Dispatches: Scott Pruitt and His Many Scandals
News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.
Taxpayers
Price's Firing Isn't About 'Draining the Swamp.' It's About Embarrassing Trump
It was Price's hypocrisy—not his malfeasance—that did him in.
The Cost of a Cure
Medicare’s spending on drugs to treat hepatitis C soared more than 15-fold from 2013 to 2014 as new breakthroughs came to the market, according to previously undisclosed federal data. The drugs cure the disease, but taxpayers are footing the bill.
The Cost of Juvenile Incarceration
States pay hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to keep each juvenile offender behind bars. A new report calculates that long-term costs of incarceration could add up to $21 billion annually.
Paying Taxes Makes You Feel Good
New research suggests that, while we’d rather keep the money, we do derive some benefit from paying our taxes.
Tax Receipt Would Show How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent
If Americans saw exactly how their specific tax dollars were being allocated, would it change the substance or tenor of discussions on, say, the debt ceiling?
Government Programs Help Many Who Don't Realize It
A welter of tax credits, breaks and incentives help Americans out in ways they don't understand or appreciate. This ignorance could have real consequences in debates about tax reform and deficit reduction.
Succor. Succor in the Court.
There's a problem with problem-solving courts: Taxpayers don't understand how well they work.