Straight Talk On Trade: Ideas For A Sane World Economy
“The Congressional Pig Book is CAGW’s annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. A “pork” project is a line-item in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures. To qualify as pork, a project must meet one of seven criteria that were developed in 1991 by CAGW and the Congressional Porkbusters Coalition….It should come as no surprise that the dam burst on earmarks in fiscal year (FY) 2018. Congress had set the stage for a significant increase in every category of spending when the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2018 was approved on February 8, 2018. This legislation obliterated the spending caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) and increased spending by $143 billion, or 13.4 percent, in FY 2018 compared to FY 2017…”
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Pork Hall of Shame
Skill vs luck: who really deserves the rewards from success?
VIEWPOINT: Distinguishing performance from luck is an important problem when we need to know whether a successful person should be trusted and rewarded for his or her success
Why making e-health opt-out was always a risky venture
The sudden rush to opt out of e-health records this week amid a groundswell of delayed-action privacy concerns demonstrates that governments have to be very careful about how and when they use the most powerful nudge of all.
American Democracy in Crisis: The Challenges of Voter Knowledge, Participation, and Polarization – PPRI – Alex Vandermaas-Peeler, Daniel Cox, PhD, Molly Fisch-Friedman, Rob Griffin, PhD, Robert P. Jones, PhD, 07.17.2018
Cass Sunstein’s Bill of Rights for Nudging
The former White House official has five principles that aim to define most of the no-go areas for ethical government interventions.
More open data, greater transparency and layout changes added to the Financial Secrecy Index
Country by country reports: why “automatic” is no replacement for “public”
Government Reorganization: Key Questions to Assess Agency Reform Efforts GAO-18-427: Published: Jun 13, 2018. Publicly Released: Jul 13, 2018.
“A March 2017 executive order requiring executive branch agency reorganization is intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness. If it works, it could save billions of dollars—but similar reform efforts in the past have not always come to fruition. Our prior work on government reform indicates that agencies can change if they follow an effective process allocate sufficient implementation resources consider workforce needs during and after the reform In this report, we provide questions that Congress can ask in its critical oversight role to determine whether agencies are on track for effective change.”
The New Gold Rush for Green Bonds Governing
Fred B. Brown (Baltimore), Proposing a Single, Simpler Test for Cash Equivalency, 71 Tax Law. 543 (2018):
Under
the cash method of accounting, generally taxpayers include income items
that are received in the form of cash, checks, and property, in the
year in which they are received. Under the cash equivalency doctrine, a
promise to pay an amount in the future, even though it is a property
right, generally will be included upon receipt only if the promise to
pay constitutes a cash equivalent.
Whether
an obligation is a cash equivalent is generally determined based on
common law standards developed by the courts with some assistance from
the Service. As a consequence, the current approach to cash equivalency
suffers from the lack of a uniform standard. There is also uncertainty
in applying the particular tests, given the fact-intensive, imprecise
inquiry that is required. In addition, the current standards for cash
equivalency may also present liquidity difficulties for taxpayers.
To
address these problems, this article proposes a single test for
determining whether an obligation calling for future payments is a cash
equivalent
Spotlight falls on e-health agency as it embraces its moment of truth
The government's former digital boss has sharply criticised the digital health agency for 'not learning from history' as the campaign to ensure the survival of the My Health Record system has its moment of truth.
Full-scale political row erupts over the merit of three APS appointments
VERONA BURGESS: Three key Australian Public Service appointments raise the flag on the tricky question of merit.
‘Difficult to conclude’: impact of cashless debit card trial
There's no way of knowing if the cashless debit card is having a positive impact due to poor evaluation, says an ANAO report ‒ but the minister believes the report shows everything is "on track".
Unlimited paid annual leave seems tempting, but is it a gimmick?
"A new trend has some companies offering unlimited paid annual leave to all employees — but does it work or will people rort the system?" (ABC)
Why it is difficult to call consultant reports ‘independent’
"There is no such a service as an ‘independent report’ from a consulting firm." (AFR)
Four-day working week trial a success, but didn't work for everyone
"NZ company's eight-week trial of a shorter working week was generally a success - but not everyone was able to adapt." (The Age)