Fraud and Abuse
Obama Administration Backs Off Medicare Anti-Fraud Efforts
Medicare and Medicaid are rife with fraud. We’re talking 10 percent or more of total spending, which is two orders of magnitude more than what credit card companies tolerate. Read more
Spending in the Tax Code
The IRS made payments of $4.2 billion last year in refundable tax credits to illegal aliens, according to an audit by the Treasury’s Inspector General. “Refundable” tax credits are cash subsidies — federal outlays — given to people who don’t pay any income tax. Read more
The Dumbest Budget ‘Plan’ Yet
Are you aware of the budget plan that promises to cut federal spending by 25 percent per year and has been endorsed by seven Republicans running for president? I just found out about it this week in Steve Chapman’s latest column. Having checked it out, I think I know why I hadn’t heard of it: it’s the dumbest “plan” out there. Read more
Medicare Fraud: Et Tu Reverend?
From today’s Los Angeles Times: Read more
Small Business Administration Testimony
I testified yesterday at a Senate Small Business Committee hearing on “eliminating inefficiencies, duplication, and fraud and abuse” in Small Business Administration programs. (My submitted testimony can be read here.) Read more
HUD's 'Wastelands'
A year-long investigation by the Washington Post into the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s HOME affordable housing program uncovered systemic waste, fraud, and abuse. The tale is yet another example of why the federal government should extricate itself from housing policy and allow the states to chart their own course. Read more
HUD Community Development Duds
Local officials, like their federal and state counterparts, spend other people’s money. Policymakers are naturally unlikely to spend other people’s money as carefully as they would their own. This situation is exacerbated when local officials spend money obtained from federal taxpayers. At least when local taxpayers foot the bill, they have an incentive to keep an eye on how their money is spent. That incentive is largely nonexistent when the money comes from Washington. Read more
Wasting Time on Government Waste
A recent poll found that 60 percent of those surveyed believe that problems with the federal budget can be solved by simply eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. In fact, 40 percent strongly agreed with this erroneous position. Read more
IRS Handing Out Free Candy
Two recent audits conducted by the Internal Revenue Service’s inspector general find that the agency continues to do a poor job of making sure tax credits go to intended beneficiaries. Read more
Abolish Federal Job Training Programs
A report from the Government Accountability Office finds that the federal government administers 47 different employment and job training programs at a cost to taxpayers of about $18 billion. The GAO excluded another 51 programs that could be considered as providing job training assistance, such as student loan subsidies. Read more
