WSJ Editorial Board's Pick-Me-Up

Bummed that Ford is going to stick it to UAW workers as its executives use forklifts to carry their compensation to the bank, I decided to turn to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal - always good for a laugh. And today's editorial, The World's Largest Tax Increase EverTM($), delivers. Congress has just lit a fuse for the biggest tax increase in history.

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"Turf Battle"

An article in the National Journal ($$) explains the position of OMB Watch in the struggle to get a grassroots lobbying disclosure provision in the House lobby reform bill that has yet to be introduced. An approach that strictly requires grassroots firms to disclose is discriminatory in that only one type of group is targeted. All who equally engage in grassroots lobbying should report, this way the public will benefit by getting the most useful information.

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GSA Chief Being Investigated

Via Think Progress, looks like the Office of Special Counsel has launched an investigation into GSA chief Lurita Doan's possible Hatch Act violations.

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Senate Eyes S. 396, Dorgan Anti-Tax Haven Measure

According a Deloitte Tax LLP report of March 26, Senate budget writers are looking at revenues generated by S. 396, an anti-tax haven bill introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), to help pay for the budget resolution.

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The Magic of the Health Care Market

A just-released study found that a widely implemented, expensive technology to improve mammograms has been a resounding failure. The Chicago Tribune: The study is the latest development in the debate over the usefulness of screening mammograms, which are recommended for all women over 40. Regular mammography has been shown to reduce breast cancer deaths, especially in women older than 50. But the test is imperfect -- it misses up to 20 percent of cancers and often catches things that are not cancer, requiring worrisome and expensive follow-up.

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Double Standard in Evaluating Government at OMB

There was an interesting article in Government Executive magazine yesterday about measuring cost savings of federal jobs that are opened to public-private competitions. The specifics of the policies being developed by OMB and others within the federal government are quite complex, but one particular passage from the article references a statement from Office of Management and Budget Associate Administrator Mathew Blum that was moderately infuriating and still has me scratching my head:

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Exorbitant Executive Pay AfFORDable...

...health care for workers, not so much. Reporting on Ford Motor Co's latest SEC filing, the Wall Street Journal informs us ($): [Ford's] top seven executives received compensation valued at more than $62 million in 2006, even as the 104-year-old auto maker posted a record $12.6 billion net loss for the year. ... [CEO Alan ] Mulally received a $666,667 salary, an $18.5 million bonus, options awards valued at $8.68 million, and other compensation for items such as use of a corporate aircraft and relocation costs.

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SCHIP Outreach Being Curtailed

State Medicaid administrators have been telling state children's health insurance programs (SCHIP) to back off outreach efforts, Inside CMS ($) reports today. The crux of the issue is that when SCHIP programs do outreach, they tend to find and sign up children and adults not only for SCHIP, but for Medicaid, as well.

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General International Info

Council on Foundations and European Foundation Centre Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy April 2007 Abstract: Humanitarianism and the Muslim World

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District Court Rules Restrictions On North Carolina Nonprofit Unconstitutional

A federal district court ruled that a North Carolina law requiring any association of two or more people to be a PAC and therefore subject to reporting requirements of its communications, to be unconstitutional. The case, involving North Carolina Right to Life (North Carolina Right to Life, Inc. et al. v. Leake) came before the Supreme Court in 2004 but was sent back to the lower courts. The Supreme Court instructed the district court to take into account the ruling in McConnell v. FEC.

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