BeyondBailouts.org

Measuring the "Stimulus"

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:20:14 +0000

Richard Rahn had a piece in yesterday's Washington Times outlining how one might measure the success or failure of the "stimulus" package. Rahn establishes three criteria by which this can be judged: what we were p

Dear TARP, Happy Anniversary! Now May We Please See Where Our Money Went?

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:39:16 +0000

Last week not only marked the beginning of the new fiscal year, it also marked the one year anniversary of the financial market bailout - or passage of the TARP program. We've long called for TARP transparency, and the Special Inspector General conti

WSJ: Cash for Clunkers One of Washington’s All-Time Dumb Ideas

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:15:03 +0000

The Wall Street Journal this weekend took aim at Transportation Secretary LaHood's statement regarding "Cash for Clunkers." In August, LaHood said: "This is the one stimulus program that seems to be working better than just abo

TARP IG "Frustrated" by Government’s "Basic Attitude" on TARP Transparency

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:05:46 +0000

Maybe now would be a good time to pass "Maloney/King"? Neil Barofsky, the IG for the TARP program will tell Congress today that the government's "basic attitude" on the transparency and accountability of the program "remains

GM’s Money-Back Guarantee

Government Bytes — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:23:09 +0000

From the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog: In a rousing, campaign-like address, Obama hailed the return of 150 workers here yesterday, and the pending return of more than 1,000 more in the next three weeks as the plant gears up to build more Chevrolet Cobalts. Inventories of the small cars were depleted by the "cash for clunkers" program, and the Lordstown plant is preparing to launch the Chevy Cruze, a small, high-mileage car next year, just the sort the Obama administration has hoped GM would embrace. Obama said he hadn't run for president to run a car company. "It wasn't on my to-do list. It wasn't even something on my want-to-do list." But, he said, "For me to just let the auto industry collapse, to vanish, would have done unbelievable damage." Sounds great, but as NTU's Pete Sepp observed: "This Sunday, General Motors launched a new marketing campaign, 'May the Best Car Win,' and will offer car buyers a 60-day money-back guarantee. Perhaps a more fitting slogan is 'Taxpayers, You Lose.'" Anyone else concerned that what might "vanish" is the billions of tax dollars that Americans have "invested" in GM?

Washington State Think Tank Marks COGD

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:31:56 +0000

Our friends in Washington at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation have done some great work on the Cost of Government Day and the impact it has on their state. They have launched the Imagine Freedom Project, aimed at inspiring people to consider the toll

Did You Miss the COGD Press Conference?

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:15:58 +0000

Case Studies in Selective Transparency: Cash for Clunkers

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:16:41 +0000

The following was cross-posted yesterday at www.atr.org: Where is the data on "Cash for Clunkers?" Earlier today, we took exception to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's claim that it will take a few weeks for them to post the heal

Wanted: TARP Transparency

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:51:40 +0000

In light of the most recent SIGTARP report which once again highlighted the fact that the Treasury Department is dragging its feet when it comes to providing transparency, ATR and CFA sent a letter to Congress urging full transparency. We also

CFA and ATR to Senate: Reject Expansion of Cash for Clunkers

Center for Fiscal Accountability — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:30:13 +0000

The following is cross-posted at www.atr.org: After the U.S. House of Representatives hastily passed a $2 billion expansion of the "Cash for Clunkers" program last week, the Senate is poised to take up the bill this week. Luckily for