money

Plus, Halloween disaster!

The bankruptcy of the original everything store tells us a lot about where America is going.

What will Jeff Bezos do with his fortune? The Amazon chief has amassed around $130 billion, and there’s really no practical way to spend more than a fraction of it. “The only way that I can see to deploy this much financial resource is by converting my Amazon winnings into space travel,” Bezos said…

The United States welcomes foreign investment. When companies from overseas buy into American firms, they provide a source of money that creates jobs and boosts innovation. But if the investor is Chinese, there is a wrinkle—increasingly, the wary eyes of regulators and intelligence officials want…

An ex-convict named Abraham Shakespeare thought he had hit the big time in 2006. He won $30 million in the Quick-Pick, one of Florida’s state lottery games. Women flocked to him, including one named Dee Dee Moore, who had a genius for embezzlement. By 2008, Shakespeare was a missing person. Police…

You've probably read recently about the wave of unrest in Iran that has led to at least 24 deaths and 8,000 arrests. Many of the protesters have chanted for the “death” of Iran’s leaders, President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Sherman, Conn.

Long before I ever even picked up a golf club, I wanted to be the kind of person who golfed regularly. A Real Golfer, in other words. Even as a child, I loved the manicured, tightly controlled aesthetic of golf courses—​just the right (which is to say, minimal) amount of “nature” for my…

Long before I ever even picked up a golf club, I wanted to be the kind of person who golfed regularly. A Real Golfer, in other words. Even as a child, I loved the manicured, tightly controlled aesthetic of golf courses—​just the right (which is to say, minimal) amount of “nature” for my…

Policy makers here in Washington, badly shaken by the anti-American tone of Turkish president Recep Erdoğan, want the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund—the so-called Troika—to get Greece's finances settled and the country on a path to stability. And…

Donald Trump would come to the defense of Andrew Jackson, wouldn’t he? One blustery populist looking out for another. When it was announced last week that Harriet Tubman will replace Old Hickory on the $20 bill, Trump allowed that "Tubman is fantastic," then denigrated her choice as "pure political…

Politico reports that abolitionist Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, with founding father Alexander Hamilton remaining on the front of the $10.

Bernie Sanders raised $44 million in March. In February, the socialist senator from Vermont also raised an enormous sum, $43.5 million.

Bernie Sanders raised an astonishing amount of money in the month of February, the Democratic presidential candidate announced last night.

Few things in life are more fascinating than other people’s money. As the New Hampshire phase of the presidential campaign draws to a close, those of us who are tired of comparing the details of Jeb Bush's plan for medical savings accounts with Bernie Sanders's plan to enroll everybody in Medicare…

The latest dead-on-arrival lame-duck proposal from the White House came Thursday. In a statement about its “21st Century Clean Transportation System" plan, the Obama administration said it would pay for new infrastructure spending with a "new fee paid by oil companies." Here's an excerpt:

Hillary Clinton is admitting to supporters that her main Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, outraised her by $5 million last month.

Hillary Clinton left Iowa to attend a fundraiser last night with an investment mogul. The fundraiser took place in Philadelpia.

Chelsea Clinton will be in London February 23 for a fundraiser for her mother, Hillary Clinton. The former (and perhaps future) first daughter will be joined by fashion icon Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue.

Chelsea Clinton announced yesterday that she and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, are expecting their second child.

The husband of the top Democratic presidential candidate is continuing to seek donations to his family foundation. Bill Clinton, husband to Hillary Clinton, sent an email to supporters last night to ask for money.

At some point, the most obvious explanation is rope-a-dope. 

Hillary Clinton always makes time for friends at the State Department—especially those who have money.

Interesting political debates typically have what could be called primary effects. In Wednesday night's case, those would include the Bush-Rubio exchange, which did a lot of good for Rubio and a lot of damage to Bush, and the Cruz assault on the moderators, which was dazzling.

Bill Clinton sent an email to Hillary Clinton supporters in the middle of tonight's Democratic debate. Clinton says that Clinton is doing great. 

Chelsea Clinton is officially getting into the game. The former first daughter has sent out a campaign fundraising pitch on behalf of her mother's presidential campaign.

