OpenTheBooks.com Twitter feed describes itself as: “A nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group w/ the largest private database of government spending.” By examining spending at the federal, state, and local levels the organization can “shine a white-hot light” that can produce accountability, said the CEO and Founder Adam Andrzejewski, in the video with a live Q&A from the audience who heard his address shown below. If thousands of manufactured housing professionals – and untold millions of affordable housing seekers – are frustrated by laws improperly unenforced by federal agencies such as HUD or the FHFA, or those laws are used in ways Congress arguably didn’t intend or envision when they were enacted – are those problems unique? Or are manufactured housing’s federal travails part of a larger pattern? On this Wacky Wednesday, ‘you can’t make this stuff up’ reality check, MHProNews hereby examines the work of a self-described nonprofit watchdog group founded by a successful Illinois businessman. Andrzejewski-led Open the Books shines a bright light on waste, fraud and abuse.
Billions lost could be going to something more productive. Or our respective share of those billions could still be in our respective pockets and bank accounts, where they could be deployed to grow an enterprise and thereby the broader economy. Andy Gedo’s point, quoted below, can logically be applied to the government and nation. Understanding the big picture sheds light on manufactured housing’s segment of the economy, and the reverse is also true.
“Adam Andrzejewski, CEO & Founder of OpenTheBooks.com, addresses the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar in Naples, Florida on February 20, 2020. There were approximately 900 people attending the seminar.” The video has had millions of views and was posted 3.5.2020. Andrzejewski, named names. He took nonpartisan shots at Democrats and Republicans. The video ended on a hopeful note, but spoiler alert. That hopeful note may not have worked out as they thought.
Quoting from their website at the link above, “The title of the presentation was The Depth of the Swamp. Topics covered included the federal funding of the Ivy League, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. farm subsidies, “small” business lending, top “non-profit” hospitals making huge profits, and mis-allocation of resources at Veterans Affairs.
Furthermore, Andrzejewski described his organizations efforts to map the San Francisco human waste challenge and their lawsuit to force open California state checkbook expenditures.
We believe that Transparency is Revolutionizing U.S. public policy and politics. We published an Open Letter To President Donald Trump and 100 Examples of outrageous federal waste in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today six-times. We encouraged the President to embrace the Transparency Revolution, declare War on Waste, and as Commander in Chief, to defend the American taxpayer against waste, fraud, corruption and taxpayer abuse.
Andrzejewski describes the target-rich environment to expose government waste and corruption within federal grants, improper and mistaken payments, and the $100 billion spent on year-end use-it-or-lose-it spending sprees.”
OpenTheBooks.com “CEO/Founder Adam Andrzejewski was fired as a contributor at Forbes after writing reports on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s finances and more.” From their homepage, one sees the videos that follow. While they are nonpartisan, it is noteworthy that they are generally from various generally center-right media platforms.
Fox:
Newsmax:
OAN:
TND featured an interview 2.13.2022 11:06 AM with Open The Books CEO on the “Waste Of The Week” on “The National Desk: State Department office mismanaged $3 Million.” “ Every single dollar that’s mismanaged is a dollar that doesn’t go into the classroom to educate children,” said Andrzejewski.”
Perhaps akin to the Grace Commission, which was assembled during the presidency of the late Ronald Reagan (R) and probe waste, fraud and abuse of the federal government, Open The Books probes such wasteful spending at all levels of government. The findings are shocking to those who have to balance their own or an organization’s checkbooks, while public officials are partying and wasting taxpayer money.
From OpenTheBook’s Mapping the Swamp report are these Top 10 Takeways.
TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS
- Expensive Bureaucracy
The federal disclosed workforce costs the American taxpayer $2.3 million per minute, $140 million per hour, and $1.1 billion per day.
In FY2020, the federal government disclosed 2.8 million employees — including 1.4 million executive agency bureaucrats; 698,547 DOD employees; and 678,537 USPS employees — for an estimated total compensation cost of $292 billion.
(Formula: disclosed cash compensation: $225 billion plus an estimated 30-percent in benefits equals $292 billion).
