Remember that airline commercial that asks “Want to get away?” In the Internet age, there is no getting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous, or just plain bad idea.
Ding-dong tax 1| Stimulus grant to study new levy The details: The National Institutes of Health gave a $1 million stimulus grant to two Cornell professors to study the possibility of a tax on junk food. The so-called “ding-dong tax study” wastes taxpayers’ money even as it promises to levy new taxes against them in the future. Crashers get crashed 2| Stunt draws spotlight The details: Tareq and Michelle Salahi, who famously crashed a state dinner at the White House, have subsequently come under scrutiny from Virginia investigators for allegedly running a charity that for some time was not registered with the state. Jobless recovery? 3| Labor force plummets The details: Unemployment fell from 10.2 to 10 percent in November, but only because labor force participation fell to its lowest level in nearly 24 years. The economy lost 11,000 jobs, but 100,000 fewer people were seeking work, and this caused the unemployment rate to fall. Reviving the death tax 4| House Dems make it permanent The details: House Democrats voted this week to make the inheritance and gift tax – also known as the “death tax” – permanent. Under the Bush tax plan of 2001, that tax was to be eliminated next year, but because the tax cuts were temporary it would have reappeared in 2011. The Democrats’ bill restores the tax for 2010 and makes it permanent for 2011 and beyond. 5| Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., under ethics investigation The details: Thompson is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. When the committee tried to regulate credit card companies outside its purview, Thompson’s staffers cried foul, going public with accusations Thompson was squeezing credit card companies for donations. Another crash 6| NTSB expands Metro probe The details: The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the June 22 Metro crash that killed nine people, expanded its probe to include an early morning crash on Nov. 29. A six-car train ran into another one parked at Metro’s Northern Virginia rail yard, injuring three employees and causing “significant” damage to all 12 cars that could cost the financially struggling transit agency $36 million. Speaking of Metro … 7| Transit agency rehires drivers The details: Twenty-nine Metro bus and train operators who were fired for talking or texting on their cell phones while driving have been reinstated, despite General Manager John Catoe’s promise in July that they would be terminated. Union officials say the firings were a violation of their collective bargaining agreement because the contract does not consider cell phone use while operating a train or bus as a serious infraction. Jobless in MontCo 8| County’s unemployment rate doubles The details: Tanking real estate prices, vacant commercial space, faltering revenues and a projected $608 million budget gap are not the only financial problems buffeting Montgomery County, the wealthiest jurisdiction in Maryland. The county’s unemployment rate hit 5.3 percent this year. That’s half the national rate, but double what it was last year. Housing scam 9| Audit finds major problems The details: An audit of the $44 million in federal housing funds Prince George’s County has received since 1992 found insufficient documentation for 14 of 15 nonprofit groups certified by the county. Missing progress reports and expense receipts were also reported in more than half of the affordable housing projects that received the federal funds. County officials acknowledged the problem and promised to do better next time. Carjacked 10| Senator’s daughter victimized The details: Julia Corker, the 22-year-old daughter of Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was forced out of her sport utility vehicle at a red light near the Verizon Center by two men who asked her for directions just a few blocks from police headquarters. The victim, who was dragged out of her Chevy Tahoe by her neck, was slightly injured. Her assailants were arrested when a GPS signal led police to the stolen vehicle in Seat Pleasant.