President Obama will be heading to Oregon tomorrow to visit Umpqua Community College, the site of a shooting rampage last week. But Obama's not heading home directly after meeting with families of the victims. Instead, the president will attend a series of West Coast fundraisers immediately after.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent an email to supporters about gun violence. 

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton mocked her Republican rivals for the White House for being unable to name an "American woman" worthy of going on the $10 dollar bill—and then was unable to name one such woman herself.

In one of the newly release Hillary Clinton emails, a mostly redacted message from Philip Gordon to Huma Abedin and Jacob Sullivan ends with, "To quote Huma, I don't get paid enough." Abedin, Clinton’s closest aide, was able to change her fortunes with a little help from friends.

Nearly everyone recognizes that student debt has risen to a level that will be difficult to sustain, given the nation’s slow-growing economy and the sagging incomes of too many college-­educated Americans. Nearly 40 million Americans carry some form of student debt; more than 7 million are in…

The good news is that Australia is close to acknowledging the obvious: Digital currency should be treated as currency. The bad news is that this same thing hasn’t happened in the United States. Bitcoins can now be used to buy almost anything from coffee to surgery, but the government still doesn’t…

My three-year-old daughter and I typically wrap up our evenings with a pre-bedtime stroll around our northwest Washington, D.C., neighborhood. The nightly ritual ends back at home when I pry the fistful of coins she invariably finds on our walk out of her hands.

When the president of the United States travels, the White House and the Secret Service bring along a tremendous amount of communications equipment. Not only does the Secret Service set up a command post to coordinate communications for the visits, but secure connections are also needed for the…

While Republicans debated in Cleveland, Hillary Clinton raised money from the Kardashians in California. Kim Kardashian hoped to get a selfie with Clinton. 

President Obama is responding to the Republican presidential debate by asking Democrats to give his party money. 

Coined is like Malcolm Gladwell for investment bankers, with intriguing anecdotes to close the quick sale while obscuring the larger picture. Money matters: Over the last half-century, the world economy has swung from high inflation to financial crisis to zero interest rates. But Kabir Sehgal, an…

Secretary of State John Kerry's warning that Israel will be "blamed" if Congress opposes the Iran agreement conjures up troubling memories of other instances in which Israel or Jews were warned they might be blamed for international conflicts.

When Hillary Clinton first launched her campaign in April, THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported that her website was asking for donations up to $2,700 on the English version of the site, but only up to $250 on the Spanish language version. Within hours after the story was published, the…

Susan Rice, President Obama's national security advisor, said on CNN that at least some money that Iran will receive from the nuclear deal will be used by the regime to support terrorism. 

Hillary Clinton has already spent nearly one million dollars on polling. According to the Democratic presidential candidate's first Federal Election Commission disclosure report, the campaign has already spent $904,915.00 on polling.

Today, in an economic speech at the New School in Manhattan, Hillary Clinton spoke out against short-term traders.

Hillary Clinton attacked a bank that paid her husband, Bill Clinton, and donated to her family foundation at a speech on the economy today in New York City. The bank Clinton called out was HSBC.

As he has for much of his post-presidency, Bill Clinton was on the road again in June, traveling to Europe at the end of the month for various conferences and other public appearances. After a few days in London, the president popped over to Paris for a day or two to shop at Hermès, a well-known…

The crisis in Greece remains … a crisis.  After five years, during which time everyone who was paying attention said it was a crisis.  And, of course, the crisis went unresolved. The end game may come soon but, then, who knows?  But there seems to be a consensus of sorts building around the idea…

Or perhaps it should be “Spare change for Sanders.”  Either way, it appears that the Senator from Vermont is raising the money he needs – a pittance, at $40 million, by Hillary Clinton’s standards.

On Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced that after 2020, the image of Alexander Hamilton will share a place on the $10 bill with a to-be-determined woman. It has yet to be decided if Hamilton will share each bill with the yet-unnamed woman, or if there will be multiple series of $10 bills…

Hillary Clinton is asking supporters to chip in a buck. In an email this afternoon, Clinton writes, "I’m asking you to step up today, give just $1, and become a Launch Donor -- one of the tough, essential supporters who stood with me from the very beginning."

