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Weekly Wastebasket

Our weekly reality-check for federal spending.

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The Weekly Wastebasket is our e-commentary on a specific wasteful government program or proposal along with our solutions, read by thousands of Congressional and agency staff, journalists and editorial writers, bloggers and activists.
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Recent Weekly Wastebasket Articles

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Time to Terminate Tax Extenders

September 06, 2013 | Budget & Tax

Time to Terminate Tax Extenders Volume XVIII No. 36 Next week, vacation’s over and Congress has to go back to work. Even without the Syria showdown, they’ve got some... Read More

Back to School

August 29, 2013 | Agriculture

Back to School As kids head back to school, teachers are crossing their fingers hoping they won’t have to spend hours re-teaching factoids forgotten... Read More

Task Forced To Dos

Task Forced To Dos This week, the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force released their report on the rebuilding effort, lessons learned, and recommendations... Read More

Saying No to No One

Saying No to No One Volume XVIII No. 33 You know that saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink? Seemingly the same principle... Read More

Closed Door Congress

Closed Door Congress Transparency, accountability, results. That’s what citizens across the country want from their government. The ridiculously low approval... Read More

Dysfunction Junction

August 02, 2013 | Earmarks & Appropriations

Dysfunction Junction 22. That’s how many bills have become law since the 113th Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2013. It’s one more illustration of... Read More

Transparently Opaque

July 26, 2013 | Budget & Tax

Transparently Opaque We hear it all the time from policymakers. Trust us to do a better job for the taxpayer if we do it behind closed doors -- less... Read More

Budget Meltdown

Budget Meltdown Volume XVIII No. 29: 73 days and counting. That’s the time left until the start of the 2014 fiscal year. October 1st will also herald... Read More

Farm Subsidy Resurrection

July 12, 2013 | Agriculture , Budget & Tax

Farm Subsidy Resurrection Volume XVIII No. 28: Remember a couple weeks ago we told you that despite the House rejecting a trillion dollar farm bill that the... Read More

Budget Busting Beaches

July 03, 2013 | Budget & Tax

Budget Busting Beaches Volume XVIII No. 27: Some people daydream about sleeping on a pile of money. Well, if you take a sun-drenched snooze on the beach for... Read More