Marian Wang was a reporter for ProPublica, covering education and college debt. She joined ProPublica in 2010, first blogging about a variety of accountability issues. Her later stories focused on how rising college costs and the complexity of the student loan system affect students and their families. Prior to coming to ProPublica, she worked at Mother Jones magazine in San Francisco and freelanced for a number of Chicago-based publications, including The Chicago Reporter, an investigative magazine focused on issues of race and poverty.
Marian Wang
Reporter
Fight Over Obama’s Recess Appointments Puts Stranglehold on Key FinReg, Labor Nominees
As winter recess approaches, Senate Republicans have been holding up certain uncontroversial appointments as a bargaining chip to prevent President Obama from other appointments in recess.
Decoding the Payroll-Tax Cut: How Well Does It Work?
Extending the payroll-tax cut is the latest fight in Washington. But how much would it help the economy?
NY’s Tax Overhaul, Said to Raise Taxes on the Rich, Actually Doesn’t
We take a closer look at the tax overhaul passed today and fact-check the claim that it raises taxes on the rich while cutting them for the middle class.
FEC Deadlocks (Again) on Guidance for Big-Money Super PACs
Can an ad that's "fully coordinated" with a candidate count as uncoordinated spending by a supposedly independent group? The FEC commissioners bickered but couldn't collectively decide.
Why a Federal Judge Trashed the SEC’s Settlement With Citigroup
A federal judge ruled that the SEC’s proposed $285 million deal with Citigroup for allegedly misleading investors was “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest.”
Uncoordinated Coordination: Six Reasons Limits on Super PACs Are Barely Limits at All
The Supreme Court made it legal for corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on elections so long as they don't 'coordinate' with candidates. So why does everyone seem to be coordinating?
Pfizer’s Latest Twist on ‘Pay for Delay'
Pfizer is adding yet another twist to its efforts to delay generic competitors. As The New York Times reports, the company seems to have struck a deal with certain pharmacy benefit managers — the middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry — to block generic versions of Lipitor.
How Complaints From a Single Doctor Caused the Gov’t to Take Down a Public Database
Documents give a behind-the-scenes look at why a government agency restricted public access to a medical-malpractice database.
FEC Data Show Big Jump in Spending by Super PACs and Outside Groups
More money is coming into U.S. politics, and much of it is flowing in through new and barely regulated groups.
As Political Groups Push Envelope, FEC Gridlock Gives ‘De Facto Green Light’
In a new age of more dollars and less disclosure, the FEC’s ongoing stalemate over key areas of campaign finance gives more aggressive political players a chance to push the limits.
MF Global Ad: ‘We Have Convictions’
A recent ad for MF Global, published Saturday, reads a little differently now.
This Week’s Top MuckReads: Cops Committing Crimes and A Shady Marketing Scheme
Our rundown of this week’s best investigative or accountability journalism.
As Qaddafi Is Buried, a Look Back at the Complexities and Contradictions of the Libya Mission
The military goal wasn't regime change, but the political goal was. Airstrikes and drones caused bloodshed, but the U.S. said it wasn't engaging in "hostilities." We review the last eight months in Libya.
Email Warned That Bank Up For Bailout Was ‘Disastrous’
Anonymous tip warned Treasury that United Commercial Bank was troubled, but the bank still got almost $300 million. Now the bank has failed and two executives are facing criminal charges.
Government Misses Deadline for Rules Forcing Disclosure of Industry Payments to Doctors
The Obama administration has yet to draft rules on the disclosure of industry payments to doctors, missing a deadline set out in last year's health-care law. Drug and device companies, which are required to begin collecting payment data starting next year, are still awaiting such guidance.
This Week’s Top MuckReads: Trouble With Koch Subsidiaries and Drug-Smuggling Guards
Our rundown of this week’s best investigative or accountability journalism.
Rick Perry v. 'Rick Parry': A Study in Pushing Campaign Finance Frontiers
Both Stephen Colbert—who's pretending to support a fake candidate, Rick Parry—and supporters of the real Rick Perry have started nonprofit groups that can channel unlimited donations to super PACs with minimal disclosure.