In today's New York Times hit of Marco Rubio, there is this quotation from Harold Evensky:

Hillary Clinton will be fundraising later this month with Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, according to an announcement on the candidate's website. The event will be held in New Jersey.

Hillary Clinton is coming to Washington, D.C. for an LGBT fundraiser tonight. "Clinton will be in Washington, D.C., on Monday night for a fundraiser hosted by and attended by predominantly lesbian supporters," reports the Huffington Post.

Scott Walker does not think he's the front runner in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Instead, the Wisconsin governor believes that title goes to the former Florida governor, Jeb Bush.

Carly Fiorina has released by far the most detailed financial disclosure of any presidential candidate. The document details to a penny her net worth: $58,954,494.88.

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry both spent two days in April at the Summit of the Americas in Panama, but hotels and transportation for the entire delegation for the conference topped $1.4 million. An estimated total of 3,889 room nights were split between two hotels:…

Bill Clinton, no stranger to controversy, raised eyebrows again with a Clinton Global Initiative gathering last month, as ABC News put it, "at a five-star luxury hotel in Morocco [hosted] by one of the world's most controversial mining companies, criticized for 'serious human rights violations' by…

Charles Gasparino of the Fox Business Network reported today that Martin O'Malley is the "last person" Wall Street CEOs want is Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley:

In a 41-second video that's set to be released later this morning, the Republican National Committee is using a populist message to hit Hillary Clinton for "hypocrisy."  

Bill Clinton has a secret "pass-through" company named WJC, LLC. WJC, of course, is the former president's initials, William Jefferson Clinton.

Disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission by Hillary Clinton provide fascinating details of the remarkable money-making machine that is the once-and-possibly-future first couple. Between January 2014 and the filing of the forms on May 15, 2015 (up to and including a speech by Bill…

President Obama has reported less than $1,001 in his savings account. The disclosure comes as part of the president's annual Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report.

As the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign closed the books on its first month of operations, campaign manager Robby Mook emailed supporters with a rather remarkable claim: Hillary Clinton "didn't have a lot of the usual resources that other candidates might have" to launch a campaign. Tellingly, Mook…

Former President Bill Clinton has got to pay those bills. That's why he's giving a speech this week in Atlanta at the American Institute of Architects meeting in Atlanta. 

Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Earth Institute and a liberal professor at Columbia University, explained this morning on Morning Joe what's wrong with the Clinton Foundation:

At a Clinton Global Initiative event in Marrakesh, former President Bill Clinton was asked why he isn't defending the Clinton Foundation from increased scrutiny. "I just work here," Clinton replied. "I don't know."

Bill Clinton is blaming the Clinton Foundation's accountants for not disclosing the acceptance of foreign donations on tax documents filed with the I.R.S. The former president made the comments in an interview with NBC:

Bill Clinton will continue to deliver lucrative paid speeches, the former president confirmed in an interview with NBC.

Hillary Clinton is a ferocious critic of Israeli settlements. She took point on the Obama administration's demand for a settlement freeze. She regularly berated Prime Minister Netanyahu on the subject, including an infamous, expletive-laced 45-minute phone call in 2010. She calls settlements…

Hillary Clinton appeared to avoid the press waiting outside her first 2016 presidential fundraiser by talking to herself as she made her way to an awaiting Secret Service vehicle. 

Fox News reported this morning on the latest news to come from the Clinton Cash book:

Fox News's Bret Baier previewed his Clinton Cash special this morning by highlighting how Kazakhstan invested in the Clintons -- and was then sold to the Russians. More specifically, it was a uranium company, which might now supply the element to Iran.

As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton comes under fire for shady financial dealins, Jim Webb is calling for a "new leadership model for our country." Webb, also a Democrat, is considering a presidential run.

Democratic Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez of Illinois has introduced a law to put a woman on the $20 bill. The law is being called, "Put a Woman on the Twenty Act."

