Federal Disbursement Services (FDS): The Federal Disbursement Services provides payment services for more than 250+ federal agencies. Your federal income tax refunds; Social Security benefits; Supplemental Security income; Railroad Retirement Board benefits; veteran’s pay, pension, and education benefits all come from the Federal Disbursement Services. Payments to federal workers, vendors, and grantees also come from… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Financial System
Trump firings tee up broader legal clash over congressional power
Roll Call: “President Donald Trump’s firing of inspectors general and independent agency board members in the last week sets up another major legal clash over Congress’ power to put limits on the removal of federal officials, experts said. Since Friday, Trump removed more than a dozen inspectors general and Democratic members of the Equal Employment… Continue Reading
It’s pretty easy to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, actually
Pluralistic: “If Elon Musk wants to cut $2t from the US federal budget, there’s a pretty straightforward way to get there – just eliminate all the beltway bandits who overcharge Uncle Sucker for everything from pharmaceuticals to roadworks to (of course) rockets, and then make the rich pay their taxes. There is a ton of… Continue Reading
Impoundment Explainer
House Committee on the Budget – Impoundment Explainer, November 22, 2024 Fact Sheet Download Document Reports & Documents Budget Basics Focus on Function Letters Ranking Member Boyle’s Statement – “The legal theories being pushed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are as idiotic as they are dangerous,” said Ranking Member Boyle. “Unilaterally slashing funds that… Continue Reading
A Primer on the Impoundment Control Act
LawFare – “Refusals to undertake required spending are already a major theme of Trump’s second term, but the law limits such executive action. During his 2024 campaign, President Trump indicated that he planned to “restore executive branch impoundment authority to cut waste, stop inflation, and crush the Deep State.” Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to lead… Continue Reading
Inflation Reduction Act Tracker
“The Sabin Center and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are relaunching the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker (IRA Tracker) with added functionality and analysis. The IRA Tracker is an interactive tool designed to help users understand the climate change-related provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The website includes a database with summaries of the… Continue Reading
House G.O.P. Floats Medicaid Cuts and More to Finance Trump’s Huge Agenda
The New York Times: “President Trump wants a massive tax cut and immigration crackdown bill. Now Republicans must decide what to cut to help pay for it. Top Republicans are passing around an extensive menu of ideas to cover the cost of a massive tax cut and immigration crackdown bill. They could create a 10… Continue Reading
What Trump Did on Day 1: Executive Orders
“Here are list of the most significant moves the president made on Day 1. unpaywalled New York Times – [Note – All Presidential actions are published here] Mr. Trump issued a sweeping grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, issuing… Continue Reading
FTC Surveillance Pricing Study – Wide Range of Personal Data Used to Set Individualized Consumer Prices
“The agency details interim insights from staff perspective examining how companies track consumer behaviors to inform surveillance pricing. The Federal Trade Commission’s initial findings from its surveillance pricing market study revealed that details like a person’s precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same… Continue Reading
Top financial watchdog warns climate change set to trigger market panics
Financial Times – “Basel-based FSB says damage caused by floods, droughts and fires threatens broader pullback in lending, “The world’s financial stability watchdog has warned that disasters caused by climate change are increasingly likely to trigger broader panic in financial markets. The world breached 1.5C of warming above preindustrial levels for the first time last… Continue Reading
Toyota exposed as major funder of climate change deniers
Raw Story: “Nearly three decades after its introduction, the hybrid Toyota Prius is still associated with environmental action and the scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions, including those from vehicles, must be reduced to avoid the worst effects of planetary heating. But a Tuesday report from watchdog group Public Citizen reveals how Toyota has spent… Continue Reading
AI in Finance and Banking, January 15, 2025
Via LLRX – AI in Finance and Banking, January 15, 2025 – This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, conferences, industry white papers and reports, academic papers and speeches, and central bank actions on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological… Continue Reading
