Free Republic

Today, members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gutted the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As of this afternoon, all staff members have been placed on administrative leave. They received a letter from the Director of Human Resources that the leave would be paid for 90 days and that no one will be allowed on IMLS property during that time... The union representing IMLS staff, AFGE Local 3403, indicated that the decision to fire staff came after a short meeting between DOGE and IMLS leadership. Everyone working at IMLS was required to return government property before exiting...

Norway's state treasury is set to overflow, local analysts claim. Some think the price of North Sea crude oil will hit USD 130 a barrel, pumping even more "petrokroner" into the state budget and giving politicians few excuses to limit its use. Norway's oil and gas industry is hotter than ever, but many Norwegians complain that government services are nonetheless declining. Some grades of crude oil hit USD 111 a barrel this week, before easing on Friday. The North Sea Brent crude that's been pumping up Norway's economy for years was being traded at just over USD 107 a barrel...

Shoes off at airport security checkpoints. Forms that are hard to understand. Complaints that go unheeded. Perhaps it's no surprise that a new survey shows Americans are less satisfied with government services than those provided by the private sector. The survey, scheduled for release today, measures an array of federal programs and services for the American Customer Satisfaction Index, produced by the University of Michigan and other groups. The government scored 67.8 on the index's 100-point scale. The score was lower than the overall score for all industries and economic sectors, by 7.4 points, and below the index's rating for...

Have you ever noticed that when someone says that a government service or program is for the common good, it is rarely good for you or your family? In most cases, you end up footing the bill for someone else's benefit. There are thousands of examples. Listed below are some of them. - Millions of taxpayers pay for a light-rail system that they will never use, because it is supposedly for the common good. - Tourists pay a special stadium tax on rental cars and hotel rooms for stadiums that they will never use, because it is supposedly for the...

London's population is set to rise to 8.1m by 2016, putting massive pressure on public services, says a report by the capital's mayor, Ken Livingstone, today.The 700,000 increase - about half a million more people than official government estimates - is the equivalent to London absorbing a city the size of Leeds. The forecast, made in Planning for London's Growth, a report commissioned by Mr Livingstone, will fuel the mayor's campaign for extra government investment in the city.The figures are higher than the 7.6m people predicted in the 1996 office for national statistics figures used by the government. Without adequate...