Most Americans lucky enough to just keep their jobs since the recession started in December 2007 have paid a price for their good fortune by accepting smaller paychecks. Some Americans who have not paid that price include the members of the U.S. Congress, who saw their salaries increase by 5 percent from 2007-2009. (more)

PHOENIX (Reuters) – The U.S. government will have unmanned surveillance aircraft monitoring the whole southwest border with Mexico from September 1, as it ramps up border security in this election year, a top official said on Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. Customs and Border Protection would begin flying a Predator B drone out of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Wednesday, extending the reach of the agency's unmanned surveillance aircraft across the length of the nearly 2,000 mil... (more)

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for a third week, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its longest losing streak since February, as a record plunge in home sales raised concern the economy may relapse into a recession. Cisco Systems Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. retreated at least 2.2 percent. Hewlett-Packard Co. slid 4.6 percent after waging a bidding war with Dell Inc. for 3Par Inc. The S&P 500 trimmed its weekly drop yesterday on better-than- forecast growth in the Ame... (more)

Sometimes, dealing with the federal government is like buying a car. You know the sticker price, but when you actually pick up your car, you end up paying a lot of extra "make-ready fees" and "delivery costs." That's pretty much the way it has worked out since taxpayers picked up their 2009 US Government Economic Stimulus Plan. How much has it really cost, and what has it really accomplished? (more)

Let's see... bread, milk, paper towels, small business loan. In one of the most innovative alternatives to small business financing to come along in years, retailer Sam's Club announces it is now offering SBA-guaranteed loans to its small business customers. (more)

Seems the Republican National Committee (RNC) thinks the U.S. Census Bureau is being too nosey, calling their ongoing annual American Communities Survey a "dangerous invasion of privacy." Funny thing is that during 2010, the RNC conducted its own 36-question "census," and according to Government Watchdog Tom Murse, it was a lot more "nosey" than the official 10-question U.S. Census. (more)

Even while moving ahead with plans to close almost 200 small post offices in an attempt to cut its operating costs, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is now selling postal products and services at 1,083 Office Depot stores nationwide. (more)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A government report Thursday brought bad news for workers and the economy: The number of unemployed Americans seeking a financial lifeline has reached its highest level in nine months. Last week, the number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose for the third time in a row, to 500,000, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday. (more)

This summer's wildfires in Russia, floods in Pakistan, torrential rainfall in China and sweltering heat waves in 15 (out of 50) U.S. states are all signs of the effects of global warming identified by scientists in the U.S. Global Change Research Program, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). (more)

Election season and a bad economy are making roadkill out of federal workers' salaries. Some newspapers, Republicans and conservative think tanks are inveighing against feds they say are cleaning up in salaries and benefits compared with their private sector counterparts. (more)