Read more about the article Will the FCC Comply With Harmful DOJ Recommendations on Spectrum?

Will the FCC Comply With Harmful DOJ Recommendations on Spectrum?

Since 1994, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been conducting competitive auctions for the use of electromagnetic spectrum, which is used to send electromagnetic signals through the airwaves. Spectrum carries signals used for radio, TV, mobile phones, mobile broadband, and other personal communications systems. To be considered a qualified bidder, companies must submit an application and a down payment. These auctions in the past have been conducted over the Internet so they can be tracked by those bidding. However, over the last few months there have been some developments in how the process for bidding may be moving forward, which coincides with a change in leadership at the FCC. Last week President Obama tapped former fundraiser Tom Wheeler to head the FCC after current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his retirement. According to Forbes, there are a host of issues that will be welcoming him in his new role, “Mr. Wheeler will be confronted with several pressing issues, ranging from the FCC’s merger-review authority to the broadcast-spectrum auctions to net neutrality to the IP transition.” The first issue that will be at the doorstep of the new FCC Chair will be DOJ’s attempt to weigh-in on Spectrum auctioning, as the department authored an ex-parte submission to the FCC a few weeks ago calling on the commission to “ensure that the allocation of spectrum at auction does not enable carriers with high market shares to foreclose smaller carriers from improving their customers' coverage." The DOJ’s wading into this issue comes as the FCC will be opening up a new auction in the 600MHz band (used primarily for TV, Radio and Mobile Broadband).

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Read more about the article Senate Passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, What’s Next?

Senate Passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, What’s Next?

The Senate recessed on April 26, and one of their final pieces of business was to vote on cloture for the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), a vote that did reach the needed threshold to gain cloture, thus ending debate on the bill. The final vote was then scheduled for Monday May 6, and lawmakers returned to DC and the Senate began the final vote late yesterday afternoon. The legislation unfortunately passed by a 69-27 vote. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has written in the past about MFA and why the proposed law is not good for business (click here). There are also a number of free market and taxpayer groups opposed to the bill on the premise that any new taxes will hurt the economy and prove to be unfair for on line businesses. Even with that strong case against MFA, a majority of Senators voted to increase taxes on small business and raise the cost of goods and services on the consumer.

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Read more about the article NEW TPA REPORT: The Expensive Truth Behind Taxpayer-Funded Mail Order Pharmaceuticals

NEW TPA REPORT: The Expensive Truth Behind Taxpayer-Funded Mail Order Pharmaceuticals

If you were born in the 1970’s (or before) you probably remember the Columbia House record club where you would buy 6 records for a penny but then they would send you a new record every month at full price. The trick was that you would be billed for each record and the shipments and the records would keep on coming whether you liked it or not. Well, those days are long gone but there are some folks that are in this situation with mail order pharmaceuticals as they receive thousands of dollars of unwanted or unneeded mail order pharmaceuticals. Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) released a new report that shines a light on the costly truths behind taxpayer subsidized mail order pharmaceuticals (for full report, click here). The study shows that, while health care and prescription coverage becomes more costly, the delivery of mail order pharmaceuticals grows and is non-transparent and is extremely vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. Taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars in waste because taxpayer funded healthcare programs such as TRICARE, the Federal Employee Benefits Health Program and Medicare Part D that pay for prescriptions are vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. The practice of automatic refills through mail order is the leading cause of this waste. The report breaks down the expanding role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), their lack of transparency as well as the many problems with mail order prescriptions that are put on virtual autopilot.

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Read more about the article TPA to Senate: Time to Rein in Rural Utilities Service

TPA to Senate: Time to Rein in Rural Utilities Service

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has expressed concerns about government-funded broadband for many years. One program in particular that TPA has highlighted has been the Rural Utilities Service Broadband Loan Program. We were encouraged last year when during last year’s consideration of the Farm Bill, the Senate adopted an amendment sponsored by Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) which laid out the 25 percent unserved-household standard for the RUS Broadband Loan Program. This effort received bi-partisan support from co-sponsors Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Michael Bennet (D-Col.), which made significant reforms to the RUS Broadband Loan Program. Even though the program should be eliminated completely, limiting the RUS to serving areas where 25 percent of the households in an applicant’s proposed service is unserved is a step in the right direction. Today (May 3) TPA sent a letter to the Senate encouraging and urging the Senate to keep Sen. Warner’s language as they craft this year’s Farm Bill.

