The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "budget cuts" ...
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Cars for Congress
At the height of the debt ceiling debate, the investigative team at WTTG pulled video from floor debates, news conferences and other sources to show how the very people demanding the nation make sacrifices by cutting the budget were the ones taking advantage of a Congressional loophole--allowing Congress to use government money to buy luxury cars.
Tags: congress; loopholes; debt ceiling debate; breaking news; broadcast
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Tracking Your Tax Dollars
The five-part investigation found Florida state agencies were spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on bonuses, retirement gifts, flowers, gift cards and more. At the same time they laid off state employees and cut services to balance the budget.
Tags: federal stimulus; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Stimulus Bill
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Trip to Nowhere
On the eve of a vote to raise taxes nearly 10 percent and cut spending, the stories laid out in detail how auto allowances routinely granted to dozens of county officials were not justified by their documented needs. Commissioners, department heads, and 15 of their secretaries and staff were receiving what amounted to bonuses that often exceeded more than 10 times what they could document in obscure but required forms. In a followup story, the county administrator reversed course and said he would study discontinuing auto allowances that exceeded the documented needs for two recently hired county watchdogs who were supposed to guard against waste and abuse. Finally, in a third story, the county acknowledged it had failed to meet states and local requirements to document "typical" mileage before all employees began receiving allowances, and said it would change its policy.
Tags: Tax; budget cut; finance; documents; fraud; corruption; auto allowances; bonuses; county
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Senior Insecurity
One of the most expensive health and human services program in California was designed to help the elderly and disabled afford basic necessities. The program, which costs “almost three billion dollars”, is covered by taxpayers. But when you look on the streets, you will see a number of elderly people living there because they aren’t able to pay for food and shelter. The issue that arises is how the money is being spent and whether the program is working or not.
Tags: Supplemental Security Income (SSI); state budget cuts; money; income; federal government; Department of Social Services
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Children In Crisis
“Kentucky leads the nation in its rate of children who die from neglect or abuse”. Many people missed the warning signs of abuse and these include social workers, family members, health professionals, and day care workers. Another factor into the problem was budget cuts, which wear down a system meant to protect children.
Tags: kids; child welfare; authorities; maltreatment; violence; Health and Family Services; Child Protective Services; programs
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County Hall: The Perks of Public Office
The series looks at local politicians and their spending habits. These habits were rather lavish for a local government which had to cut spending on certain programs. The stories focus on “everything from how commissioners were using aides as personal chauffeurs to the global travel the commissioners took with no benefit to taxpayers”. Further, advisors of the mayor were receiving “double digit” pay raises, while the budget was crumbling.
Tags: politics; public; officials; Miami-Dade County Hall; corruption; taxes; budget hearings; salary
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To Hug a Porcupine
Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengoches did not understand why the three little boys they'd adopted were acting so violent. Only years later and by accident did the couple discover that the boys had been horribly abused by a series of adults in early childhood, a fact that the state's foster care system knew but filed to disclose. The technical name for the boys' behavioral ailment is "Reactive Attachment Disorder" but they have been described as sociopaths. The parents successfully sued the state for $10 million but cannot get the money released due to budget cuts and the concept of sovereign immunity.
Tags: reactive attachment disorder; adoption; foster care; budget cuts; mental health; child abuse
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Department thrifty despite salary growth
"The impetus for the project was Florida's budget crisis. Governments are cutting services like libraries and street sweeping to help balance the state's budget. But between 2001 and 2006, governments were overloaded with money, and we wanted to see what they spent it on. Sheriff's Offices seemed like a logical case study. Some offices were judicious in their spending; others, such as the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, bought souped-up SUVs for high ranking officers."
Tags: police; government spending; budget; salary; perks; sheriff; Florida
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High Flying Perks
As automakers took more financial hits in 2006 that led to layoffs and cost-cutting, company executives asserted that they too would cut down on their personal budgets. But WXYZ-TV found out that the executives did nothing to reduce their use of corporate jets and fuel in trips costing in the tens of thousands of dollars. The eight-month investigation uncovered situations like that of Ford CEO BIll Ford, Jr. He accepted a yearly salary of only a dollar, and used company planes for personal trips to the tune of $297,201 in a single year. Ford president Mark Fields is tasked with cutting costs in the company, yet used the planes on many weekends to take trips from Detroit to his mansion in Florida at a cost of between $50,000 and $70,000 each weekend.
Tags: Money; corporate pork; corporate executives; misuse of company planes; corporate cost-cutting; automotive industry; Ford Motor Company
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The Getty
A six-month investigation of Barry Munitz, the Getty CEO, showed that he had used the trust's tax-exempt resources for himself and his friends, while cutting jobs and the Getty's budget. Getty officials also were found-out for buying antiquities from dealers they suspected of selling looted art, over the past 20 years. They also withheld incriminating evidence when Italian authorities investigated this, all the while promising "full cooperation."
Tags: Getty; art; looted art; mismanagement; antiquities; art thefts