- The Swamp Gets Bigger
1.4 million disclosed employees in the executive agencies (non DOD and USPS) rose to a modern-day high (2020) – up 3.7-percent from 1.35 million employees in FY2016.
Veterans Affairs with 421,542 employees was the largest executive agency, and, since FY2016, headcount grew by 48,928 employees (13-percent). Homeland Security with 210,253 employees, grew by 26,290 employees (14.3-percent).
- Highly Compensated Bureaucrats
532,784 employees made $100,000 in the 122 executive agencies (non DOD and USPS) — from 406,960 employees in FY2016 (up 31-percent). Furthermore, 37,631 employees made $200,000 (up 52-percent) and 7,692 employees earned $300,000 (up 144-percent).
Dr. Anthony Fauci was the most highly compensated federal employee — across all agencies — for the second year and earned $434,312.
- A New Minimum Wage
The average pay was $100,000 in 100 of 122 executive agencies (non DOD and USPS) and departments. 26,853 federal employees out-earned every state governor ($225,000 | New York).
- Paid To Stay Home
44-days of paid-time off (PTO) on average for bureaucrats employed in the executive agencies (non DOD and USPS) – 11 holidays, 13 sick days, and 20 vacation days. The estimated taxpayer subsidy of this benefit is $22 billion annually.
- The $15 Million Man: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a quasi-public federal agency, paid their CEO Jeffry Lyash $15.5 million in salary, retirement and other benefits over a two-year period, FY2019-FY2020.
The TVA is a federal entity, but doesn’t currently receive taxpayer funding.
- VA Employment Farm: Since 2012, Veterans Affairs added 106,037 new positions to payroll, yet only 6,674 were doctors (Medical Officers). Only one in every sixteen new positions were doctors.
- Bloated White House Payroll:The Biden White House is the most expensive in history with over 560 employees and $50 million annual payroll expense. By comparison, President Trump employed 377 staffers with an inflation adjusted $40 million payroll in his first year (2017).
- Armed Bureaucrats: Federal employees (non-DOD) with firearm authority (200,000 ) now exceeds the numberof U.S. Marines (186,000). Employees in 103 agencies with firearm authority include 69,000 at Department of Justice; 63,000 at Homeland Security; and even 4,547 police officers at Veterans Affairs and 2,159 special agents at the Internal Revenue Service.
- Transparency Issues: 259,000 names were redacted accounting for an estimated $25 billion in cash compensation within the executive agency payroll (non DOD and USPS). The number of redactions grew from 3,500 in FY2016.
Department of Defense: only disclosed the 698,547 civilian employees with salary, title and branch, but redacted all names. The U.S. Post Office disclosed 678,537 employees, but redacted all bonuses.
Furthermore, another $225 billion in estimated compensation remains hidden and not subject to the oversight of this report: an estimated $100 billion in non-disclosed salaries of the 1,379,800 million active military members; and another $125 billion in undisclosed pension-retirement annuity payouts.” ##
While some of those are covered in the video, there are others that aren’t. During an evening or other time when you have the time for a 55-minute video that will help you see what is occurring at the federal, state and local levels in a new and nonpartisan light, the case can be made that it is worth it.
Update 2.23.2022 at 2.39 PM. OpenTheBooks CEO/Founder Adam Andrzejewski thoughtfully provided MHProNews with the transcript of the video above. It is available as a download, linked here. Our thanks to them for creating this requested downloadable transcript.
On a day when the markets broadly declined, the insights above, and the scan of headlines from the left and right that follow provide a broader picture of the reality of our nation on 2.23.2022.
Next up is our daily business news recap of yesterday evening’s market report, related left-right headlines, and manufactured housing connected equities.
The Business Daily Manufactured Home Industry Connected Stock Market Updates. Plus, Market Moving Left leaning CNN and Right-leaning (Newsmax) Headlines Snapshot. While the layout of this daily business report has been evolving over time, several elements of the basic concepts used previously are still the same. For instance. The headlines that follow below can be reviewed at a glance to save time while providing insights across the left-right media divide. Additionally, those headlines often provide clues as to possible ‘market-moving’ news items.
