Page 316 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Rooftop Solar Panels Facing the Wrong Way and Many Questions

Post author:Sean Paige
Post published:December 23, 2014
Post category:Energy Solar Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article originally appeared in Inside Sources on December 16, 2014 Sean Paige is a senior fellow with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance “Oops. I think we put those solar panels on the wrong way.” That isn’t something most Americans want to hear when their friendly neighborhood solar technician climbs down the ladder after installing a rooftop solar system that may take twenty or thirty years to pay-off. But it turns out that most rooftop solar systems may be “on the wrong way,” even if they’ve been perfectly and professionally installed, if they face south rather than west, which an estimated nine out of ten do. The recent rush to pave-over every American rooftop with solar panels has one major flaw, according to emerging new thinking in the field. Most of these systems face south, when pointing them west makes much more sense. It’s a case of misdirection, literally, that’s all too typical of the fly-by-night way this industry is evolving.

New Report on Operation Choke Point Reinforces Need for Answers

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 22, 2014
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Operation Choke Point Senate Taxpayers Protection Alliance

United States Department of Justice building (Washington, D.C.) Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) final month as Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform was extremely eventful. One of the final contributions was a report on Operation Choke Point, a program for which Rep. Issa has been a vocal critic, highlighting some of the extreme abuses of the federal government by specific agencies going after legal businesses. Rep. Issa noted that, “It’s appalling that our government is working around the law to vindictively attack businesses they find objectionable.” The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has been closely monitoring Operation Choke Point for much of the year shortly after the secret program began having its layers peeled back by the media and Congress. Operation Choke Point has been the subject of many critical reports about how Department of Justice (DOJ) officials were intimidating banks from doing businesses with certain legal entities and using financial regulations as a weapon to target particular businesses. Pete Kasperowicz of The Blaze detailed some of the major findings of Rep. Issa’s committee’s December 8, 2014 report.

TPA Celebrates Festivus!

Post author:David Williams
Post published:December 18, 2014
Post category:Broadband Congress Earmarks Ex-Im Bank Festivus Michi Iljazi Taxpayers Protection Alliance

It’s the holiday season and while folks will be celebrating different holidays nationwide there is one holiday that unites all of us: FESTIVUS! Many are familiar with the Seinfeld-inspired holiday that took aim at conventional traditions of gift giving and was basically an alternative to the days of joy in December with the focus being much more critical of those you’re closest with in life. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) wants to mark Festivus with a holiday message for the President and Congress, so please enjoy!

Goldwater Challenged by Conservatives on Solar Energy

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 18, 2014
Post category:Michi Iljazi Solar Taxpayers Protection Alliance

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The government waste-watchdogs at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) today released an open letter to Barry Goldwater Jr. formally challenging him to publicly debate a wide range of solar-related topics (click here for the full text of the letter). In addition, the group announced the launch of a new website and project, SolarSecrets.org. The website will help bring balance to the often distorted, one-sided, overly-sunny way solar energy issues are presented to the public, which creates false perceptions and unrealistic expectations. SolarSecrets.org will take an in-depth look at the “darker side of solar,” including hidden fiscal and environmental costs and the political favoritism and cronyism that keep the industry afloat. The website will post issue briefs on industry “secrets” and host a blog and news aggregator.

Why Hillary Clinton Loves the Export Import Bank

Post author:David Williams
Post published:December 17, 2014
Post category:Congressional Budget Office Ex-Im Bank Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appeared in The Daily Caller on December 2, 2014 When you’re exploring a run for the presidency, it’s never too early to start buttering up potential campaign donors. That is likely what Hillary Clinton had in mind when she used a seemingly innocuous conference on women and girls in Little Rock, Arkansas as a platform to plug the controversial Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States. Clinton announced that she was “a very strong supporter of the Ex-Im Bank, because it is a tool for us to be competitive in order to support our businesses exporting.” She then dismissed the argument of “those who wish to end the role of the Export-Import Bank,” saying “it’s not based on evidence, it’s based on ideology.” Mrs. Clinton was presumably not just aiming to bolster the embattled bank itself, which came under attack this summer for, among other things, filling corporate coffers with taxpayer backed dollars and threatening American jobs. The former Secretary of State – whose coronation as the Democratic nominee in 2016 is generally assumed at this point – likely intended to send positive signals to a longtime mutual friend she and the bank share: the Boeing Corporation.

