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July 1, 2025
More Information Sharing Means Fewer Taxpayer Losses to Fraud
Last month, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced a resolution of inquiry objecting to the Trump administration’s development of a “centralized database” that “compiles American citizens’ personal information across federal agencies and departments.”…
June 10, 2025
The Surprising Epilogue to an Infamous Conn Job
In government scandals, some surnames are especially memorable, even decades later. A fugitive financier named Marc Rich (and his partner Pinky Green) were famously pardoned by Bill Clinton in what “reeked…
May 19, 2025
The Case for Shifting More Welfare Costs to States
As part of Congressional Republicans’ drive to craft “one big beautiful bill” reflecting Donald Trump’s tax and spending agenda, the House Agriculture committee on May 14 approved several proposals that…
May 6, 2025
What DOGE Flagged as Unemployment Fraud Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg—Most of Which Will Never Be Recovered
The Department of Government Efficiency recently spotlighted unemployment benefits paid to tens of thousands of individuals whose reported birthdates indicated they were either children or dead. One claimant’s birthdate even suggested he or she hadn’t been born yet. As Elon Musk said, “Your tax dollars…
April 24, 2025
In Opposing Last Month’s Continuing Resolution, Nearly All Democrats Voted to Shut Down Welfare Checks, Too
The Continuing Resolution (CR) Congress approved and President Donald Trump signed in March reflected a reversal of recent partisan roles on legislation preventing a government shutdown. That is, contrary to recent type,…
April 23, 2025
In Case of Emergency, Open Block Grant: Part 2
Congress’s efforts to produce “one big, beautiful bill” that reflects President Donald Trump’s tax and spending priorities is about to kick into high gear as the House and Senate turn…
April 23, 2025
In Case of Emergency, Open Block Grant: Part 1
…strides in increasing work and earnings and reducing poverty, as one of us (Weidinger) noted on the 25th anniversary of the 1996 law: After reform, welfare caseloads plummeted as millions…
April 8, 2025
Public Support of Health Insurance Enrollment
…their ESI plans than they would get if they were eligible for the ACA’s premium credits. If the support differences were small, it would not matter, but in many cases…
March 27, 2025
The Looming Debt Crisis, the Trump Tax Cuts, and Medicaid
…the federal debt held by the public in 2034 is $53 trillion or $54 trillion instead of just $50 trillion—let those figures sink in—hardly seems to matter at this late…
March 11, 2025
Democrats’ DOGE Delusions
While occupied with budget bills to keep the government open and set future spending and tax levels, Congress is also cleaning up past messes. Today, the House is expected to…