Market Indicator Closing Summaries – Yahoo Finance Closing Tickers on MHProNews…
Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business – from the evening of 2.22.2022
- New sanctions
- Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address to the nation, following the initiative of the country's lower house of parliament and security council to recognise two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released February 21, 2022. Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
- Here’s what the West has done so far, and how it might really hurt Russia
- Moscow is already paying a hefty financial price for its aggression
- Why markets care about Putin’s aggression
- US stocks slide as Putin orders troops into Ukraine
- The Dow’s top stock of 2021 is off to a rough start this year
- Energy price shock from the Russia-Ukraine crisis could hurt the economy
- Bitcoin plunges below $37,000 as Ukraine tensions rise
- The Middle East already has a crypto hub, and it’s not Dubai
- Germany halts Nord Stream 2 and Russia responds with a stark warning
- Slack outage hits dozens of big companies
- Macy’s and Kohl’s get in a knife fight with Wall Street
- Home prices skyrocketed last year. Two regions saw the biggest increases
- Buying is more affordable than renting in these cities
- AT&T is shutting down its 3G network. Here’s how it could impact you
- The Felicity Ace, a ship full of luxury cars is shown on February 18, stranded in the middle of the Atlantic. It caught fire in the North Atlantic on Wednesday, February 16, as it carried cargo including Porsches and Volkswagens from Emden, Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island. After a fire broke out in the cargo hold, it spread and forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship. The crew was safely picked up by the Portuguese Navy.
- Fire that left cargo ship full of luxury cars stranded in the Atlantic may finally be going out
- How a battery shortage could threaten US national security
- Hope lost and found: Portraits of America’s pandemic economy
- LABOR MOVEMENT
- A beloved cat named Jorts has become a symbol of the labor movement on Internet.
- An orange tabby cat becomes a voice for US union workers
- Haiti hikes minimum wage by 54% following protests
- Union vote at Arizona Starbucks put on hold
- Starbucks fires 7 employees involved in union effort
- Amazon doubles salary caps for some US employees
- GROCERY BILL
- Cans of Campbell's Soup are displayed on a shelf at Scotty's Market on December 08, 2021 in San Rafael, California.
- Why grocery prices keep surging
- Prices of kitchen staples won’t come down anytime soon
- High supermarket bills force customers to change brands
- High food prices are hurting those who can least afford it
- Inflation keeps weighing on consumer confidence
Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax – evening of 2.22.2022
- Biden Imposes Sanctions, Says ‘We Have No Intention of Fighting Russia’
- S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia for what he said was the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine, and vowed steeper punishments ahead if Russia continues its aggression. [Full Story]
- Russian Invasion of Ukraine
- Putin Disregarded Biden Sanctions Speech
- Trump Hits ‘Weak Sanctions’ on Russia
- Biden Announces Sanctions Over Russia’s Ukraine Invasion
- White House Finally Calls Russia’s Ukraine Move ‘Invasion’
- UK’s Boris Johnson Stronger Than Biden, Slams ‘Invasion,’ Slaps Russia With Tough Sanctions
- Pentagon Chief Austin to Putin: Avoid Full-blown ‘War of Choice’
- Russia Says it Is Evacuating the Country’s Diplomatic Personnel from Ukraine Because They Received Threats
- Russia’s Lawmakers Give Putin OK to Use Troops
- Putin Calls for Recognition of Crimea as Russia
- Western Leaders: Russian Troops Move Into East Ukraine | video
- More Russian Invasion of Ukraine
- Newsmax TV
- Fleischmann: Biden Must Be Clear Invasion Is Unacceptable | video
- Joe Lieberman: Not Sure If ‘Faith in Diplomacy’ Will Stop Putin | video
- Mace: Anti-Mandate Convoys Deserve Backing on Stance
- Ernst: ‘Autocratic Thug’ Putin Only Understands Strength | video
- French Hill to Newsmax: Strong Sanctions on Russia Needed Now | video
- Westerman: Biden’s Concern on Ukraine ‘Too Little, Too Late’ | video
- More Newsmax TV
- Newsfront
- DC National Guard Asked to Provide Help Ahead of Trucker Convoy
