National labor union gave $180K to nonprofit for ‘political activity’ during Oct. 2012

By   /  May 17, 2013  /  Accountability, Issues, News, Pennsylvania  /  No Comments

money-limit

 
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A nonprofit running ads attacking Gov. Tom Corbett received at least $180,000 last year from a powerful national labor union.
Pennsylvanians for Accountability, a Pittsburgh-based “social welfare nonprofit” is exploiting a loophole in state campaign finance laws to avoid filing reports on donations and expenditures. In addition to their attacks [...]

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For a fee: Measure aims to protect WI taxpayers

By   /  May 16, 2013  /  Accountability, Featured, Legislature, Local Government, News, Property Taxes, Tax Reform, Taxes, Taxes versus Fees, Wisconsin  /  1 Comment

A measure put into Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget prohibits municipalities from charging fees for services previously financed with property taxes, unless there is a corresponding property tax cut.

It may be back to the drawing board for Wisconsin officials who want to exceed their local spending authority.

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Right and left oppose Common Core standards in PA

By   /  May 14, 2013  /  Accountability, Education, Featured, Issues, News, Pennsylvania, State Government  /  No Comments

PASS THE TEST: A new test will determine whether high school students can graduate, but the standards used for those assessments is raising some questions.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent

HARRISBURG – They don’t always agree on education policy, but when they do, it’s to oppose an unfunded mandate on school districts.

The implementation of the so-called Common Core standards in Pennsylvania public schools is facing united opposition from teachers unions and tea party groups – two political factions that rarely, if ever, play on the same team.

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Walker, Jindal in letter to Obama call IRS scandal ‘Big Brother come to life’

By   /  May 14, 2013  /  Accountability, Censorship, Ethics, Featured, Federal Government, News, Politics, Scott Walker, Wisconsin  /  14 Comments

IRS

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON – As he prepared for his meeting Tuesday morning with the peaceful Dalai Lama in Madison, Gov. Scott Walker packed a rhetorical punch in a letter he and fellow Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana penned demanding President Obama call for a special prosecutor to investigate the Internal Revenue [...]

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NM governor to bureaucrats: no audit, no funding

By   /  May 13, 2013  /  Accountability, New Mexico, News, State Government, State Politics  /  No Comments

This is a photo of New Mexico's Roundhouse.

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – Government entities be warned: Fail to submit an audit to the state and say good-bye to some of that state money you want.
Earlier this month, Gov. Susana Martinez issued an executive order barring any governmental entity that isn’t up to date on its audits from receiving [...]

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