The system of federal and state "exchanges" or "marketplaces" that offer health insurance through the Affordable Care Act lean heavily on "navigators" to guide consumers in their choices. Organizations such as community health centers, legal aid societies, social service groups, church groups and…

There's one issue Hillary Clinton won't flip-flop on: accepting money from lobbyists. The Huffington Post reports:

The brand new 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton will embrace "small donors in early fundraising," according to a Monday Politico story. The second-time presidential candidate wants to "make even small-dollar donors feel like they are part of the inner circle." Based on the campaign's…

President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are no longer "broke" if their choice of holiday destinations is any indication. A short article at DominicanToday.com colorfully reports that the famous couple was in the Dominican Republic to "hobnob with tycoons at Dominican…

Since Politico, a politics-focused website and newspaper, launched its subscription-based news service Politico Pro in 2011, government agencies have increasingly turned to the service to keep abreast of the latest developments in their spheres of policy. Government records show fiscal year 2011…

In a strong new web ad, the Republican National Committee whacks Hillary Clinton for the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation accepting foreign donations while she held the job of secretary of state. The ad is titled "A Very Serious Matter" and is meant to coincide with the Clinton…

Legendary investor Warren Buffett was asked this morning in an interview whether he'd still bet money on Hillary Clinton being the next president of the United States. Yes, he said, he still think it's "very likely" she'll be the next president. But he warned in the CNBC interview: "things could…

Hillary Clinton gave a paid speech in Silicon Valley Tuesday. But before her public remarks to the Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women, the Democratic presidential candidate met with her daughter's boss.

The same day the White House renewed a push to increase the federal minimum wage, an announcement appeared on the White House blog for the Summer 2015 White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders [AAPI] Internship Program -- all unpaid positions. Even in prior administrations,…

In today’s edition of Kristol Clear, the Boss notes an interesting exchange on This Week with George Stephanopoulos:

In 1993, Terry McAuliffe authored a memo that would essentially turn the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House into a hotel for top campaign donors. It would "be an excellent opportunity to energize our key people for the upcoming year," McAuliffe wrote. Now McAuliffe, who is currently the governor of…

Conservative website Newsmax has pledged a very large donation to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a new report in the Wall Street Journal states.

Liberal commentator Juan Williams called the foreign donations to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation "rank influence peddling" and "unethical" in remarks today on Fox News:

In January, the State Department signed contracts for an estimated $1,690,000 million for hotels for President Obama's trip to India. Two of the contracts were for the New Delhi stay, and another two were for Agra, the location of the Taj Mahal. That latter leg of the trip was cancelled when…

The Wall Street Journal has a revealing report on the hedge fund Eaglevale Partners LP, which is run by Hillary Clinton's son-in-law, Marc Mezvinsky. The fund, it turns out, bet big on a turnaround in the Greece economy -- and lost.

Vice President Joe Biden kicked off 2015 leading a presidential delegation to Brazil for the inauguration of Dilma Rousseff as president of that country. The vice president was only in the country on New Year's Day, for the inauguration and an hour-long meeting with Rousseff before returning to St.…

This Washington Post headline pretty much explains that government is our business—and business is very good:

Hillary Clinton has not been especially aggressive on ideas and policy.  On money, however, it is a different story.

President Obama knocked "constant fundraising" in his State of the Union address delivered tonight from Washington:

Ever since the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, proponents of robust economic growth and sensible regulation have been trying to rein it in.

On July 18, 2006, the Clinton Foundation received a $25,000 check from the C.O.U.Q. Foundation, whose president was known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of Bill Clinton. The donation is revealed in the C.O.U.Q. Foundation's 990 tax form, filed with the IRS.

This morning, Hillary Clinton sent an email to supporters with the subject line, "Announcement." But the contents of the message did not explain the former secretary of state's future political ambitions. Instead, the message asked for money from supporters of what is now the Bill, Hillary, and…

With the price of oil plunging, the ruble crashing against other currencies, and its interest rates soaring, Russia has announced to the world that it: 

When President Obama visited Brisbane, Australia in November for the G-20 summit, the large U.S. delegation required multiple hotels and thousands of "room nights" for the length of the stay, though the president himself spent only one night in his hotel. Initially, as first reported by THE WEEKLY…

Perhaps Jeb Bush isn't running for president. At least, recent activity suggests it's less likely that he'll run than the Florida governor has let on.

