RealClearInvestigations Articles

The Department of Agriculture’s Section 502 loan programs help low-income families buy homes with mortgages that don’t require a down payment. But in 2013, an investigation by Reuters found dozens of millionaires took advantage to purchase vacation and rental homes. Though the millionaires later repaid their loans, the program as a whole covered $500 million in losses from defaults in 2013, or $715 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...

New parents in California are likely to be inundated with so many free diapers that some will end up in the trash, according to an investigation from CBS News.  A new two-year, $18.7 million program will provide parents with 400 diapers in newborn size and size 1, which babies outgrow in just a few weeks to a few months. The program is run by Baby2Baby, a nonprofit whose co-CEO Norah Weinstein is on the board of First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom's California Partners Project. Baby2Baby was chosen over other nonprofits that offered more diaper sizes. Key facts: Gov. Gavin Newsom...

A “perfect storm” of convoluted bureaucracy caused Cook County, Illinois to spend 10 years and $63 million building a property tax billing software that did not work.  Because tax collection was delayed, Chicago Public Schools were forced to take a loan to stay operational, incurring $33 million in interest costs. Key facts: A July 21 report from the Cook County inspector general found that the contractor designing the tax billing software, Tyler Technologies, received conflicting information from three different government agencies involved with the project. The county...

A theater in downtown Denver has defaulted on its $400,000 taxpayer-backed loan without opening for a single show. The loan included $52,000 earmarked for rent, yet the theater was evicted because it paid only one month of rent, according to records obtained by 9NEWS. Key facts: Playwrights Blair Russell and Steve Wargo received the 3% interest, 13-year loan to open the Denver Immersive Repertory Theater. The city described it as the “world’s first resident immersive, theatrical production studio and venue,” in which audience members would be part of the plays. The money was...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the WeekAugust 9 to August 15   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 true crime reporter extraordinaire Valerie Bauerlein of the Wall Street Journal about her recent coverage of the Nancy Guthrie abduction, her book on the Alex Murdaugh murder case and her podcast on another South Carolina homicide, “Camp Swamp Road.”   Featured Investigation: How Hamas’ Attack on Israel Is Transforming American...

The Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023 requires federal buildings to use at least 60% of their office space. Only 21 of the DOT’s 189 buildings meet that benchmark. The DOT spends $370 million annually on rent and maintenance for its 168 underutilized buildings. Its 10 most expensive buildings are all underutilized. The largest building is the DOT’s Washington headquarters, which costs $72.1 million annually but is only 34% utilized.  The second-largest, the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters, costs another $56.3 million and is 33%...

In May 2013, the Army National Guard spent $10 million on a recruitment campaign tie-in with the upcoming “Man of Steel” Superman film. The expense was ill-timed. Just one month later, Congress ordered the National Guard to reduce staffing levels by 8,000 soldiers due to budget cuts. The money would be worth $14.5 million today. 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 taxpayer abuses.  Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from...

The most recent tax filings for A Step to Freedom show the nonprofit brings in more than $5 million annually, mostly from taxpayers, a large portion of which comes from the county. It’s used to operate six housing sites for roughly 200 people. For the past three years, the nonprofit bought food from two of CEO Kenya Croom’s other businesses at a daily cost of $18 per shelter resident.  Several residents criticized the meals. One said he found mold on sandwich bread, while others described the food as dry, bland or occasionally unavailable. Other residents said the meals...

The New York State Museum receives annual grant funding from the U.S. Geological Survey’s STATEMAP program, part of the Department of the Interior, which helps states map their geological features like mineral deposits and groundwater. The museum is required to match all the federal grant funds by paying the salaries of staff working on the map project. But in 2023, the museum’s former payroll administrator, Brian Slater, alleged he had been told to falsify the timesheets of employees who were actually working on other projects. Slater said he was told he “could be...

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in the Democrats’ U.S. Senate primary in Michigan last Tuesday was the latest sign of an emerging kingmaker in U.S. politics – a little-known super PAC that has tapped the wealth of a new cadre of Muslim-American mega-donors to support far-left candidates. Since it was launched just six months ago, American Priorities has channeled millions of dollars, primarily from donors with Arab, Muslim, and/or Middle Eastern backgrounds, to a string of winning candidates in high-profile races. Most of the entity-supported candidates are...

