For Immediate Release June 10, 2020 Contact: Grace Morgan (202-855-4380) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) praised the Republican Study Committee (RSC) for releasing a report on “Strengthening…
Every day, millions of Americans anxiously check their retirement accounts to see what the latest gyrations in the stock market will bring. Many middle-aged workers have spent decades contributing to their accounts, but pandemic-induced uncertainty is wreaking havoc on pension plans and 401(k) plans. Fortunately, recent actions by the Department of Labor to expand the scope of permitted 401(k) investments will give workers the flexibility they need to plan for their retirements. By giving savers access to private equity investments, the Trump administration is affording peace of mind to countless employees worried that their hard-earned dollars won’t be enough for retirement.
An annual study by national financial watchdog Truth in Accounting (TIA) found that many of the states that are now crowing the loudest for a federal bailout during the pandemic are among the states that are performing the poorest. TIA found that some of these poorly managed states have huge taxpayer burdens, which the organization defines as each taxpayer’s share of state bills after the state’s assets have been tapped.
In the days since George Floyd’s tragic death, tensions have flared and cities across the country are burning. Protesters are reasonably calling for the officers responsible to be properly punished for killing a man who clearly wasn’t posing any risk to law enforcement. But if history is any guide, fair legal restitution may not happen anytime soon. In lieu of a timely, just criminal justice system, cities can and should revamp liability laws and pass settlement costs for wrongdoing onto police officers rather than taxpayers. Even before dismissal and conviction, problem officers must pay the price for their crimes.
Well, we’ve all been expecting some good news, but not this good. The United States economy added an astounding 2.5 million jobs in May, and the country’s unemployment rate fell from 14.7 percent (in April) to 13.3 percent. This latter figure certainly isn’t ideal, and businesses continue to struggle mightily to respond to the lasting impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders. But to say expectations were beaten is the understatement of the millennium. On the eve of these numbers being released, CNBC reported that, “the unemployment rate is expected to have hit nearly 20%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April and millions more expected in May data.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) strongly criticized House Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for unveiling a $494 billion surface transportation bill filled with copious amounts of waste and pet projects. The legislation would triple funding for Amtrak to $29 billion through 2025, and mandate that the Department of Transportation institute greenhouse gas reduction measures and set abatement goals for states. The bill provides $8.35 billion for states to comply with these regulations. In addition, the legislation includes $1.4 billion in “electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure grants” and $1 billion in “community climate innovation grants” through 2025.
In May, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) passed the 1800-page Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. At an astounding cost of more than $3 trillion, the HEROES Act was the single largest spending bill in U.S. history. While the legislation was ostensibly designed to help the nation cope with the economic fallout from the pandemic, it is in fact nothing more than an ideological wish list of radical policies and bailouts for connected special interest groups. But some of the most obscure provisions — such as language barring debt collectors from disconnecting utilities — would have devastating unintended consequences. Congress should wipe the slate clean on these half-baked ideas and pass a clean relief bill that would help those struggling the most.
In a May segment, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver honed in on the United States Postal Service (USPS). While everyone can agree that America’s mail carrier is vital to our nation, a raft of misinformation continues to derail reform efforts. And with nearly $80 billion in losses from fiscal years 2007 through 2019, reform is sorely needed to get the USPS back on track and into the black. John Oliver is just the latest in a long line of celebrities to get key facts wrong regarding the financial troubles of the government agency. Below, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance sets the record straight:
As dozens of cities burn and countless stores are looted in response to the death of George Floyd, Americans across the country are trying to make sense of the festering problems that have led to this destruction. While police encounters going south are nothing new, the recent protests and violence speak to a need to understand – and prevent – hostile interactions between civilians and law enforcement officers. In the aftermath of terrible previous incidents such as Eric Garner’s 2014 death and Freddie Gray’s 2015 death, cities expedited body camera purchases and hoped that greater documentation would cause these issues to dissipate. But with the George Floyd case, all the cameras and witnesses in the world were not enough to stop this senseless killing. Cities and municipalities clearly need to try something else. Below, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance provides a few suggestions on how to try and keep the peace and help everyone feel safer in their own communities.
Today is #WorldNoTobaccoDay and it's no surprise the WHO spreads misinformation about vaping and e-cigarettes. We've put together some facts to debunk their fictional claims.
