The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction just put out their semi-annual report on reconstruction. The report is on the web here, and it ain't pretty. The Washington Post has some lurid examples of the fraud and waste that the report exposes. And to think that just a few months ago the special inspector general's office was on the chopping block... One important note: it's tempting to see contracting waste and abuse as an Iraqi reconstruction problem, or a Halliburton problem, or even a defense problem. But really it's a contract administration and oversight problem.

The Tax Foundation's blog has an aggravating but typical post up. The basic claim is that spending has risen faster than tax revenues over the last 6 years. Therefore, it's spending that's out of balance, not revenues. So, implicitly, spending should be reduced to eliminate the deficit.

Reports this week of continued shady behavior by the new Administrator of the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan, have recently caught the eye of the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Henry Waxman (D-CA). Waxman launched an investigation into reports that Doan had steered no bid contracts to a company owned by a friend, Edie Fraiser.

In case you missed it this morning, OMB Watch released a statement responding to the president's State of the Union address last night. In short, we were unimpressed with Bush's empty rhetoric about fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets. Bush's Fiscal Policy Rhetoric Continues to Fall Short