Page 378 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Federal Government Continues Its Pursuit Against For-Profit Education

Post author:David Williams
Post published:September 21, 2011
Post category:David Williams Education Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has written extensively (click here, here, here, and here) about the federal government’s relentless pursuit of for-profit colleges through “gainful employment” regulations. DOEd proposed “gainful employment” rules which require for-profit schools to prove their graduates are either paying back loans or are capable of doing so. If not, the schools will lose access to federal student aid. Even though the final regulation was less onerous than what was proposed, the rule is directed solely at career colleges and universities, which will be heavily penalized if graduates fail to meet debt-to-income ratios. Students will no longer be able to secure federal student aid to attend a program that would give them the skills and credentials to advance their marketability in the workplace. From a poorly written Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that had to be revised, to allegations of short selling that accused high-level Department of Education officials colluding with Wall Street short-sellers to improperly leak contents of highly controversial gainful employment regulations in advance of their publication, the regulatory process has been a mess. Now, the Department of Justice has joined the crusade against for-profit colleges by suing the Education Management Corporation (EDMC) for illegal recruitment.

You Gotta Fight for Your Right for Private Property

Post author:David Williams
Post published:September 19, 2011
Post category:David Williams Eminent Domain Taxpayers Protection Alliance

There are many places in and around Washington, D.C. that symbolize the best of the United States including the monuments, museums, and Mount Vernon, Virginia, the home of the country’s first President George Washington. Just a few miles down the road from Washington’s home there is a battle brewing over two of the most sacred rights that Americans hold dear, owning private property and not being strong armed by any level of government. At the heart of the dispute in George Washington’s backyard is the issue of eminent domain. Eminent domain is when a government seizes private property without the owner’s consent. Typically, the property is taken for either government use, such as roads, utilities or public safety issues. There are cases in which property is seized for economic development. This time eminent domain is rearing its ugly head in the city of Alexandria, Virginia involving the Old Dominion Boat Club (OBDC).

TPA Releases Report on Top 5 Most Ridiculous Taxpayer Tourist Traps

Post author:David Williams
Post published:September 14, 2011
Post category:David Williams Drew Johnson Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) released a report on the "Top Five Most Ridiculous Taxpayer Tourist Traps" in America. The report highlights five museums across the nation that are paid for with dollars taken from taxpayers' pockets. The report was written by TPA senior fellow Drew Johnson. The tourist traps highlighted in the report include the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada which has cost taxpayers $16.2 million but has yet to open, as well as the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio, which receives $1 million annually from taxpayers. Click here to read the whole report and see a video that takes a lighthearted look at the destinations.

EARMARK ALERT: TPA Finds Earmarks In Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill

Post author:Kara Zupkus
Post published:September 12, 2011
Post category:David Williams Earmarks Taxpayers Protection Alliance

As the first group to uncover NASA earmarks in the 2011 Continuing Resolution for fiscal year (FY) 2011 and earmarks in the FY 2012 House Defense Appropriations Bill, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has found more earmarks, this time in the FY 2012 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. Breaking their pledge not to earmark any appropriations bills, TPA has preliminarily found 24 earmarks worth $279 million that were put into the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Land Management accounts. It doesn't appear that Senate appropriators have gotten the message that taxpayers are fed up with earmarks.

President Obama: Job #1 Should be to Eliminate Wasteful and Duplicative Job Training Programs

Post author:David Williams
Post published:September 8, 2011
Post category:David Williams Debt Deficit Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Tonight President Obama will speak to a joint session of Congress (minus a few Republicans) about his latest plan to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Remember the last time he did that? It cost the country almost a trillion dollars and unemployment skyrocketed. Indications are the total price tag of this package will be between $300 billion and $400 billion. According to The Hill, “the plan is expected to cost between $300 billion and $400 billion and contain a mix of tax cuts and infrastructure projects. The White House spokesman emphasized that the president's plan would be deficit-neutral, implying that spending increases would be matched with cuts and tax increases.” Since President Obama is concerned about jobs (as he should be) and the deficit, the first place to look to “pay” for any new projects should be to look at all the duplicative federal job training programs.