- Anticipating truck convoy protests next week to coincide with President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, Washington, D.C. law enforcement agencies have requested that the Pentagon provide assistance in securing the event, The Hill reported…. [Full Story]
- Gallup Poll: Just 36 Percent Approve of Biden on Russia
- President Joe Biden’s overall approval rating is in the low 40s, but [Full Story]
- Kim Reynolds to Deliver GOP Response to State of the Union
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will give the Republican response to President [Full Story]
- Poll: Majority of New Yorkers Want to Wait Before Lifting School Mask Mandates
- More than half 58% of New York state voters want to wait for data in [Full Story]
- Related
- US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Maine COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
- Britain Health Agency Recommends Additional COVID-19 Boosters for Vulnerable
- Allen West Won’t Be Charged in Airport Incident Over Masks
- Queen Elizabeth II Cancels Engagements Over COVID Symptoms
- Eric Holder’s Redistricting Network Has Ties to North Carolina Supreme Court Judge
- North Carolina has become the latest battleground for congressional [Full Story]
- Hillary Clinton’s Speech ‘Screamed’ She Wants Another Shot at Trump, Presidency
- Despite being recently accused of a role in the spying operation on [Full Story] | Platinum Article
- Rubio: Putin Will Use Kyiv Resistance to Justify Wider Invasion
- Russia will likely move beyond the eastern Ukraine areas it has [Full Story]
- Targeting of Canadian Trucker Protest Donors Could Be ‘Scary’ Preview for US
- Many Republicans were in the strange position of agreeing with [Full Story] | Platinum Article
- Trudeau Insists On Extending Emergency Powers Despite End of Protests
- Bipartisan Support for Biden’s Proposed Science Agency Collapses
- Emerging bipartisan resistance to President Joe Biden’s idea of a [Full Story]
- McConnell Calls for ‘Pipeline of Support’ to Ukraine
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a statement Tuesday [Full Story]
- Republican AGs Call for Mayorkas to Resign for Failing to Secure Border
- Fourteen Republican state attorneys general wrote to Secretary of [Full Story]
- Trump Hits ‘Weak Sanctions’ on Russia
- Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a statement hitting [Full Story]
- UK’s Boris Johnson Stronger Than Biden, Slams ‘Invasion,’ Slaps Russia With Tough Sanctions
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson preceded President Joe Biden in [Full Story]
- Hawaii Now the Only State With Mask Mandate
- As all other states in the country have either dropped their mask [Full Story]
- Ernst, Fischer, Capito Back Timken in Ohio GOP Senate Primary
- Three senators on Tuesday endorsed Jane Timken, who is battling a [Full Story]
- Poll: Trudeau Crackdown Unpopular in US
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response to the ongoing [Full Story]
- Former Cable News Pundit Bob Beckel, 73, Has Died
- Longtime cable news pundit and political analyst Bob Beckel died on [Full Story]
- Key Organizer of Ottawa COVID Protests Denied Bail
- A judge has denied bail to one of the leading organizers behind [Full Story]
- US Consumer Confidence Slips in February; House Prices Rise
- S. consumer confidence fell for a second straight month in [Full Story]
- Grassley Rips Biden’s Delay on Sanctions Against Russia
- Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is blasting President Joe Biden’s [Full Story]
- All 3 Defendants Convicted of Hate Crimes in Arbery Killing
- The three men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s fatal shooting [Full Story]
- US Supreme Court Ends Trump’s Fight to Block Release of Jan. 6 Records
- The U.S. Supreme Court brought a formal end Tuesday to former [Full Story]
- Bloomberg: San Francisco School Board Recall Warning to Dems for November
- A recent “political earthquake” that occurred in San Francisco when [Full Story]
- Kyle Rittenhouse Announces Project to Assist Lawsuits Against Media
- Kyle Rittenhouse announced a new initiative to raise money for legal [Full Story]
- Paul Slams Trudeau’s Use of Emergencies Act as ‘Very Dangerous’
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of that country’s [Full Story]
- Trump’s Truth Social Downloaded 170k Times
- Donald Trump’s Truth Social app was downloaded 170,000 times on Apple [Full Story]
- Ex-Intelligence Director Ratcliffe: ‘All Kinds of Intelligence’ Showed ‘Fake Russia Collusion’
- Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said special [Full Story]
- Women Players Settle US Soccer Equal Pay Suit for $24M