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Read more about the article Obamacare, Congress, And The Coming “Train Wreck”

Obamacare, Congress, And The Coming “Train Wreck”

The history of Obamacare so far has been a very rocky road with very little hope of stabilizing. The crafting of the legislation, the passage of the bill, and the Supreme Court challenge, and now the costly rollout and implementation have been marked by hurdle after hurdle and sometimes from very unlikely source. The latest news out of the nation’s capital regarding Obamacare is word that members of Congress are allegedly seeking bipartisan deal that would allow themselves and their staff to be “exempted” from that law. According to Politico, “Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.” While many would doubt this on its face, the fact is that there have been many instances of “waivers” being granted to particular industries when it came to who would have to follow the rules as outlined in the 1,000-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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Read more about the article Uganda Should Drop Idea Of High Tax Budget

Uganda Should Drop Idea Of High Tax Budget

(The following blog posting is from Joseph Kasibante, President of the National Taxpayers Protection Organisation in Uganda. TPA supports Mr. Kasibante, and all taxpayer and free market groups around the globe) Although high taxes are generally assumed to be the panacea to balance government budget and finance government expenditure, a lower tax budget and accountable governance has proved to be the most scientific methods government can adequately use to stimulate the economy. A lower tax budget leaves money in people’s pockets to buy things they want or money that can be saved and invested in whatever manner they choose. Consumers can demonstrate their power by influencing the course of the economy and making themselves heard in matters of ethics and policymaking. In what has come to be known as the 'wealth effect' the consumers step up purchases when they feel richer and cut back when they feel poorer, shows how a high tax budget accompanied by waste can push the economy into recession. In simple terms budget can be interpreted as a future plan we cannot immediately fulfill. The personal or family budget is a financial plan that helps individuals to balance income and expenses. A business budget is generally used as a tool to formulate intelligent decisions on the management and growth of a business venture. However, the most complicated budgetary process is a government budget, which is a plan for the collection and expenditure of monies needed to defray public expenses. There are five rigid stages of government budgeting: preparation, presentation, authorization, execution, and audit. I will dwell on budget preparation stage where taxes are the focal point of the budget framework. Clarifying the science of a lower tax budget evolving higher purchasing power in the whole economy, taxes must also not be too law to meet government priorities.

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Read more about the article Taxpayer Subsidized Green Energy Survives Despite Failures

Taxpayer Subsidized Green Energy Survives Despite Failures

Albert Einstein described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” President Obama should take note. The Daily Caller recently had a story detailing how Obama’s budget makes the case to permanently extend carve outs and favoritism for the green energy industry. Specifically, the White House’s 2014 budget calls for “$23 billion for incentives for renewable energy production and energy efficiency programs over the next decade. An additional $2.5 billion in tax credits would be given to companies that invest in advanced energy manufacturing projects, such as facilities for green energy manufacturing — bringing the total amount of clean manufacturing tax credits to $4.8 billion when combined with credits from the stimulus package.” Thankfully presidential budgets really have no teeth to them – in that they don’t have the power to control the appropriation of funds – but they do offer great insights and an indication of what the president’s priorities are and where he’s allocating his political capital.

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Read more about the article Missile To Nowhere Needs To Be Grounded

Missile To Nowhere Needs To Be Grounded

Taxpayers may be startled to learn that even though there are automatic spending cuts (sequestration) this year, some of the most wasteful and inefficient programs still get funded. One of the most wasteful and expensive is the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program. Despite The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibiting the funding of the program , DoD will be spending $380 million in continuing resolution (CR) funds to continue funding design and development of the program. Additionally, President Obama left the program out of his budget, but still Defense Secretary Hagel announced in a letter sent this past Monday to the German and Italian Defense ministers, that, “the U.S. would provide the money in 2013 for development of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a joint venture between the three countries.” During a time when the country is experiencing fiscal difficulties and has a limited amount of resources even for defense spending, policy makers should be looking for ways to get the most bang for their buck and MEADS is not it. MEADs, which cost nearly $3 billion so far, has been plagued by consistent scheduling delays, cost overruns, and an overall failure to meet performance requirements. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has written numerous blogs on this issue (click here and here).

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Read more about the article TPA Continues To Fight Against Misnamed “Marketplace Fairness Act.”

TPA Continues To Fight Against Misnamed “Marketplace Fairness Act.”

Led by the R Street Institute, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance continues to fight against S. 743, the so-called “Marketplace Fairness Act.” On Friday April 19, 2013, TPA joined with R Street and 16 other organizations representing millions of citizens to oppose S. 743. Despite what some supporters claim, this legislation is bad news for conservative principles and the cause of limited government. It would dismantle proper limits on state tax collection authority while causing serious damage to electronic and interstate commerce. S. 743 would countenance an enormous expansion in state tax collection authority by wiping away the “physical presence standard,” a baseline protection that shields taxpayers from harassment by out-of-state collectors. Furthermore, the bill would create a decidedly “unlevel” playing field between brick-and-mortar and online sales. Brick-and-mortar sales across the country are governed by a simple rule that allows the business to collect sales tax based on its physical location, not that of the item’s buyer. Under the “Marketplace Fairness Act,” that convenient collection standard would be denied for online sales, forcing remote retailers to interrogate their customers about their place of residence, look up the appropriate rules and regulations in thousands of taxing jurisdictions across the country, and then collect and remit sales tax for that distant authority. In seeking to address the failures of the “use tax” systems employed by states, the “Marketplace Fairness Act” ends up giving a federal blessing to a massive expansion in state tax collection authority, the dismantling of a vital taxpayer protection upon which virtually all tax systems are based, while harming a segment (online sales) that despite its dramatic expansion still only accounts for roughly $0.07 of every $1 in retail spending.

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