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If you want to see where a little bit of your $833 billion stimulus went, head south from St. Louis on Interstate 44 until you reach the Mark Twain National Forest. On March 13, 2009, less than a month after President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, the federal government awarded $462,912.30 to a Spokane, Washington, construction firm called CXT Incorporated to build and install 22 “precast concrete toilets” in the park. These bunker-style commodes did not add to the number of bathrooms in the forest; they replaced existing toilets that didn’t meet Forest Service...

Setting up insurance exchanges — the centerpiece of President Obama's healthcare reform law — is costing the Health and Human Services Department a whole lot more than it originally expected. According to budget documents released Wednesday, the department expects to spend $4.4 billion on exchange grants to the states by the end of this year — double its estimates a year ago. The HHS is also asking Congress for another $1.5 billion to set up a federal exchange in 26 states. The department has cobbled together money from other programs to get started, but officials said they need another $800...

Environment Colorado, also known as the Colorado chapter of the National Association of the Irony Challenged, is to release a report this week about how global warming – keep that word “warming” in mind – is endangering Colorado. ... The junior geniuses at Environment Colorado had planned to unveil their map about global warming at a really big press conference – but something unexpected occurred. The press conference was canceled and the map is to be unveiled via a telephone conference because of, wait for it … oh yes, you did indeed see this coming: No press conference because of...

Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at a much slower than expected rate in the month of March, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday. The ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 51.3 in March from 54.2 in February, although a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the manufacturing sector. While the index pointed to the fourth consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing sector, economists had expected a much more modest decrease to a reading of 54.0. Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital, said, "This could be the...

WASHINGTON—Millions of people who take advantage of government subsidies to help buy health insurance next year could get stung by surprise tax bills if they don't accurately project their income. President Barack Obama's new health care law will offer subsidies to help people buy private health insurance on state-based exchanges, if they don't already get coverage through their employers. The subsidies are based on income. The lower your income, the bigger the subsidy

<p>The number of Americans designated as "not in the labor force" in February was 89,304,000, a record high, up from 89,008,000 in January, according to the Department of Labor. This means that the number of Americans not in the labor force increased 296,000 between January and February.</p>

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting some traction in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 4,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 360,000. Claims have seen large swings in recent months because of difficulties smoothing the data for seasonal fluctuations, making it hard to get a clear pulse of the labor market's...

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but still remained at levels consistent with a steady improvement in labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to rise to 355,000. The increase in claims last week pushed them toward the upper end of their range for this year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to a continued steady improvement in labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 360,000. A Labor Department analyst said claims for Illinois and snowstorm-hit Connecticut had been estimated. Nevertheless, because most claims are filed online, the blizzard that slammed...

Just a little midweek, midday roundup of a few of the most recent ways in which the Affordable Care Act is just not going according to plan. “Unexpectedly,” of course.The House Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Energy and Commerce Committees have teamed up on a new report called the “ObamaCare Burden Tracker,” meant to function as “a real-time online resource to help the public keep track of all of the new government mandates, rules, and red tape as a result of ObamaCare.” Every hour and dollar spent complying with the Democrats’ health care law are time and resources...

It is a well-known fact that nobody in Congress ever reads, or even skims, any law, and especially not the fine print, it passes until long after it has been enacted into law. It appears the same is just as true for the biggest pillar of support for the Obama administration: America's labor unions, whose liberal vote every election is instrumental to preserving the outflow side of America's welfare state. As it turns out, it was the same labor unions who enthusiastically supported the primary accomplishment of the Obama administration in the past 4 years, Obamacare, only to realize, long...

Two surprises happened yesterday (NOT!)(1) The latest economic data reveals the already crappy economy continued to get crappier in the 4th quarter of 2012. (But wait but wait, the Democrat-media complex kept telling us the economy was getting better! And if you believed that tripe, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.)You know who was surprised? Associated Press and the "experts" they interviewed. But people actually paying attention weren't surprised in the least. In fact, some have been predicting it ever since President Golden Calf got into office. Here's El Rushbo on yesterday's show citing the aforementioned AP: [Y]ou...

The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus.

Apparently, the shrikage is largely the result of a big hit in defense spending. Other one time factors also played a role. From Associated Press: _____________________ The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter and the first contraction since the second quarter of 2009. Economists said the surprise decrease in the nation's gross domestic product wasn't as bad as it looked. The weakness was primarily the result of one-time factors. Government spending cuts and...

Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over. And the situation is even worse than it appears. Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market. What's more, these jobs aren't just being lost to China and other developing countries, and they aren't just factory work. Increasingly, jobs are disappearing in the service sector, home to two-thirds of all workers ... this "hollowing out" of the middle-class...

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - A fall of 6.4 points in November was registered by the Consumer Confidence indicator released by the Conference Board. Data fell from 75.1 (revised from 73.7) to 65.1, coming much lower than the expected 70.3.

It’s a lucky thing for Tesla Motors shareholders that the U.S. Department of Energy loves the company’s loan applications. Without the hundreds of millions of dollars has received from the federal government this year, the electric-car maker’s financials would be gasping for air as 2012 winds down. Given the ugly state of Tesla’s finances — and the company’s sky-high valuation: almost $4 billion — it will rank among the top candidates in Silicon Valley for a 2013 stock collapse, unless it receives significantly more cash next year. The Palo Alto, Calif., company’s financials are, in fact, in worse shape even...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000 in the week ended Dec. 1, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the third straight decline and lowest reading in one month. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 395,000 from an original reading of 393,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, edged up by 2,250 to 408,000. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly data and is seen as a more accurate barometer of...

U.S. private-sector employers added 118,000 jobs in November shy of economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 125,000 jobs. October's private payrolls were revised slightly down to an increase of 157,000 f rom the previously reported 158,000.

<p>U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in November, falling to its lowest in over three years in a sign the sector may be struggling to gain traction, according to an industry report released on Monday.</p> <p>The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to 49.5 in November from 51.7 the month before. The reading was shy of expectations of 51.3, according to a Reuters poll of economists.</p>