In a five year span, the William J Clinton Foundation gave five grants totaling $851,250 to the University of Virginia's Miller Center. One year in particular, 2007, the Clinton gift was specifically marked: "Oral history project of Clinton presidency." 

In Thursday’s lead editorial, the Wall Street Journal argues that congressional “Republicans can’t win by shutting down the government”; thus, they should not attempt to deny President Obama the funding he needs to carry out his unconstitutional executive amnesty for 5 million illegal immigrants. …

Less than four weeks before the launch of 2015 open enrollment for Obamacare, the government agency that runs Healthcare.gov suddenly realized the Marketplace site was heading for a repeat of last year's debacle. Documents show that on October 19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…

The headline over this Government Executive article reads:

After the 2012 presidential election, Republican donors were left scratching their heads, thinking: how could we spend all that money and fall so short?

Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina was pounded last winter and spring in TV ads by conservative groups for having voted for Obamacare and echoed President Obama’s false claim that people could keep their current health insurance. “They had her on the ropes,” says Marc Rotterman, a…

The American public has resisted the metric system for decades, but that has not discouraged the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from sinking $37,950 into two more episodes of a "motion-comic" video series called "The League of SI Superheroes." (SI stands…

The headline on an item in Time reads:

After nine years and $247 million, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) new high-tech disaster relief system may not work as intended, according to a new report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Not only is the system unable to…

Few people are happy with the limbo in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently dwell. The Treasury placed the two government-sponsored entities that buy and guarantee the bulk of all mortgages issued in the United States into a conservatorship in 2008 after the collapse of the housing market,…

President Obama was counting strokes on the golf course at Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia last Saturday, but the day before a $91,318.76 contract was awarded to count something quite different at Fort Belvoir: bats. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will conduct the "Bat…

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon:

A fascinating interview on CNBC with Alibaba chair Jack Ma, whose company will go public today in New York:

President Obama is scheduled to address the nation this evening to discuss destroying the terrorist army of ISIS. But before hitting the airwaves, he's asking Democratic donors to "chip in $10 or more right now to help elect Democrats."

The Department of Health and Human Services announces another $60 million for Obamacare navigators, a press release from that federal bureaucracy states.

The "busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere" is getting an upgrade, and according to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), about a half a million dollars worth of new artwork will be part of the package. The San Ysidro Land Port of Entry, the border crossing facility for the…

President Obama is spending today attending three fundraiser (two in New York and one in Rhode Island). And the White House doesn't seem to care what others might think of the president's use of time. 

The federal government issued sixty contracts from 2009 to 2014 in efforts to build Healthcare.gov, the federal insurance marketplace. According to a report issued today by the inspector general (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the government had already paid out just…

Bank of America likes to top rival J.P. Morgan Chase in as many ways as possible. Except one. The $16-to-$17 billion check it is about to write to cover the fine for sins committed before the financial crisis tops the previous record of $13 billion paid by J.P. Morgan Chase just nine months ago.…

Writing at the New York Times, Thomas Edsall makes a provocative and counterintuitive argument about earmarks:

Thanks to the marvels of the digital epoch, citizens can now track the government’s spending of public money.  On a website, of all things.  Of course, while the technology may change and improve, the eternals still apply.  So one is not especially astonished to learn, as Gregory Korte of USA…

Washington needs more money and if it doesn’t get it, your morning commute will become:

Another day, another national crisis.  Yesterday it was immigration and another threat/promise to go it alone. Today, it is roads and bridges so, as Justin Sink at The Hill reports:

Former President Bill Clinton insists he and his wife, Hillary Clinton, are not out of touch. The examples he cites? They talk to people at their "local grocery store on the weekend" and, he adds, they "talk to people in [their] town."

Hillary Clinton will be getting $225,000 to speak at a university fundraiser later this year. Students at the same school, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, have recently been outraged that the institution is raising tuition by a staggering 17 percent.

