OMB Watch Op-Eds
What Government Does for You
Oct 17, 2012
Published October 17, 2012—"Government, keep your hands off my Medicare!" Commentators and comedians alike had fun with the cognitive dissonance represented by the statement above, found on more than one hand-scrawled sign at Tea Party rallies. But while opposition to government is more at home on the political right, ignorance about the role of government is a bipartisan malady.
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Stealth Bill Aims To Cripple New Consumer Agency
Sep 17, 2012
Published September 17, 2012—The signature achievement of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection and Wall Street Reform Act was the creation of a new consumer financial protection agency. Predictably, the big banks would like to see the agency neutered.
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Roll Call Op-Ed: Renewing Democracy Through Transparency
Mar 19, 2012
Published March 19, 2012—The excitement of government transparency has lost its shimmer, but a new mapping tool seeks to bring back the glow by making economic stimulus projects visible and demonstrating better ways to track all federal spending.
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Chronicle of Philanthropy Op-Ed: New Deficit Deal Should Make Nonprofit World Quake
Aug 21, 2011
Published August 21, 2011—After the debt-ceiling deal was struck, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner remarked, “It was a terrible process but a good result.” Many people will question the result, but no one will disagree with his assessment of the process. It has left Americans disgusted with Washington and more cynical about government. That may be the worst legacy of the debt-ceiling negotiations.
read in fullReducing Influence Peddling in Government Contracting
Apr 27, 2011
Published April 27, 2011—In this piece, Gary Therkildsen and Gary D. Bass of OMB Watch argue that the federal government, namely the executive branch, must get serious about making public the information on any and all lobbying related to the federal procurement process. The authors use the Boeing tanker contract scandal as an illustration of the need for reform. This piece appeared as part of the "Solutions: Making Government Work" column on Truthout.
The Wrong Approach to the Deficit Could Imperil More than Just the Recovery
Jan 24, 2011
by Craig Jennings, OMB Watch, Jan. 24, 2011
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday, one topic he will likely devote many words to will be the nation’s finances. For months, we’ve heard calls from all sides to “rein in the deficit” – a deficit so massive that, if some politicians are to be believed, it may plunge the nation into another Dark Ages. If Obama echoes these unceasing cries coming from inside the Beltway and sets forth a budget plan designed to meet the needs of Washington politics and not the nation, he could imperil the nascent economic recovery and future growth while stifling public protections, the effectiveness of the federal workforce, and the economic well being of millions of families.
Obama and Open Government: Turning Vision into Reality
Jan 5, 2011
By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Jan. 5, 2011 in the Huffington Post
On his first full day in office, President Obama promised an administration premised on transparency, participation, and collaboration. If Obama is successful in transforming government in this way, what does that mean for you?
Obama's Regulatory Enforcement Shows That Government Can Play a Positive Role
Dec 20, 2010
By Matthew Madia, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Dec. 20, 2010 in the Huffington Post
In its first two years, the Obama administration stepped up the enforcement of rules meant to protect the environment, workers, and consumers, according to a new OMB Watch report. This activity is a welcome development after years of regulatory negligence that likely played a part in the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and the most fatal coal mine disaster in 40 years.
Obama Tax Cut Compromise Capitulates on Estate Tax
Dec 7, 2010
By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Dec. 7, 2010 in the Huffington Post
President Obama's tax cut deal with congressional Republicans, if enacted by Congress, will achieve what President George W. Bush could not get done: create a path to effectively kill the estate tax.
GOP 'Pledge' Is Simply a Way of Shutting Down a Large Part of Government
Sep 23, 2010
By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Sept. 23, 2010 in the Huffington Post
As Yogi Berra's redundant saying goes, "It's déjà vu all over again." Back in 1994, congressional Republicans unveiled what they called the "Contract with America." The Contract was chock-full of policy proposals intended to shrink the size of government, kneecap agencies' ability to protect the public, and decrease the burden on taxpayers, especially the rich.
