In the world of international affairs, popular phrases usually signify not thought, but its absence. Calls for ‘a new Marshall Plan,’ for example, are invariably made by people who know absolutely nothing about the original one. The appearance of these phrases is the surest proof that the speaker is content to think in cliches. The latest catchphrase is ‘smart power,’ which is what Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has promised the Obama Administration will wield. In theory, ‘smart power’ is the use of diplomacy, economic leverage, military muscle, political suasion, …
Last speaker on the morning panel, Cato Institute adjunct scholar Arnold Kling. Kling begins somberly: “I think about what’s going on as an economist but I feel it as a father. My wife and I have three daughters between the ages of 19 and 25. And when I see what’s being done to their future I’m really angry. Back in September when they were talking about taking $700 billion dollars to unclog the financial system I wanted to yank Henry Paulson out of the TV screen and say to him: …
Heritage senior fellow J.D. Foster speaks next at the “Economic Recovery: Free Markets vs. Big Government” conference. He takes on the intellectual foundation of the left’s Keynesian beliefs. JD explains that the left believes government can jolt the economy back to life by increasing aggregate demand through deficit spending. But in order for deficit spending to be effective, their must be pockets of idle savings out there that will be coaxed back into the system by government borrowing. But the left won’t tell us where these pockets of savings are. …
The Heritage Foundation and the Club for Growth are co-hosting a conference this morning titled “Economic Recovery: Free Markets vs. Big Government”. Kicking off is a panel on “Why the Stimulus Won’t Work” featuring Hillsdale history professor Burton Fulsom, Heritage Foundation senior fellow J.D. Foster, and CATO adjunct scholar Arnold Kling. Fulsom speaks first recounting the thesis of his book New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR’s Economic Legacy Has Damaged America. According to Folsum, the history most Americans are taught in high school about the New Deal is a …
As Americans huddled around their televisions last night to see President Obama’s first prime-time press conference, they were instinctively not only judging his performance, but that of the White House press corps. Throughout the past two years, there has been scrutiny from the right regarding the press’ treatment of Barack Obama, and a defensive posture on the left that he was indeed getting the tough questions. How did they perform? The Crib Sheet: First, it was interesting to see President Obama call on reporters from a list of predetermined correspondents that included …
Yesterday the Pew Research Center released a new poll on the economic stimulus debate. Like every other poll taken so far, the Pew poll showed again that support for President Obama’s Trillion Dollar Debt Plan has fallen since it was first announced. While 92% of those polled viewed Obama as a good communicator, those Americans that were paying the most attention to the stimulus debate also were the most opposed to the plan. The more that Obama’s lofty rhetoric is tested against fact and common sense, the less support his …
Americans have been trying to tell Washington for the past week that the “stimulus bill” is not the change they were asking for last November. Unfortunately, the President and Congress are not listening. The Senate is poised to pass a “stimulus” bill tomorrow that 62% of Americans flatly reject as “too much spending and too little tax cuts”. While the details of this plan have been debated to the point of exhaustion, including here in the Foundry, not enough people are debating the fundamental changes to the American way of life that …
Heritage fellow James Carafano writes in the DC Examiner: No issue carries greater potential for crisis than the growing threat of missile attack. Last week, Iran launched its first homemade satellite into space. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi assured an alarmed world that “Iran’s space advancement serves no military purpose.” He is probably right… today. But Americans should be worried today, for the same reason they worried when the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957: the launch demonstrates the increasing sophistication of a hostile nation’s ballistic missile program. Layer that on …
Despite a harsh economic downturn, Moscow is continuing down the road of solidifying its positions in the post-Soviet space and crowding the United States and NATO out of the regions it deems its sphere of influence. The past week saw an array of developments along this same track. Clearly under Moscow’s pressure, Kyrgyzstan passed a decision to evict the U.S. air base in Manas from its territory. In return, Bishkek is set to receive unprecedented benefits from Russia – an easy-term loan to the tune of $2 billion, a $450-million …
MEET THE NEW STIMULUS, SAME AS THE OLD STIMULUS This weekend, a small group of Senators emerged from two days of negotiations to announce they had developed a compromise “stimulus” package that would eliminate wasteful spending and deliver on the original promise of the legislation. Unfortunately, not only is this not true, but the bill actually got bigger, with a final price tag $19 Billion more than the discredited House version; and it still does not contain any real stimulus. Here are the facts: SAME OLD SPENDING I Can’t Help Myself: …
