POGO – “This week, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released a supplement to its January 2015 quarterly report to Congress. The supplement comes after the Pentagon’s change of heart about keeping secret a large quantity of data about the Afghan military and police. As SIGAR reported in January, the U.S. has spent… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: March 2015
Most Say Government Policies Since Recession Have Done Little to Help Middle Class, Poor
Pew – Partial Recovery Seen in Jobs, Household Incomes: “The public makes sharp distinctions about which groups have benefited – and which have not – from the economic policies the government has put in place since the start of the recession. Majorities say that large banks, large corporations and the wealthy have been helped a… Continue Reading
Annual Report to Congress: Federal Information Security Management Act
Annual Report to Congress, February 27, 2015: “As cyber threats continue to evolve, the Federal Government is embarking on a number of initiatives to protect Federal information and assets and improve the resilience of Federal networks. OMB, in coordination with its partners at the National Security Council (NSC), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and… Continue Reading
Economic Census Reveals Sharp Growth in Value of Shipments for Oil and Gas Extraction Industry
“The U.S. Census Bureau released figures today from the Economic Census showing that the value of shipments for the nation’s crude petroleum and natural gas extraction (NAICS 211111) industry climbed 28.9 percent between 2007 and 2012, despite only an 8.5 percent increase in the number of establishments over the same period. Value of shipments rose… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Defense Science and Technology, Drug Shortages, Government Efficiency and Effectiveness, Healthcare.gov, Indian Irrigation Projects, Motor Carrier Safety, Whistleblower Protection
Defense Science and Technology: Further DOD and DOE Actions Needed to Provide Timely Conference Decisions and Analyze Risks from Changes in Participation, GAO-15-278: Published: Mar 4, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 4, 2015. Drug Shortages: Better Management of the Quota Process for Controlled Substances Needed; Coordination between DEA and FDA Should Be Improved, GAO-15-202: Published: Feb… Continue Reading
DOJ Announces Findings of Two Civil Rights Investigations in Ferguson, Missouri
News release: “The Justice Department announced the findings of its two civil rights investigations related to Ferguson, Missouri, today. The Justice Department found that the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. The Justice Department also announced that the… Continue Reading
Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District – 3/4/2015
Beige Book – “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that economic activity continued to expand across most regions and sectors from early January through mid-February. Six Districts noted that the local economy expanded at a moderate pace since the prior reporting period. Activity rose modestly in Philadelphia and Cleveland, while it increased slightly… Continue Reading
WSJ – Takeaways from the 2009 Fed Transcripts
WSJ.com – “Federal Reserve officials spent 2009 worrying about the worst U.S. economic downturn they had seen in their lives, the weakness of the nascent recovery and the uncertainties surrounding their policy options. The transcripts released Wednesday of their policy meetings that year add some interesting new details to this picture, though no big surprises. We pored through them so… Continue Reading
U.S. Bicycling Participation Benchmarking Report
“When PeopleForBikes launched 16 years ago as Bikes Belong, we established the mission of “getting more people riding bikes, more often.” This goal remains central in all of our work today. As we’ve grown, and as we’ve evaluated the progress of our key projects, we’ve often been frustrated by not being able to confidently answer… Continue Reading
IMF Releases Updated Guidelines for Compiling Fiscal Statistics
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released today the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014), providing updated international guidance for the compilation, reporting, and analytical use of government finance (fiscal) statistics (GFS). The GFS guidelines are the basis for fiscal analysis, and play a vital role in the development and monitoring of sound fiscal… Continue Reading
Justice Department Criminal Charges Against David Petraeus
“Justice Department Spokesman Marc Raimondi released the following statement Tuesday: “Three documents – a criminal Information, a plea agreement, and a statement of facts – were filed today in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina’s Charlotte Division in the case of United States v. David Howell Petraeus. The criminal… Continue Reading
Algorithm Aversion: People Erroneously Avoid Algorithms after Seeing Them Err
Dietvorst, Berkeley J. and Simmons, Joseph P. and Massey, Cade, Algorithm Aversion: People Erroneously Avoid Algorithms after Seeing Them Err (July 6, 2014). Forthcoming in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2466040 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2466040 “Research shows that evidence-based algorithms more accurately predict the future than do human forecasters. Yet, when forecasters… Continue Reading
