Possible Russia-Iran Arms Deal: Leverage Against US Syria Strike

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Revolutions! Coups! Internal and multinational tension! Economic sanctions! Chemical weapons! Russian ally! Many of these terms can describe the goings-on in any number of Middle Eastern nations, but they all apply to Iran, the regional superpower. Unfortunately, Russia is planning on selling weapons to Iran as leverage for the U.S. not to strike Syria.

Timeliness of State Financial Reporting "Improves"

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More states file “on time” -- on their own standard, anyway

Truthful accounting includes timely accounting.   Our governments have made some progress on this score, but we believe there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Cost of Tuition Increasing As More Students Take On Loans

The cost of education has undergone dramatic changes over the last century. Institutions like Harvard, Yale, and others were initially attended by 0.001 percent of the population. By 1900, the average tuition for private schools was anywhere from $75 to $300 per student.

Those figures have dramatically increased since. Today, the average cost of tuition for a private, 4-year, university sits at about $30,000 per year. Two-year community colleges run about $3,000 a year per student.

LAO Says New Prison Realignment Plans Won't Work as Lawmakers Want

Just a few months from the federally mandated deadline to reduce California's prison population by 137.5 percent capacity, Governor Jerry Brown released a plan to partner with private prisons and a correctional staff union. It would invest more than $700 million over the next two years for the construction of new contracted lock-up facilities bringing incarceration numbers down to required levels.

Debate over Syria Distracts Public from Serious Fiscal Challenges

President Obama made his case for military action against Syria to the American people on Tuesday for the country's use of chemical weapons against its own people, despite Russian involvement that prompted Syria to agree to turn over any remaining chemical weapons and sign the international treaty banning such weapons. Currently, Syria is among five countries who have not adopted the treaty.