg residents would have been on the hook for a new stadium for one of baseball’s least attended teams.
Trump's Energy Picks Are Refreshingly Competent
If confirmed, Chris Wright and Gov. Doug Burgum will have the opportunity to prioritize innovation and deregulation to the benefit of taxpayers and the environment.
The Best of Reason: Abolish Amtrak, the FDA, and the TSA
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending Amtrak, the FDA, the TSA, and everything else.
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990. The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
Social Security Approaches Its Day of Reckoning
Americans should plan for their futures rather than relying on a nonexistent Social Security “trust fund.”
The National Debt Just Hit $36 Trillion. Does Trump Have a Plan To Control It?
It would take nearly $8 trillion in budget cuts merely to stabilize the national debt so it does not grow faster than the economy.
DOGE's Chances Are Slim, but It Might Be Our Only Hope
Congress and the president show no interest in cutting government. Maybe outsiders can get it done.
Abolish the Small Business Administration
Like all government perks, SBA lending creates unseen victims.
Abolish Federal Student Loans
Easily accessible student loans give colleges an incentive to raise tuition.
Abolish the Department of Transportation
When money comes down from the DOT, it has copious strings attached to it—strings that make infrastructure more expensive and less useful.
Abolish FEMA
FEMA has given Americans every reason to believe it is highly politicized, a poor steward of federal resources, bad at establishing priorities, and often unable to communicate clearly to people in distress.
