Economy
MA state departments spending hundreds of thousands on bottled water
The MetroWest Daily News reports that “according to Open Checkbook, a Massachusetts state website touted by officials as a means to improve governmental transparency, state departments, little by little, have racked up almost $300,000 since July on bottles of Poland Spring and other water brands, and water coolers.” “With seven months to go in fiscal…
Read MoreAmazon creates billion-dollar tax shield
An examination of accounts filed by 25 Amazon units in six countries show how the company has avoided paying more tax in the United States, where it’s based, according to a report from Reuters. Reuters writes that Amazon, in effect, used inter-company payments to form a tax shield behind which it has accumulated $2 billion. Last…
Read MoreTobacco companies fighting anti-smoking laws with trade agreements, legal challenges
Fair Warning reports that as governments around the world adopt stringent rules to fight the public health burdens of smoking, tobacco companies are fighting back, trumping those laws by invoking long-standing trade agreements. Anti-smoking advocates told Fair Warning those efforts, and the cost and liability governments face in fighting them, will intimidate “all but the…
Read MoreReuters finds vicious circle of self-interest sank a California city
When San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy in August, the mayor blamed the city council and the police and fire unions. The unions blamed the mayor. Yet on close examination, the city’s decades-long journey from prosperous, middle-class community to bankrupt, crime-ridden, foreclosure-blighted basket case is straightforward—and alarmingly similar to the path travelled by municipalities around America’s…
Read MoreStorms increase insurance rates, but is it justified?
As homeowners begin to pick up the pieces following the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, their focus turns to insurance. Echoing the situation on the east coast, the Minneapolis Star Tribune investigated the topic of homeowner’s insurance premiums following natural disasters in the state of Minnesota. The Star Tribune found that rates were steadily hiked up…
Read More“Green” buildings, products become big business in system that rewards minor, low-cost steps
A USA TODAY examination shows that thousands of “green” builders win tax breaks, exceed local restrictions and get expedited permitting under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps. Meanwhile, companies that make “green” products and materials are profiting handsomely as the building boom takes off.
Read More$300 Million Meant To Help Florida Homeowners In Limbo
In this in-depth investigation of a $25 billion national settlement between five of the United States’ largest banks and forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, ProPublica uncovers that the state of Florida was keeping $300 million meant to help needy homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. ProPublica’s investigation uncovers that Florida’s attorney general had not revealed…
Read MoreWhy some medical professionals charge more than others
“Medicare has emerged as a potent campaign issue, with both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney vowing to tame its spending growth while protecting seniors. But there’s been little talk about some of the arcane factors that drive up costs, such as billing and coding practices, and what to do about them.” “The Center for Public…
Read MoreOSU president expenses in the millions
Daily News reporter Laura A. Bischoff fought a year-long FOIA battle to get hold of Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee’s expense reports, which ultimately revealed that the unviersity spends $7.7 million on Gee’s expenses — almost has much as his $8.6 million salary. The expenses include travel, parties and $64,000 on the president’s signature…
Read MoreOversight board had little say in History Museum land purchase
After the Missouri History Museum spent $875,000 of its $10 million in tax dollars to purchase “a shuttered restaurant site from a former mayor,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found, via documents and museum officials, that the museum commissioners, appointed by area officials to approve spending, never see purchases until after they’ve been made and never…
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