Greg Abbott, the Republican candidate for governor in Texas, is now accepting the digital currency Bitcoin. He's just now released this ad, letting supporters know:

Senate majority leader Harry Reid claims that one side--the Democrats--doesn't "have any" billionaire backers:

President Obama hits the road, again, today. He is, as Jim Kuhnhenn of the AP reports:

Nancy Pelosi is fundraising to amend the Constitution of the United States. 

Former Clinton aide Kiki McLean defended Hillary Clinton's claim that she was "dead broke" and "struggled" after leaving the White House by saying that the Clintons "have a life and a set of expectations that are different" from middle class Americans. McLean made the comments on CNN:

More signs that the dynamism that once characterized the American economy is waning:

Vice President Joe Biden is not making too much money off his book Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics. Last year, in fact, he made less than $201 in royalties from his book publisher, according to just-released disclosure forms.

Next month former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy will publish his book Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment. And already the Democratic party is trying to raise money off the title.

Speaking to a collection of people that included Barbra Streisand – and asking them, just incidentally, for money – President Obama made his case in this fashion:

After shelling out $677 million to build the federal health care website, the government will spend an additional $121 million in 2014 to repair it—$30 million more than previously estimated—the Washington Times reported last night. This comes just as the Obama administration is starting the hunt…

President Obama appears to be the best there ever was when it comes to raising cash. But that’s because he works so hard at it. As James Oliphant of Government Executive reports:

What we usually hear about when the subject is climate change is stuff meant to scare you out of your socks.  Rising oceans, violent storms, draughts, famines, plagues of locusts … and so forth.  The implied alternative is austerity so severe – no cars, rationed electricity, smaller houses,…

Bill Kristol, with Donna Brazile, Newt Gingrich, and Alicia Menendez, yesterday on ABC News:

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon:

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon:

"Bitcoin" is the most widespread, cryptographically-secure Internet currency. It was created in 2009 by someone (or someones) who referred to themselves as "Satoshi Nakamoto." Once it was released into the wild, the bitcoin currency ecosystem operated on a public, inalterable schedule. We know…

Another poll shows Hillary Clinton leading the pack of would-be Democratic nominees by an outsized margin. This one is courtesy of ABC News-Washington Post, which has her at 73 percent support among would-be Democratic voters—with Joe Biden trailing at just 12 percent.

Timothy P. Carney, writing for the Washington Examiner:

In a stunning admission, a recently released government document reveals that the original contract for Healthcare.gov contained no "specific concurrent user performance requirement." The federal government's online marketplace was plagued from the outset, in part due to the lack of ability to…

Tough times in the lobbying industry and the news is sure to be greeted with an outpouring of sympathy from across the land.  As Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson of the Hill report:

Washington, D.C. is booming. That's in large part because of a massive growth in lobbying expenditures and federal contracts.

Just because the government is shut down (sort of), that does not mean that members of Congress are magically relieved of the need for money to finance the next campaign during which they will spend the money to persuade constituents to return them to Washington to continue in their good work.

Cory Booker is this political season's designated superman.  The stuff of legend.  Kind of guy who hangs out with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  Does all the cool digital stuff, like tweeting.  (Can you believe it?) A natural.  And so forth.

The question at the core of most of today’s debates in American politics is whether all people have an unalienable right to keep the fruits of their own labor—as the Founders believed and the Declaration of Independence (properly understood) asserts—or whether the government should funnel vast sums…

In 2009, the Obama administration made news with an $18 million, five year contract to redesign Recovery.gov, the website the government set up to allow taxpayers to track the stimulus spending enacted by the president and Congress soon after President Obama took office.  On Wednesday, notice of…

If the public is to understand the full awfulness of the sequester, it seems that it must first suffer. So, as Eric Katz reports at Government Executive, the FBI will be furloughing agents and cutting costs in a way that, according to its departing director will:

The state of Alabama received bonus payments from Medicaid for 2009 and 2010 that were a stunning 13 times higher than the state was eligible for.  So says the inspector general (IG) for Health and Human Services in a report released on Wednesday.

