RealClearInvestigations Articles

Topline: Tax delinquency among recipients of federal subsidies is an under-investigated source of fiscal waste, but the Government Accountability Office published a landmark study on the issue back in 2012. Medical providers in Florida, New York and Texas with unpaid taxes were found to have received $6.6 billion in Medicaid reimbursements during fiscal year 2009, or $10.3 billion in today’s money.  One couple that owned a nursing business was even able to buy a new home while their company owed $3 million in taxes. That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting...

Topline: Michael Boaz, the former town manager of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, made hundreds of unauthorized purchases on his city credit card from 2022 to 2024, including bullets and a hotel for his family vacation, according to a state audit released in May. Boaz was fired in 2024 when the allegations first came to light. Now that a state audit confirmed the questionable purchases, he has been indicted for felony embezzlement.  Key facts: Boaz’ questionable purchases totaled $18,426, much of which was spent on food. He spent $12,897 at pizzerias, barbecue restaurants, an...

Topline: A Maryland state audit identified 16 issues with the management of Baltimore City Community College, including $20 million of missing inventory, payments to potential “ghost students,” and an employee receiving paychecks four years after they left their job. Key facts: According to the audit, more than 26,000 laptops and other “sensitive items” were unaccounted for in the college’s most recent inventory count in 2023. The college made no attempt to find the items and did not follow a legal requirement to report the incident to the state, the audit...

Topline: California is using federal Medicaid funds for Native American shamans to treat drug and alcohol addiction with drum circles, spiritual dances and herbal medicine. The “Traditional Healers” program was first approved under President Joe Biden in October 2024 but continues today in 21 medical centers, according to an investigation by the Washington Free Beacon. Shamans are reimbursed up to $801 for each “treatment.” One of the most recent contracts went to the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic for $2.1 million in March.  The total dollar cost is unclear...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week June 7 to June 13   RCI Podcasts & Videos On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Joel Kotkin about his recent article for RCI, "The Strage Afterlife of Fascism," about how and why an ideology that peaked in the 1920s and 30s has become a fighting buzzword in contemporary politics.  On the Miller Report: RealClear Journalism, Maggie Miller speaks with David Rosner, Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), about...

Topline: The Village of Cuba, New Mexico, has had “a sustained and indefensible breakdown in accountability over public funds” since at least 2020, according to a state audit released in May. The report identified dozens of issues, including a public official with $11,471 in unpaid water bills and another who used public funds to buy a Subaru Crosstrek without approval.  Key facts: Auditors found the village never implemented proper processes to monitor its payroll, bank accounts, credit cards, or employee sick leave. There were not enough staff to perform “basic...

Topline: Most bus stops consist of a bench and some plexiglass but, in 2012, the City of Grants Pass, OR ,decided that wasn’t good enough. The mayor used federal funds on expertly designed bus shelters “with public art to make them an interesting and attractive place — something that was truly unique to the City of Grants Pass.” The city quickly had buyers’ remorse after realizing that burdensome federal grant regulations would drive up the cost, but it was too late. Five bus stops were built at a cost of $388,000, or $570,000 in today’s...

Topline: Starbucks is getting a “venti” sized handout from the State of Tennessee to build a new corporate office in Nashville. The company will receive $30 million in economic development grants funded by taxpayers. Key facts: The deal comes with several benefits for Tennessee. Starbucks says the office will create up to 2,000 jobs and represent a $100 million capital investment. The state told Channel 5 Nashville the grant contract has a legal clause allowing Tennessee to recoup its money if Starbucks fails to deliver on its promises, though the full details are not...

Topline: The company renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being paid $850,000 more than the typical amount for comparable federal contracting work, according to a report from The New York Times. The vendor was paid a premium for “accepting a difficult job on a tight deadline,” and the government never checked to see if another company would be cheaper. Key facts: Federal construction projects typically have profit margins of 6 to 12%, but Atlantic Industrial Coatings will make 20% profit for its work on the reflecting pool. The total taxpayer cost will be $13.1...

