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TPA Presents: 2020 New Year’s Resolutions for Politicians and Bureaucrats

Post author:Ross Marchand
Post published:December 31, 2019
Post category:Congress

It’s that time of year again when millions of Americans will make their New Year’s resolutions. Many people will pick the usual resolutions such as going on a diet, frequenting the gym more often, or perhaps improving their lives via learning new languages or eating vegetables. But, these newly-minted gym rats will ditch ellipticals for the couch in two weeks flat because, as it turns out, keeping New Year’s resolutions is tough work, particularly when they are overly-ambitious and there is no one there helping keep them in line. That’s why we at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) are here to offer some much-needed, practical resolutions for the White House, Congress, and states to curb excessive taxation, reckless regulations, and the careless spending of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. So, to ring in 2020, here are TPA’s New Year’s resolutions for politicians and bureaucrats:

Say it Ain’t So, IGOs: Bureaucracies’ Biggest Blunders of 2019

Post author:Tim Andrews
Post published:December 30, 2019
Post category:International

With another year coming to a close, it is time for us to look back on some of the most ridiculous examples of IGOs wasting taxpayer money while making decisions to the detriment of millions of taxpayers and consumers. Read more about the IGOs’ Biggest Blunders of 2019.

christmas in shopping mall

New York Taxman Is Trying to Grinch Customers Out of Holiday Discounts

Post author:Ross Marchand
Post published:December 27, 2019
Post category:State Issues

Need to buy a camera or computer last minute to cross off the Christmas shopping list? New Yorkers hoping to secure a holiday sale should brace themselves because the New York Attorney General’s latest plan to pay for her state’s $6.8 billion budget deficit includes making Christmas discount sales a thing of the past.

Airport fees protect taxpayers from sky-high costs

Post author:Ross Marchand
Post published:December 26, 2019
Post category:Taxes

When most consumers see “taxes and fees” on any number of their bills, they couldn’t care less about which expenses are “taxes” and which are “fees.” Both, after all, have the same impact on their pocketbooks. But in many sectors, fees are much better and fairer for consumers for funding the services they want the most. One great example is the airport fee system, including passenger facility charges and rental car fees. Flyers may groan about PFCs and rental car fees imposed by airports, but revenues from these charges are locally administered and go toward improvements for the services being used by the payers.

BREAKING: Watchdog Uncovers $16.1 Billion in Defense Earmarks

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 24, 2019
Post category:Earmarks Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the President prepares to sign the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Defense Appropriations Act conference report as part of the 2,300-page end-of-year spending bill, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has uncovered 785 earmarks totaling $16.1 billion (click here for the full list) in Department of Defense appropriations. These earmarks were inserted into the bill by members of Congress from both parties, despite the Pentagon not requesting these spending increases. Congress requested 15.6 percent more earmarks than last year’s total of 679 earmarks, even as Defense earmark spending declined overall (a 16.6 percent decline from last year’s total of $19.3 billion).

Watchdog Slams Proposed Reimportation Rule

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 20, 2019
Post category:Healthcare Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) slammed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on drug reimportation. If finalized, the rule would allow states to import drugs from Canada in collaboration with pharmacies and wholesalers. Leading American and Canadian health experts have highlighted the drawbacks and dangers of reimportation to the United States, including the undermining of intellectual property and reduced incentive for innovation.

Watchdog Slams Wasteful and Reckless Spending Bill

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 17, 2019
Post category:Press Spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) slammed the $1.4 trillion spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2020. The spending bill funds the government through September 30, 2020. The Bill, which was released to the public yesterday, is 2,300 pages.

Watchdog Praises Lawmakers for Not Rushing on Surprise Billing Solution

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 16, 2019
Post category:Healthcare Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) praised lawmakers for agreeing to continue consideration of competing surprise billing proposals past the end of the year. Initial reports suggested that members of Congress had agreed to a proposal that would have utilized government price fixing to solve surprise medical billing disputes, with legislative language poised to be included in end-of-year spending legislation. But, on December 13, The Hill reported that, “A bipartisan bill to protect patients from surprise medical bills is not expected to pass this year due to sharp divisions over the legislation, according to congressional aides in both parties.”

Taxpayers Cough Up For More F-35s The Pentagon Didn’t Ask For

Post author:Ross Marchand
Post published:December 16, 2019
Post category:Defense

At a tick below $62,000, U.S. median household income is high and rising steadily. Yet this handsome sum is only enough to keep one F-35 stealth fighter in the air for about an hour and a half. This (taxpayer) dollar-guzzling hunk of metal has attracted the ire of fiscal hawks for two decades, yet no one in government—and especially nobody at the Department of Defense—seems keen on shelving it. This is a huge problem. Taxpayers deserve a cost-effective national defense, not bureaucrats attached to shiny boondoggles.

Baby Yoda Shows Us the Force of Intellectual Property Rights

Post author:Ross Marchand
Post published:December 13, 2019
Post category:Intellectual Property

Everybody loves Baby Yoda. But, unfortunately, not everybody loves intellectual property (IP) rights. In the weeks since Star Wars fans were first treated to The Mandalorian, memes of America’s favorite little green man have proliferated and black-market merchandise has popped up on websites such as Etsy.