Military Foreclosures

The housing crisis is beginning to hit troops close to home.

Bloomberg reports foreclosure filings in military towns -- places within 10 miles of military bases -- are up an an average 217% from January through April.

The national average was only 59% for the same period.

On top of that, military families often buy houses when transferred with plans to sell them and turn a little profit the next time they're transferred. Now, houses are going unsold for a lot longer and falling house prices could force them to sell at a loss. (Bloomberg)

NRCC Ex-Treasurer Diverted a Cool Million?

The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee is accused of diverting as much as $1 million of the GOP's money to his own personal account.

Republican leaders say Christopher Ward had been doing it for four years. He's reportedly under an FBI investigation. GOP leaders turned him in to the feds six weeks ago. (WaPo)

The Cost of War

The Iraq War will cost us taxpayers $3 trillion dollars.

That's "trillion" with a "T."

That's $12 billion a month.

That's a lot of debt your grand kids will have to pay off.

Linda Blimes and Joseph Stiglitz did the math for an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post. Their sum comes up a lot higher than the $60 billion the Bush administration promised before Baghdad fell.

The problem is with the hidden costs:

• Money to help future veterans


• Re-equipping a depleted military


• Hidden costs in the Defense budget

Then there's the $500,000 each family receives when a service member is killed in combat. Close to 4,000 so far.

And there are hidden costs hitting our economy, like the massive debt we've run up borrowing money for the war and the family members who've had to leave the workforce to take care of a wounded relative. (WaPo)

War is a Growth Industry

You'll spend more than a trillion dollars for the Iraq War. Much of that money is going to contractors who've used Superbowl tickets and hookers to pocket bales of cash in shady war profiteering plans. From the Chicago Tribune:

Hundreds of pages of recently unsealed court records detail how kickbacks shaped the war's largest troop support contract months before the first wave of U.S. soldiers plunged their boots into Iraqi sand.The graft continued well beyond the 2004 congressional hearings that first called attention to it. And the massive fraud endangered the health of American soldiers even as it lined contractors' pockets, records show.

Among the charges of overcharges -- a Halliburton subsidiary which billed you the taxpayer $45 for every can of soda pop it shipped to Iraq. (Chicago Tribune)

Pricing the Spy Satellite Shoot Down

Shooting down that broken spy satellite was cool. Finding out how much the whole thing cost could make you hot under the collar.

No one outside of certain government circles knows exactly how much the wayward, school bus-sized satellite cost. The National Reconnaissance Office doesn't let taxpayers do recon on their black budget loaded with red ink. But by 2002, the program for this particular kind of satellite was threatening to outstrip it's reported $5 billion (with a B) budget. The so-called "Future Imagery Architecture" satellite was as much as $2-3 billion over budget.

Once in orbit, it never worked.

Then there's the cost of actually shooting down the $6-7 billion dollar paperweight -- sending three Aegis destroyers on the mission, modifying three SM-3 missiles (two more in case the first one missed) and actually shooting one of the $10 million missiles. Not to mention the logistics and support required from radar, communications and whatnot back on land.

Here's DoD vid of the launch and intercept.




That comes to nearly $20 million right there by most estimates.

At least we got a great fireworks show! (WaPo)

War Numbers Just a Few Billion Off

How much are the wars really costing?

A top Republican supporter of US involvement in Iraq says it's a lot more than the White House claims. From the Washington Post, quoting Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) in a Decembber 18 floor speech:

'This cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month.' Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense subcommittee

The adminstration's estimate is about three billion a month below that: $11.7 billion. (WashPost)

Pork Map

Earmarkwatch.org lets you see where the pork's going in Congress' spending bills. You can actually see it on a map.

It also lets you contribute your own research or discovery of pork barrel spending. The Washington Post reports:

Three users of the site recently ran down an earmark for ICRC Solutions, an Alaska company that received $1 million for a Land and Sea Special Operations all-terrain vehicle known as a LASSO. In comments posted on the site, users said the company's chief executive is James Lexo, a former aide to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and a big campaign contributor.

And the Post found a million bucks spent on socks for Marines and another million for "Extended Cold Weather Clothing System" -- something the rest of us call "gloves." Bothe were going to Congress members who had factories in their districts or states landing the contracts.

'Hidden Costs' Double Price Wars

Congressional Democrats claim hidden economic costs have raised the pricetag of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to $1.5 trillion. From the Washington Post:

"That amount is nearly double the $804 billion the White House has spent or requested to wage these wars through 2008, according to the Democratic staff of Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Its report, titled 'The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War,' estimates that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thus far cost the average U.S. family of four more than $20,000. "

What are the hidden costs?

The report says the war is diverting investments in America and taking Reservists and National Guardsmen away from their civilian jobs. (WaPo)

Welcome to America

In the world of world wide tourism, Americans are replacing the French waiter as the stereotype of rudeness.

The Discover America advocacy campaign blames the decline on the whole unpleasant experience visitors are put through just to set foot on U.S. soil.

They claim that since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. has seen overseas tourism group by 17%. That's cost us $94 billion and 200,000 jobs.

The problem -- rude welcomes, long lines, searches, suspicion, and all the red tape that politicians passed off as protection in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

But in giving in to fear -- instead of embracing the qualities that made America great like courage, resolve and openness -- we've become paranoid of even tourists heading for the Grand Canyon.

And that's created a rift between America and the world.

A visit to America should be one of the most powerful tools to make friends from around the world. And making friends can turn enemies away.