Bill Gates has long been one of the most admired people in the world, especially since he stepped down from his role running Microsoft to devote himself and much of his fortune to philanthropy. That reputation has been tarnished recently, however, by revelations of the billionaire’s close relation with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and exposés on his own fraught relationships with women. When Bill Gates stepped down as Microsoft's CEO in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation started that year with an endowment of $20 billion which became his prime source of...

Topline: Lifeguarding in Los Angeles County is not just a way to soak up some sun at the beach. It’s one of the most lucrative public sector jobs in America. Thirty-eight lifeguards each made more than $300,000 in salary and benefits in 2025, according to payroll records obtained by Open the Books. The highest-paid was chief lifeguard Fernando Boiteux, who made $568,049. Key facts: Most of the top-paid lifeguards were employed by the fire department to work at Los Angeles’ largest beaches. The 164 full-time employees — those enrolled in a pension plan — made $41.2...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week May 31 to June 6   RCI Podcasts & Videos On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Andrew G. Bostom – whose books include “The Legacy of Jihad” and “The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism” – about how Shariah law differs from U.S. jurisprudence and the extent to which it reflects the values and aims of American Muslims. In The Miller Report: Real Clear Journalism, Maggie Miller sits down with Scott Tinker,...

Topline: President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion budget request for the military is by far the largest in U.S. history, but under a law passed during Trump’s first administration, the Pentagon is required to tell Congress it’s too low. The Army, Navy and Air Force submitted unfunded priority lists totaling $3 billion for fiscal year 2027, according to Breaking Defense. Often referred to as “wish lists,” the reports ask Congress to fund additional items not included in the president’s budget request. Key facts: The Pentagon began submitting wish lists in the...

Alessandra Coote was walking on a trail with her 2-year-old daughter and dog two-and-a-half years ago when a man began yelling at her and threatened to kill her dog. When the petite single mom made it back to her Utah home, she decided she needed a firearm for protection. A few months later, while living in what she described as a “shady part of town,” a homeless man threatened her. After that encounter, she began regularly carrying a firearm under Utah’s Constitutional Carry law. Coote, who just graduated this spring from the University of Utah, says carrying the gun has...

Topline: The National Science Foundation does not usually advance its mission through musical theater, but officials once thought it necessary to spend $697,000 on a play about climate change and biodiversity. “The Great Immensity” ran for a month in Kansas City in 2012, and then for just one week in New York City in 2014. The NSF funding would be worth $1 million in today’s money. That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and...

Topline: The taxpayer-funded San Francisco Zoo “does not have a healthy or stable financial condition,” according to a city audit released in May. The zoo has no written plans or budgets to guide its construction projects, and spent $12 million on them without city approval. Employees are also allegedly hiring their friends and relatives as contractors. Key facts: The zoo is required to get approval from San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Commission before paying more than $50,000 for a construction project. But employees never did so while spending millions on a new...

There’s hardly a ruler in the world who would identify as fascist, but if you trust the mainstream media, you will assume fascism is on the march. Mentions of the term have skyrocketed ever since Donald Trump emerged from the land of chandeliers; fascist mentions on cable reached unprecedented levels in the run-up to the 2024 election. Now, almost anything Trump does – from cracking down on illegal immigration to proposing construction of a victory arch – is seen by the Washington Post and others as fascist. Tellingly, the term has not just been...

Topline: The New York City Department of Education has spent $5 billion on rent to private landlords for school buildings since 2010 — including many that are vacant — a New York Post investigation found. Many of them are overpriced, and 28 preschools have sat empty for five years while the city continues to pay rent. Key facts: The city ordinarily owns its own school buildings, but $235.6 million was paid in rent to private landlords in 2024 alone, The Post reported. The city has paid more than $48 million since 2006 to rent a building in Queens that houses three high schools. It...

Topline: Maine’s largest ski resort has yet to pay back $153,000 in taxpayer money it received years ago to build a dam that never materialized. Franklin County officials recently voted to “lawyer up” and "aggressively" pursue repayment, according to the Maine Monitor. Key facts: The Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel started building a dam and reservoir at the Carrabassett River in 2018. During winters with little natural snowfall, the reservoir could be used to create snow and keep the resort’s skiing business going. Franklin County agreed to finance the project in 2020 to...