Business_Finance

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The D.C. Council is suing Mayor Vincent C. Gray for his refusal to implement a voter-approved law, which would give the District the right to set its 2015 budget without congressional interference. Council seeks to set its own fiscal calendar. (Khalid Naji-Allah /Special to The Washington Times)

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"The American sugar market can only be described as a government-mandated cartel, which would likely be deemed illegal if it had arisen without government assistance," wrote Luke Gelber, a manager at Citizens Against Government Waste. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, took his final crack at a budget last week when the House cleared his 2015 plan, which again calls for holding revenue steady while making deep cuts to both annual discretionary spending and to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Those cuts would bring the budget into balance in 2024. (Associated Press)

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The instrument panel of a prototype electric carriage is displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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A prototype of an electric carriage is displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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The high-tech insides of an electric carriage are displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Visitors to the New York International Auto Show sit in an electric carriage prototype in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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A prototype of an electric carriage is displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Visitors to the New York International Auto Show sit in an electric carriage prototype in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)