Given that the United States debt is denominated in US dollars and our government can technically print as many US dollars as it needs, we should never default on our debt. The only way we could truly default would be if Congress, in an incredible act of stupidity, decided to vote to default and overrode a Presidential veto. Traditionally that seemed so obviously idiotic that markets had no fear it would happen. But that all changed last year when Republicans decided to hold the vote to raise the debt ceiling hostage to their budget reduction demands.

In general, borrowers get something in the mail that looks like a scam letter. It doesn’t specify what they could receive from this government review of their foreclosure. Even the most savvy borrower – if they can be found, since they probably don’t live in the same house that they did before the foreclosure – would be hard-pressed to read it and respond. That’s especially true because this community has been inundated with scams and grifts, and they are at least attuned to that possibility.

The Government Accountability Office took a look at the federal government crop insurance program and the result isn’t pretty. We effectively waste $1 billion a year providing corporate welfare to very large agribusiness operations.

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie cancelled a tunnel project across the Hudson River in 2010, a decision which made him very popular in conservative circles, claiming that the costs has dramatically increased while the state would be forced to bear most of the risks . It turns out that he had to twist facts to justify this decision.

A look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

Along with Dean Baker and a few others, I’ve been fighting a lonely crusade against those who insist that TARP “made money.” In a new report, the GAO faults Treasury for constantly shifting the goalposts on how they report that “profit” from TARP. It’s a slightly different argument, but one that highlights how this illusion of a successful TARP lies in manipulation of the numbers.

A stunning new GAO report prompted by Bernie Sanders shows there’s not much distance between the big financial institutions on Wall Street and the Federal Reserve system, particularly when it comes to the directors of the regional banks GAO found multiple Regional Bank directors with direct conflicts of interests.

Unemployment is officially at 9.1% (roughly 14M people) and underemployment is nearly double that. Social Security has been one of if not the most effective government program of all time, yet all we hear out of Washington is how there must be “shared sacrifices” (from all but the very richest of us of course) so Social Security must be “on the table” for budget discussions, even though Social Security has not contributed one dime to the “problems” with the budget.

We definitely need strong federal servicer standards, and CFPB is a great place to house them. All the more reason to recess-appoint Elizabeth Warren as soon as possible.

The Director of National Intelligence has floated a “shockingly bad” proposal on how much review GAO will be permitted within the intelligence community. According to Steven Aftergood, because the proposal defines the intelligence community broadly, it might result in the loss of GAO review in agencies like DOD and State.