Senator Tom Coburn (R OK) Annual governmental wastebook is out

[flutter1]

Report by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn cites Congress as biggest waste of federal money
Oklahoma Republican's latest “wastebook” includes 100 examples of questionable spending and Congress is responsible for all of them, Coburn says
 
By Chris Casteel | Published: October 16, 2012

WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn's chief target of criticism this year — the U.S. Congress — also topped his annual list of wasteful government spending, as the senator accused federal lawmakers of doing little to justify the $132 million spent on the House and Senate.

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“The challenges facing our nation have rarely been so dire for so long,” Coburn's “Wastebook 2012” says. “Yet, never before in recent history have our elected leaders in Washington worked less and been more lax in addressing our nation's problems.”

Coburn, R-Muskogee, and his staff compiled 100 examples of federal spending for his annual book of waste, spanning numerous federal agencies and, even, the tax code. All of the entries, according to Coburn, are ultimately the fault of Congress, either because of action or inaction.

Second on Coburn's new list is the nonprofit tax status of the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the Professional Golfers' Association. The report says the leagues take advantage of a tax provision that allows them to promote their sports, pay high salaries to executives and avoid paying certain taxes. The NFL's nonprofit status dates to 1966.

“Hardworking taxpayers should not be forced to provide funding to offset tax giveaways to lucrative major professional sports teams and leagues,” the report says. “Based on publicly available information about the NFL and NHL alone, barring major leagues from using the nonprofit status may generate at least $91 million of federal revenue every year.”   ::snipping2::

Read more: http://newsok.com/report-by-oklahoma-sen.-tom-coburn-cites-congress-as-biggest-waste-of-federal-money/article/3719280#ixzz29SEWLgg6

And don't forget the "talking urinal cakes" which I will let you read for yourself.   


Read more: http://newsok.com/report-by-oklahoma-sen.-tom-coburn-cites-congress-as-biggest-waste-of-federal-money/article/3719280#ixzz29SDuOqG0

[WhiskeyGirl]

"How The GM Bailout Turned Into Foreign Aid"

Before the bailout of General Motors, it was well understood that the world’s largest automaker was losing huge amounts of money in the US and was staying afloat thanks to stronger performance in overseas markets. Since the bailout, however, that dynamic has been turned on its head. Thanks to a leaner manufacturing footprint, debt eliminations and steadily recovering sales, GM’s US operations have generated the lion’s share of the company’s profit since the bailout. And now, as the rest of the world economy slows, GM is spending more and more of its taxpayer-enhanced cash pile to shore up its faltering foreign divisions. In fact, according to an analysis of GM’s SEC filings, the company is likely to incur over $6.5 billion in losses and expenditures overseas in the 2011-2014 period, not counting over $1.6b in foreign potential legal liabilities or several other incalculable expenses that could add up to billions more. Not only are these expenses a challenge to GM’s overall financial health at a time when it also faces billion-dollar expenditures on pensions in the US, it shows the basic problem with national bailouts of global companies. Taxpayers who were told they were saving an American company are now seeing their tax dollars flowing overseas by the billions.

Without including potential liability costs or the more inevitable costs associated with Opel’s restructuring, GM has spent or lost in excess of $6.5b overseas in the last 30 months or so. With more losses and expenses coming, taxpayers can expect to see their investment in GM’s North American operations continue to support a steady flow of cash to GM’s overseas operations. Perhaps taxpayers should have been told that they weren’t simply bailing out an American automaker, but a variety of overseas operations as well.

I recall that many were wary of the 'global' nature of the bailout.  Same with stimulus - it went to foreign countries, foreign businesses, and foreign workers...

read more here - http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-the-gm-bailout-turned-into-foreign-aid/