The "Ugly American" has come home. He needs to learn how to treat guests to his home. (AFP)

My Two Cents Worth

A quick way to double your money -- is to convert it to pennies. Seems it costs two cents to make a penny these days -- thanks to the price of zinc.

Zinc replaced copper as the metal for pennies years ago when copper got too expensive.

The overpriced coins are the target of penny pinching politicians.

Bills in both the House and Senate would make it easier to switch to cheaper metals to pound out pennies. But the main supplier of the expensive zinc is spending a pretty penny lobbying Congress to keep things the way they are. (azcentral.com)

Record Government Waste

A report to Congress suggests government waste has hit an all time high. From ABC's Blotter:

The U.S. government has committed to spend a record-high $1.1 trillion with companies holding government contracts "plagued by waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement," according to a new report by the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee.

The report says more than $200 billion of your money was spent on projects with little or no competitive bidding -- triple the amount from back in 2000. (ABC)

Congressional Pay Raise Coming

Democrats and Republicans in the House have found something they can agree on: $4,400 pay raises!

That'd bring a Congressman's salary to around $170,000 a year.

Representatives endorsed the "cost of living" raise Wednesday on a 244-181 vote. The vote killed a bid by Reps Jim Matheson, (D-UT) and Lee Terry, (R-NE) to kill the automatic raise.

Congress members get a pay raise annually unless they vote to block it. (MyWay)

About that $19 Billion....

Washington has spent roughly $55,000 training and equiping every Iraqi soldier and security police officer. Around $19 billion in all . But no one seems to know what your tax dollars have actually bought.

The Washington Post got hold of a report to the House Armed Services Committee says those in charge can't explain just how well trained the Iraqis are, how they do their job, or even if they're doing it.

It's hard to know when to "stand" down if you don't know if the Iraqis are even "standing up." (WaPo)

Flunking Math in California

The folks who hammered out California's school budget flunked their math.

The budget has a $364 million accounting error.

“We are calling Geek Squad.” -- H.D. Palmer, Department of Finance spokesman, quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune

Bean counters aren't saying who's to blame for the number crunching catastrophe. (Union Tribune)

Putting Money Where his Mouth Is

Former President Bill Clinton made $10 million from speeches last year.

Not bad considering his first to a national audience -- at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. After droning on for way too long, he got a standing ovation for simply saying, "In conclusion...." (CNN)

But Tom Cruise has One!

The FBI has a $40 million Gulfstream V jet packed that's supposed to be used for counter terrorism missions. The FBI asked Congress for $3.6 million to keep it flying in the last war spending bill -- and other budget requests are dotted with similar requests to support what the Bureau calls "crucial missions."

Turns out, FBI Director Robert Mueller considers his speeches, public appearances, and visits to field offices as "crucial missions." The Washington Post reports roughly 23% of the time it's in the air -- it's serving as Director Mueller's private mode of personal transportation.

Sen Charles Grassley (R-IA) says that's a good way for the FBI to lose funding for the pricey plane -- a favorite of jet setting celebrities. In the opening scenes of "Oceans Thirteen" which opened last weekend, George Clooney and Brad Pitt's characters are seen jetting into Vegas aboard a Gulfstream V.

Past Directors flew commercial -- or in a pinch, on a smaller corporate jet.

On top of that -- Director Mueller refuses to go to the plane -- and insists it come to him. So the Gulfstream has to leave a suburban DC airfield, land at DC's Washington Reagan National Airport and take off again -- adding about $1,000 cost to each flight.

Troopers told: Park it

Budget cuts and rising gasoline prices are keeping Michigan State Troopers in park.

Troopers have been limited to as little as 40 miles per eight hour shift. That's taking them off patrol and leaving them sitting on the shoulder. Some troopers are putting in their limits before lunchtime -- spending the rest of their shifts sitting at desks instead of patrolling the roads. (DetNews.com)

Your Share of $59 Trillion

Some of the most creative minds in government are accountants. A USA Today review of federal spending found the books cooked to the tune of more than a trillion dollars.

Officially, the federal government says there was a $248 billion deficit last year. That's using those "creative" accounting ideas your government has cooked up to cook the books.

USA Today applied modern accounting principles -- and found the red ink was a lot deeper -- about $1.3 trillion. USA Today points out:

"Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition."

Add up all the deficits over all the years and taxpayers owe around $59.1 trillion bucks.

You're share -- $516,348. Compare that to the $112,043 the average household owes for mortgages, car loans, and all other debt combined -- and you'll see you're a more frugal spender than your Uncle Sam. (USA Today)

Secret Service Stretched Thin

The US Secret Service is stretched so thin, they're borrowing agents from other outfits.

About 2,000 immigration officers and airport screeners will join about 250 of it's own agents who'll be shifted from investigations to security details.

They're hit with a wide field of Presidential candidates -- and an early start to providing them with security. The Secret Service has a record $110 million budget for guarding candidates next year -- but they didn't expect to have to guard anyone until January.

Early protection for Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) tossed that plan out the window.

The shifts mean the Secret Service has already cut back on it's efforts against counterfieters and cybercriminals. Brace for spam attacks of phoney money! (WaPo)

You're On the Bus or Off the Bus -- No One Rides in the Door

All aboard the Topsy-Turvy Bus.

Ben Cohen -- the "Ben" of "Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream" is takin the bus cross country toward New Hampshire Iowa.

It's part of a campaign urging presidential candidates to move spending from defense projects to programs helping families and communities. The bus is a project of the Priorities Campaign, headed by Cohen -- wearing the green jacket in this AP photo. (AP via Yahoo)