This morning, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum that aims to reform government contracting and, he claims, an effort that could potentially save taxpayers up to $40 billion. President Obama is right to ensure that “the American people’s money is spent to advance their priorities, not to line the pockets of contractors who have figured out how to work the system, or to maintain projects that don’t work.” He is also correct to “reject the false choice between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.” Although the new …
Is President Obama’s economic policy preventing the economy from recovering? The Wall Street Journal thinks so. Tuesday’s editorial notes, After five weeks in office, it’s become clear that Mr. Obama’s policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence — and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.” This observation is not unique. In his March 2nd op-ed, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) wrote: …
Expectations for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s address to the joint meeting of Congress this morning were low. His visit so far has been devoid of highlights. His joint press conference with Obama on Tuesday was canceled, supposedly because of the weather, which was a snub Tony Blair never endured. At bottom, the reality is that Brown is desperately unpopular in Britain, and must simply be grateful if any of Obama’s popularity rubs off on him. Because he wants a lot but can deliver little, no one in the Administration, or …
The decision in the blockbuster case of Wyeth v. Levine is just out, and Lyle Dennison’s early commentary is here. To summarize: In an opinion by Stevens, joined by Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, the Court held that FDA approval of a drug’s labeling does not preempt state-law failure-to-warn claims. The plaintiff, Diana Levine, developed gangrene after her arm was injected with Phenergan, a drug manufactured by the defendant, Wyeth. Levine sued in Vermont state court, claiming that Wyeth had failed to provide adequate warning about the risks of the …
Over the past few weeks, America has seen President Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and former Campaign Manager David Plouffe channel much of their focus on what they see as a major problem facing America. You might think the object of this affection is the spiraling economy, which has led them to declare war on moderately successful investors and small business owners while they refuse to acknowledge a war on terror. That is certainly a focus. Secondarily, you might think it is the housing crisis, where they …
We just finished watching President Barack Obama’s press conference on his plan to save taxpayers $40 billion a year by reforming government contracting. And with apologies to the Wendy’s franchise, “Where’s the beef?” There was zero substance in that speech. Not one specific idea for exactly how he will achieve this alleged $40 Billion in savings by removing blank checks for defense contractors. If he were serious about reforming business as usual, he could have started with all the defense earmarks in the latest omnibus bill. But it looks like …
I am sure the folks at The New York Times can add, but they make no sense when they talk about defense dollars. The latest headline trumpets, “Proposed Military Spending Is Highest Since WWII” . Here are the numbers that really put defense spending in their proper perspective. When the United States fought WWII, war costs accounted for about 46 percent of GDP. Today the Pentagon costs us about 4 percent of GDP. It is equally stupid to argue that defense spending is at the root cause of our economic …
The AP reports: “President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary says the administration will unveil a series of rules and measures in the coming months to limit the ability of international companies to avoid U.S. taxes. ” We only ask because: January 7, 2009: “But even an experienced financial expert like [Nancy] Killefer is susceptible to tax errors: Four years ago, the District of Columbia slapped a $946 tax lien on her home for a few months until she paid back unemployment compensation tax for her personal employees. January 30, 2009: “Former …
Dangerous currents advocating protectionism are alive and well on both sides of the Atlantic. A “Buy American” clause in the latest U.S. stimulus package may have been eased to avoid violation of bilateral trade agreements, but its protectionist intentions remain. But the European Union is in no position to lecture America about protectionism. In what the Financial Times describe as the biggest European auto bail out, France will give Renault and Peugeot-Citroën €3bn ($3.9bn) each in preferential loans in exchange for keeping jobs in France. Italy has quickly followed suit …
The futures of 1,700 District schoolchildren hang in the balance this week as a stealthy provision to kill the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program – tucked discretely away in the Omnibus bill – makes its way through the Senate. Bill McGurn writes in the Wall Street Journal: Known as the ‘Durbin language’ after the Illinois Democrat who came up with it last year, the provision mandates that the scholarship program ends after the next school year unless Congress reauthorizes it and the District of Columbia approves. The beauty of this language …