Taxpayer Subsidized Baseball – A Swing and a Miss!

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:September 6, 2011
Post category:Drew Johnson State Issues

September is here and the dog days of summer have disappeared, which means baseball’s pennant races are heating up. Nothing is more synonymous with September in America than baseball and, unfortunately, nothing is more synonymous with baseball these days than hefty taxpayer-funded handouts to subsidize ballparks. Minneapolis residents recently learned this the hard way when the Minnesota Twins unveiled their new stadium, Target Field. By the time Target Field opened in 2010, Hennepin County taxpayers paid $350 million of the $555 million price tag of the new Twins ballpark, which translates to $303 for every man, woman and child in the county. Minnesota taxpayers, many of whom will never see the Twins play a game at their fancy new digs, were also forced to chip in $5.5 million towards the ballpark’s bottom line.

Pentagon Can Protect $150 Million With New Defense Contract

Post author:David Williams
Post published:September 2, 2011
Post category:David Williams Defense Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Department of Defense will surely have many decisions ahead of them as they are faced with the likely reality that defense programs may be subject to significant cuts from the newly-formed super committee. Recognizing the need for light air support, the Department is expected to soon announce its decision on an aircraft to meet its light air support needs. This procurement decision is a case study in what the Department of Defense should do to protect taxpayer dollars. Two competitors have bid on the plane - Embraer, based in Brazil, and Hawker Beechcraft, based in Kansas. Embraer, is a Brazilian company with a strong history of opposing international security efforts by the United States. If Embraer is selected, there is a strong likelihood that taxpayer dollars will be put at risk. Normally the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) would not take up the issue of a defense procurement project based upon the country in which an aircraft is being built, but considering the unique nature of the arrangement Embraer has with the Brazilian government, a much closer look is warranted. On September 2, 2011 TPA sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta about this project.

The Top 5 most ridiculous TAXPAYER Tourist Traps, September 2011

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:September 1, 2011
Post category:Report

America is a country full of museums. In fact, according to the American Association of Museums, there are at least 17,500 museums in the United States. What many Americans don’t…

The Food and Drug Administration Needs to Tread Lightly With Any New Regulations

Post author:David Williams
Post published:August 30, 2011
Post category:Congress David Williams Food and Drug Administration Healthcare Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The federal government is obsessed with controlling behavior, and despite President Obama’s call to repeal regulations with a projected cost of more than $1 billion, the federal government is also obsessed with regulating businesses, large and small. One program that symbolized the obsession with controlling behavior was the creation and the expansion of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (see previous blog post). Now, as part of an all-out assault on one industry through regulation, the federal government has its sights on new smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco comes in many forms and most are probably most familiar with chewing tobacco or snuff. But there are two new forms of smokeless tobacco that show quite a bit of promise for smoking cessation, e-cigarettes and nicotine lozenges.

Suspending The Davis-Bacon Act Now Will Help States Rebuild After Hurricane Irene

Post author:David Williams
Post published:August 25, 2011
Post category:David Williams Taxpayers Protection Alliance

With Hurricane Irene poised to strike the East Coast of the United States, it is appropriate to consider what the federal government’s response will be in the aftermath of the wind and torrential rain. The federal government is known for having outdated laws and regulations but there is one law, The Davis-Bacon Act, that could determine whether or not reconstruction of towns and cities can be accomplished in the most cost efficient way. Worried about unfair competition in the form of roving bands of gypsy construction workers undercutting local wages, Congress passed the Davis-Bacon Act in 1931 to ensure that “prevailing wages” are paid on federal construction projects worth $2,000 or more. What most people don’t know is that the Davis-Bacon Act inflates the cost of federal construction projects and discriminates against small businesses, women, and minorities. The Heritage Foundation estimated that “the Davis–Bacon Act (DBA) requires government contractors to pay wages averaging 22 percent above market rates.” Some estimates put taxpayer savings at $6 billion if Davis-Bacon is repealed.The federal government should suspend Davis-Bacon requirements now in order to prepare for the rebuilding that is sure to follow Hurricane Irene.