Downsizing Blog
Good News on Disability Programs
There is good news for taxpayers regarding federal disability programs. The strong economy and administrative reforms have begun reducing caseloads for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.
Ballooning Debt Harms Our Youth
On the campaign trail in 2016, Donald Trump railed against the federal government’s almost $20 trillion of debt, and he boldly promised to eliminate it “over a period of eight years.”
Howard Schultz, the Fiscal Barista
Former Starbucks head Howard Schultz announced that he may run for president as a fiscally responsible independent.
Beer vs. Bureaucracy
The federal shutdown revealed some of the ways that the government needlessly shackles the economy through subsidies and regulations.
Federal Subsidies Infiltrate Everything
Can’t anyone do anything in this country without federal subsidies?
Oregon O-Zone Oops!
Policymakers often enact programs for the needy but the benefits go mainly to businesses and special interests.
Pay for Federal Government Workers
With the backdrop of the shutdown and federal workers going unpaid, the New York Times published a backgrounder last week on federal compensation.
Winner and Loser States from Centralized Government
Ninety years ago, two-thirds of government spending in America was state-local and one-third was federal. Today, it is the reverse with about two-thirds federal and one-third state-local.
Another Hostage from the Federal Shutdown: Small Business
We are in the fourth week of the partial federal shutdown, which is starting to disrupt the broader economy because the government exerts control over many major industries.
Welfare Cowboy
The National Endowment for the Arts has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in subsidies to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering over the years.