Hamas’ October 7 massacre has galvanized Israel’s critics in the United States, who have advocated for upending America’s historically close relationship with the Jewish state. Since 2023, this ostensibly anti-Zionist fervor has manifested itself in myriad ways, including in the creation of PACs, backed by wealthy Muslim-Americans and leftwing Democrats, to serve as self-styled counterweights to the influential pro-Israel group AIPAC. Established earlier this year, American Priorities (see article here) has emerged as the most well-funded and perhaps effective such group to...

The Air Force is spending $21 billion to upgrade the engines, communications systems, software, weapons and more on 76 of its B-52 bombers from the 1950s so they will be usable for several more decades. The new engines have been delayed almost four years because of an issue with their design, and their cost has risen by 38%. Upgraded radar systems are two years late and 30% over budget. Normally, the Air Force would build one prototype engine and test it in a B-52 to make sure it is operational. But to avoid further delays, officials plan to mass produce the engines before testing is...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the WeekAugust 2 to August 8 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 Aaron Shuster about his Tablet article “Entryism Comes to America,” which argues that the U.S. should follow France’s lead and have a serious inquiry into and discussion of what the rise of Islamism means for the nation’s prevailing culture and politics. On The Miller Report: Real Clear Journalism, Maggie Miller speaks with Dr. Andrew Bostom...

Topline: Bandit, Tater and Duck are the newest horses in Sheriff Chad Anderson’s mounted patrol unit in Bates County, Missouri. Silver and the Lone Ranger they are not.  The mounted patrol unit has only been used for law enforcement purposes in Bates County one time, a recent state audit found. Five horses were euthanized or sold in just a few years.  Taxpayers spent $110,123 to buy and care for the horses. Key facts: The patrol was established in July 2021 with two horses, Clementine and Stetson.  Waste of the Day 8.7.26 Open the Books Both were purchased from...

Topline: Individual commemorative postage stamps have never sold more than 517 million copies each. But in 2009, using arithmetic befitting Ralph Wiggum, the U.S. Postal Service decided to print 1 billion stamps featuring characters from “The Simpsons.”  The majority went unsold and were destroyed in 2012 once they became obsolete, wasting $1.2 million worth of printing expenses. The money would be worth $1.9 million today. That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a...

Topline: Maryland gave at least $319,000 in food stamps and other federally-funded benefits to prisoners, dead people, and a $2 million lottery winner. A July report from the state’s Office of Legislative Audits found Maryland has “no comprehensive process” to ensure only eligible recipients are approved for federal assistance. Even when computers flag questionable payments, the state takes months to investigate them. Key facts: The audit found a person who won a $2 million lottery prize in July 2023 but was still receiving benefits as recently as this February. Six others...

Topline: New York City’s bus depots and maintenance facilities are legally required to recycle their paper and cardboard, but it rarely happens. The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s inspector general visited 40 NYC Transit facilities and found that 21 of them mixed trash and recyclables together in the same dumpster. The other 19 facilities’ employees properly separated the material, but the company they hired to pick up the waste mixed it all together in the same truck. The inspector general estimates the city lost $800,000 over five years by unnecessarily paying to send...

Topline: Susan Noel, the former clerk and treasurer of the Town of Washington, Oklahoma, allegedly used public funds to buy a puppy, sofa, vacuum cleaner, electric dog clippers, and much more. Nearly a third of the small town’s spending in a four-year period was "fraudulent or unauthorized,” according to a new report by State Auditor Cindy Byrd, who called the scandal “the worst example of board oversight I have seen in my 29 years of government auditing experience.”  Key facts: The audit alleges that Noel stole $676,368 from the town from 2020 to 2024. That...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week July 26 to August 1   RCI Podcasts & Videos On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speaks with author Jim Rasenberger about his new work of history, “A Perfect Coincidence: The Extraordinary Friendship and Astonishing Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”.   On The Miller Report: Real Clear Journalism, Maggie Miller speaks with Vince Bielski about his recent RCI artcile reporting on Johns Hopkins University's plan to launch a School of Government and Policy...