TPA Releases New Timely Holiday Video Telling the U.S. Postal Service to Stick to Delivering Letters

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 15, 2014
Post category:Michi Iljazi Press Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Fed up with the continued fiscal madness over at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) today released an animated holiday-themed video calling on the government-granted monopoly to stop with abusive expansion into private markets and return to its core mission: delivering letters. TPA filed comments with the Postal Regulatory Commission back in September urging the PRC to tread lightly on the new push to expand the USPS grocery delivery service. In the filing, it was stressed that the USPS is nearing a point of financial collapse as it is losing millions of dollars a day and billions of dollars each year. The USPS must definitively show that their previous 60-day test of grocery delivery services was successful and did not lose money. There should be no fast tracking process into new and unknown markets before understanding the possible consequences. TPA urged the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to delay any decision, but unfortunately they did not. It still the belief that the PRC should conduct a full study that will provide the financial details of this expansion and determine its effect on the USPS and American businesses. The video can be seen below and on TPA’s YouTube page (click here).

BREAKING: TPA Slams Congress for The CRomnibus That Could Steal Christmas (and Billions of Tax Dollars)

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 10, 2014
Post category:Appropriations Budget Congress Continuing Resolution Defense Earmarks House Michi Iljazi Senate Taxpayers Protection Alliance

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) excoriated Congress for offering a $1.1 trillion CRomnibus spending bill for the fiscal year (2015) that contains billions of dollars worth of earmarks. On Tuesday December 9, 2014, Congress released a 1,600-page spending bill crafted by House and Senate appropriators. Dubbed the “CRomnibus” because it combines a Continuing Resolution (CR), which funds government agencies in the absence of individual spending bills, and an Omnibus spending bill, which contains the individual spending bills, the legislation closes the chapter on one of the most unproductive sessions of Congress of all time. The legislation contains full funding for 11 of the 12 appropriations, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only receiving enough funds to operate into early 2015. There’s not much to praise when looking at both the substance of the bill and the manner in which it was delivered. Taxpayers will once again be left on the hook for spending that includes programs that are neither needed nor wanted. Further, the CRomnibus reminded taxpayers that earmarks are not dead. Defense appropriations contain 293 earmarks worth more than $13 billion,(click here for a full list), including four additional F-35 aircrafts (which have been plagued with problems) and $120 million for the Abrams tank that the Pentagon doesn’t want. Click 'read more' to see the full statement from TPA

NDAA Brings Together Criticism from All Sides of the Ideological Spectrum

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 9, 2014
Post category:Congress Defense House Michi Iljazi National Defense Authorization Act Senate Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Last week the House passed the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 300-119 with bipartisan support. The compromise bill is headed to the Senate today where it is likely to pass and then will be signed by President Obama. Recently, several groups from across the political spectrum weighed in on the legislation. What is clear is that many folks are disappointed with the Bill. Here are some of the statements on the NDAA from several individuals representing groups across the ideological divide. Click 'read more' below to see the statements on the National Defense Authorization Act

TPA Joins Nationwide Coalition Opposing New EPA Regulations on Energy

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 8, 2014
Post category:Coal Energy Environmental Protection Agency Michi Iljazi Regulation Taxpayers Protection Alliance

EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. TPA has been a vocal critic of the regulatory power grab under many federal agencies. Whether it’s the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Election Commission (FEC), or even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). One agency that has been a chief culprit in using the power of regulations to bypass Congress enacting harmful new rules is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recently, in an effort led by American Commitment, TPA joined a wide range of groups led by at the state and federal level sending a coalition letter that urged state elected officials fight the EPA's new regulations designed to bring harmful anti-energy policies into the states using the apparent Clean Power Plan. These new regulations would burden states and cost jobs at a time when our economy is still fragile. To read the full letter, click 'read more' below

TPA to Congress: Do Not Use Spending Bill to Ban Online Gambling

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:December 5, 2014
Post category:Congress Continuing Resolution Internet Gambling Michi Iljazi Omnibus Appropriations Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has repeatedly pressed Congress to only have a very limited and specific agenda during this Lame Duck session of Congress. TPA believes that Congress should focus on the following: passing a continuing resolution to keep the government functioning, passing Defense authorization, and passing a permanent extension of the Internet access tax moratorium. While there have been reports from Capitol Hill that a long-term spending bill will ultimately hit the floor next week, in the form of the hybrid of a continuing resolution and Omnibus called a “Cromnibus,” there is also word that some members of Congress are looking to place provisions into the large bill that not only have little to do with the issues Congress needs to address, but also harm the free market and how voters make decisions in their state. In particular, TPA has been following the fight over passing a Federal Ban on Internet Gambling. Some in Congress may be looking to address this in the Cromnibus with the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), S.2159 and its companion House legislation H.R. 4301, both of which were introduced in Congress earlier this year. Any form of this legislation should not be included a long-term or short-term spending bill. Shoving a provision that would ban online gambling at the federal level is irresponsible and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) should ensure that this does not happen. Recently TPA signed a coalition letter urging Senate and House Leadership outlining opposition to RAWA and clearly defining the reasons why the legislation would be harmful.