- S. women soccer players reached a landmark agreement with the [Full Story]
- Fire Subsides on Huge Cargo Ship Adrift in Mid-Atlantic
- A fire aboard a ship carrying cars in the mid-Atlantic is dying out, [Full Story]
- Beijing Olympics Draw Lowest Ratings Ever
- The Beijing Winter Olympic Games attracted the smallest audience, an [Full Story]
- Beekeepers Turn to Anti-Theft Technology as Hive Thefts Rise
- For a few frenzied weeks, beekeepers from around the United States [Full Story]
- More Newsfront
- Finance
- Trump Hits ‘Weak Sanctions’ on Russia
- Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a statement hitting President Joe Biden and “the weak sanctions” on Russia, saying the country “has become very very rich” causing oil prices to rise. … [Full Story]
- Biden Halts Oil, Gas Leases Amid Legal Fight on Climate Cost
- Putin Disregarded Biden Sanctions Speech
- EU Could Impose Further Sanctions on Russia, Germany’s Scholz Says
- Biden Announces Sanctions Over Russia’s Ukraine Invasion
- More Finance
- Health
- US Virus Cases, Hospitalizations Continue Steady Decline
- Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variant’s hold is weakening across the country. Total confirmed cases reported Saturday barely exceeded 100,000, a sharp downturn from around 800,850 five…… [Full Story]
- Exercise Increases Ability to Remember Meaningful Moments
- New COVID Variants Could be More Resistant to Vaccines
- Side Effects of Cholesterol-Lowering Statins Are Overestimated Says New Study
- Beware of These 6 Early Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer
MHProNews has pioneered in our profession several reporting elements that keep our regular and attentive readers as arguably the best informed in the manufactured housing industry. Among the items shared after ‘every business day’ (when markets are open) is our left-right headline recap summary. At a glance in two to three minutes, key ‘market moving’ news items are covered from left-of-center CNN Business and right-of-center Newsmax. “We Provide, You Decide.” Additionally, MHProNews provides expert commentary and analysis on the issues that others can’t or won’t cover that help explain why manufactured housing has been underperforming during the Berkshire era while an affordable housing crisis and hundreds of thousands of homeless in America rages on. These are “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use” © features and others made and kept us the runaway #1 in manufactured housing trade publisher for a dozen years and counting.
Manufactured Housing Industry Investments Connected Equities Closing Tickers
Some of these firms invest in manufactured housing, or are otherwise connected, but may do other forms of investing or business activities too.
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- NOTE: The chart below includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry lender
- NOTE: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).
- NOTE: Deer Valley was largely taken private, say company insiders in a message to MHProNews on 12.15.2020, but there are still some outstanding shares of the stock from the days when it was a publicly traded firm. Thus, there is still periodic activity on DVLY.
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https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/nobility-homes-financial-position-very-strong-sales-strong-but-challenges-including-lending-and-others-examined-plus-manufactured-housing-stocks-update/ - 2022 …Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory-built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.
Enjoy these ‘blast from the past’ comments. MHProNews. MHProNews – previously a.k.a. MHMSM.com – has celebrated our 11th year of publishing and have completed over a dozen years of serving the industry as the runaway most-read trade media.
- 2022 …Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory-built housing industry suppliers.
Sample Kudos over the years…
It is now 12+ years and counting…
Learn more about our evolutionary journey as the industry’s leading trade media, at the report linked below.
· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
· To sign up in seconds for our industry leading emailed headline news updates, click here.
Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.
That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship along with numerous awards in history. There have been several awards and honors and also recognition in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
