Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

By Christopher Harper

At a time when it is virtually impossible to find a publication that engages in serious investigative journalism, PJ Media highlights one of the best of all time.

Adam Andrzejewski and OpenTheBooks.com provide an ongoing view of government waste and misconduct.

As a former investigative reporter, I commend the operation, whose motto is “Every Dime. Online. In Real Time.” OTB also encourages its readers to “join the transparency revolution.”

A former publisher from Illinois, Andrzejewski, and OTB use the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to various government data and analyses that someone has tried to keep away from prying eyes.

As PJ Media notes: “There are legions of advocacy and activism groups in America that raise hundreds of billions of dollars each year based on claims of working to make government better. But not one of them can match the monumental accomplishment of Andrzejewski and OTB.”

Using federal law and similar laws in many states takes time and effort. Simply put, governments don’t like anyone looking over their shoulders. In most cases, the government will play the waiting game, knowing that a significant delay in providing documents will tire most journalists of the search. The government will often charge excessive amounts to duplicate the information. In other cases, a journalist or private individual must be prepared to sue the government to get the information.

In 2022, OTB filed 50,000 FOIA requests and captured 25 million public employee pension and salary records.

The organization also plans to obtain “data in all 50 states down to the municipal level. We won’t stop until we capture every dime taxed and spent by our government.”

OTB also collects investigative reports from other news outlets, such as Forbes.

Here are the four most recent reports issued by OTB’s investigators and auditors:

—“Earmarks: The Return of the Swamp Creatures.” This analysis dug into the 7,509 earmarks worth more than $16 billion in that massive Omnibus Spending Bill last year. All of those earmarks are on an OTB pin map to enable anybody who wants to see comprehensive details on every one of them.

—“Improper Payments: At Least $528 Billion Wasted During the First Two Years of the Biden Administration.”  Every year, federal bureaucrats issue checks to recipients who are dead, ineligible, or fraudsters. “Since 2004, 27 federal agencies have wasted $2.9 trillion (inflation adjusted to 2022) in improper spending, giving away tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money every year to people who shouldn’t have received it,” OTB reported.

—“The Militarization of the U.S. Executive Agencies.” The mission of the IRS is to collect taxes legitimately owed by citizens and corporations. So why did the federal tax agency need to spend “$21.3 million on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment between fiscal years 2006 and 2019? The agency stockpiled 4,500 guns and five million rounds of ammunition.”

—“Export-Import Bank: 2007 – 2021.” Did you know U.S. taxpayers handed Boeing Aerospace more than $66 billion during those years via subsidies for foreign airlines to buy commercial jets and the maintenance parts and equipment required to keep them flying?

It’s good news from PJ Media and Open The Books!