The Department of Defense is looking at some serious cutbacks in its civilian workforce, as Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg writes:

This week, the State Department announced that, in "an important symbol of our enduring friendship with Benin," construction has begun on a new $178 million embassy complex in the small West African nation, a neighbor of Togo and Nigeria.  As is often the case in the construction of new U.S.…

Say you are a company that builds and operates large retail stores, selling consumer goods at desirable prices and that you have been successful across the land.  Let's call you ... oh, Walmart.

Despite an admission by the Department of Transportation (DOT) that the Federal-aid Highway Programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are "susceptible to significant improper payments," the DOT Inspector General (IG) has terminated an audit initiated in April "due to other…

As we've learned over the last few days, there is a lot hanging on the meaning of the word "coup."  Or, more precisely, the answer to this question:  Was Egyptian President Morsi removed from office by a military coup?

Vicki Needham at the Hill writes that:

The Washington Times reports that the cost of Obama's Africa trip, estimated as high as $100 million, is overshadowing President Obama's agenda. If past VIP trips are any indication, lodging and local transportation would represent only a fraction of the $100 million, yet those costs would likely…

The House of Representatives is scheduled Tuesday to consider a bipartisan bill to add new seasonal flu vaccines to the IRS definition of taxable vaccines.  The Senate has already reached an agreement to vote on its version of the bill without further debate if the House passes an identical…

The White House just announced another $300 million for Syria. "Today, during his meeting with G-8 leaders in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, President Obama announced over $300 million in additional life-saving humanitarian assistance to help feed, shelter, and provide medical care for children,…

President Obama is attending three Democratic fundraisers today. One in Boston, Massachusetts, and two more at private homes in Miami, Florida. He'll return to Washington later tonight.

At a high-dollar fundraiser last night in Washington, D.C., Vice President Joe Biden warned his fellow Democrats about the Republicans.

Standard operating procedure in Washington, when confronted with a political crisis – or even several of them – is to change the subject, then leave town and raise some money.  Lots of it.

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon:

The New York Times reports today that New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, is considering setting a special election for the vacant New Jersey Senate seat ahead of the already scheduled November election. This move, as the Times reports, could cost around $24 million: 

Democratic congressman Jose Serrano made the case that the IRS needs more to prevent the federal agency from more scandals:

Supporters of President Obama’s overhaul of American medicine are touting the early evidence from California’s Obamacare exchange (still under construction) as good news for their side.  But as the Los Angeles Times notes, the Golden State’s version of Obamacare will mean higher insurance premiums…

It is often said that the real scandal in Washington is not what's illegal, but legal.  And not merely legal but ... commonplace and celebrated.

On Thursday, the White House's administrator for federal procurement policy, Joe Jordan, wrote on the White House blog about a legislative initiative that President Obama is sending to Congress next week "to stop excessive payments to Federal contractors."  Jordan continues:

At a fundraiser last night in Chicago, President Barack Obama signaled that he's interested in his legacy as a president and insisted that he's willing to work with anyone.

Later this evening, President Barack Obama will head to his hometown of Chicago to attend two Democratic party fundraisers aimed to help his party help win back the House of Representatives from the Republicans.

This week we have entry #5,740,412 in the ledger documenting "Why Not Every Market-Based Outcome Is Optimal." And that’s the Yahoo purchase of Tumblr.

During Tuesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) declared that failing to encourage people to sign up for government-mandated health insurance is downright “un-American.”  Speier was referring to Congress’s refusal to fund…

Student loan debt runs to about $30,000 per graduate of the class of 2013, as Phil Izzo writes in the Wall Street Journal.  And the total amount of student loans outstanding runs to almost a trillion dollars: more than either credit card balances or automobile loans.  More than any form of consumer…

At a Capitol Hill hearing today, IRS commissioner Steven Miller said a bigger budget would be helpful:

Late last week, we learned that the Department of Health and Human Services was running a little short of the scratch it needed to sell the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to the people who will reap its many benefits.  Sarah Kliff at the Washington Post reported:

President Barack Obama will start the week by attending 3 Democratic fundraisers in New York City, according to the White House.

