A department-by-department guide to cutting the federal government's budget.
The Department of Commerce subsidizes businesses, restricts foreign trade, and oversees the Census Bureau and Patent Office.
The department will spend $11.8 billion in 2009, or about $101 for every U.S. household. It employs 53,000 workers and oversees more than 3,900 pages of regulations.
The Department of Energy oversees nuclear weapons sites, runs electric utilities, and subsidizes conventional and alternative fuels.
The department will spend $29 billion in 2009, or about $248 for every U.S. household. It employs 16,000 workers directly and oversees 100,000 contract workers.
The Department of Agriculture administers large farm subsidy programs and runs the food stamp and school lunch programs.
The department will spend $116 billion in 2009, or about $991 for every U.S. household. It employs 96,000 workers and runs 198 different subsidy programs.
Government of Continual Failure
The Washington Post is full of so many stories about government failure these days, it’s hard to keep up.
Today, on page A19 we learn about a Small Business Administration subsidy program that has a 60-percent default rate. On the same page, we learn that the U.S. Postal Service will lose $7 billion this year. Read more
More Cost Overruns at Defense
Benjamin Franklin said: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would add a third certainty: cost overruns at the Pentagon. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that the Pentagon’s space program is facing multi-billion dollar cost overruns and multi-year delays. Read more
Central Planning at Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded $2.4 billion in stimulus money to develop and manufacture electric vehicles. The ostensible purpose of the government’s effort is to set the nation on a path toward more environmentally friendly transportation. But as the USA Today notes, electric cars might not provide the environmental benefits that proponents cite: Read more