As the White House first announced in March, Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Mexico and Costa Rica later this week. The trip is billed as "an important opportunity to reinforce the deep cultural, familial, and economic ties that so many Americans share with Mexico and Central America." And at…

A new report by the Regulatory Studies Center at the George Washington University finds that the cost of regulatory rules in 2012 exceeded the cost of all rules in "the entire first terms of Presidents Bush and Clinton, combined."

President Obama has never been shy about hitting up those "millionaires and billionaires" for the cash he needs to bash them and "fundamentally transform" things.  Up to now, they have been generous but patience, it seems, is beginning to fray.  The donors would like to see some more action and…

John Kerry, who is worth an estimated $198.65 million, will donate $9,175 because of the so-called sequestration. 

The details of a stimulus grant awarded to Indiana University to study condom use have now been released on a government website. The study, titled "Barriers to Correct Condom Use," is now completed, according to the website, and the university received $423,500 of stimulus funds to perform the…

President Barack Obama raised campaign funds yesterday for the 2014 House elections. Visiting the homes of California billionaires, Obama touted Nancy Pelosi, as a primary reason for Democrats needing to win the next national election.

The New York Times reports:

At a speech this morning at the White House to outline a new science initiative, President Barack Obama named himself "Scientist-in-Chief."

As the sequester bore down on Washington, the dire warnings from the Obama administration gave the impression that wild horses couldn't drag another dime out of the treasury for a whole host of vital government services. Aircraft carrier refueling, the Head Start program, and White House tours were…

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted that Obamacare might cause "some men and younger customers [to] see their rates increase," in regard to health care insurance costs. But the White House refused today to address Sebelius's comments, and would only insist that health…

As it turns out, Vice President Joe Biden's London stay in February was not the most expensive part of his trip. A government document released on February 14, 2013 shows that the contract for the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand came in at $585,000.50.

President Barack Obama will speak to donors to Organizing for Action, the group that was formerly his reelection campaign, this Wednesday in Washington, D.C. "President Obama will speak to a Wednesday-night dinner for donors and grassroots supporters at the Founders' Summit of Organizing for…

The world continues to experience much turmoil and angst over the possible proliferation of nuclear arms, particularly relative to North Korea, Iran, and even Russia.  Just today comes word that North Korea made its most provocative statement yet, threatening a preemptive nuclear strike on the…

Today is a good day for the Democratic National Committee. Duke Energy, which helped bankroll the Democratic convention in Charlotte last year with a $10 million loan, announced it would forgive the Democratic party of its massive debt.

CNN reports that President Obama is "sullying" his "brand" by getting ready to appoint donors as ambassadors:

Jim Messina, the campaign manager for President Obama's reelection campaign, will now be selling his own personal access. 

According to Sports Illustrated's Peter King, Tom Brady:

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that donating $500,000 to the group Organizing for Action will get one quarterly meetings with President Barack Obama. "Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama’s group and the privilege of attending…

David Axelrod has hired a spokesman for Eric Holder, Mike Allen notes. "TRACY SCHMALER, director of the Justice Department Office of Public Affairs, departs March 8 to join ASGK Public Strategies, co-founded by David Axelrod, as managing director and head of a new practice group focusing on crisis…

It's Valentine's Day, and today the Republicans heard President Obama say those three little words they never thought they'd hear: "out of money." While speaking on early childhood education in Decatur, Georgia, the president said, according to the White House transcript:

In an email to supporters, President Barack Obama is asking for cash donations to the Democratic party. 

Jack Lew, who has been nominated as the next treasury secretary, oversaw up as many as a hundred Cayman Island investments when he worked at Citi Bank as chief operating officer of the alternative investment services unit, SEC disclosures reveal. It has previously been reported that Lew himself had…

Growth is the summum bonum of economic policy. Tough to arrange at home: stimulus packages don’t work very well, and monetary policy produces lots of fiat money but not very many jobs. The solution: export-led growth—the other guy will buy so much of your goods and services that your economy will…

The payroll tax cut has been rolled back so, of course, consumers have less money to spend and that seems to be what they are spending ... less.