Ten democratic Senators recently issued an important call to action for Majority Leader Harry Reid to support efforts to get America’s long-term fiscal imbalance under control. One can only hope Senator Reid listens. As the letter notes, America is already $12 trillion in debt and, in the next decade, will dig itself even deeper by adding $10 trillion in deficits. In the coming months, Congress will be required to increase the debt limit so that America can continue to afford to pay its bills. But the true disaster starts in …
The economic losses from carbon emissions cap-and-trade policies are often compared with “the cost of doing nothing.” CBO director Doug Elmendorf in his testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee labels these costs as nonmarket impacts. These include effects of human health, loss of species’ habitats, and other destruction to wildlife and ecosystems. He points to a study by William Nordhaus and Joseph Boyer that found an 11 degree Fahrenheit increase by 2100 translates to an almost 5 percent drop in output. This is a common argument made …
Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf testified on October 14 before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to discuss the economic effects of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the effects – most notably the effects of the Waxman-Markey cap and trade legislation. Although Elmendorf felt that Waxman-Markey could greatly reduce the long-term risks of climate change, he acknowledged that “such legislation would also reduce economic activity through a number of different channels.” Note: Director Elmendorf’s expertise is budgets and economics, not climate science. Some of the channels mentioned …
FOX News reports: Russia and the United States have tentatively agreed to a weapons inspection program that would allow Russians to visit nuclear sites in America to count missiles and warheads. The plan, which Fox News has learned was agreed to in principle during negotiations, would constitute the most intrusive weapons inspection program the U.S. has ever accepted. Initial thoughts: The description reported in the press of what has been agreed to is way too vague to know whether there would be a significant security risk. What we know for …
Last week, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tried to sell the merits of second “stimulus” by claiming education spending is being slashed, to the detriment of American students. He contends that education has suffered because of skepticism about the merits of government spending. Krugman writes: There’s no mystery about what’s going on: education is mainly the responsibility of state and local governments, which are in dire fiscal straits. Adequate federal aid could have made a big difference. But while some aid has been provided, it has made up only …
Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, recently sat down with Heritage’s Dr. Lee Edwards, Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, to offer insight on the ethnic and religious tensions plaguing China. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfKQOJFm64E[/youtube] From Xinjiang to Tibet, tensions continue to cloud the Chinese government’s vision of a harmonious and stable society. Many see the CCP’s policies toward religious freedom and ethnic diversity as more divisive than harmonizing. The Chinese government, on the other hand, blames external agitators in the West for the social unrest in China. The lack …
One of the illusions about comprehensive sex education is that it is, well, a comprehensive treatment of the science of human sexuality. Dr. Miriam Grossman, who has upfront and personal knowledge of the psychological and physiological challenges of sexually involved collegians from her years as a campus psychiatrist at UCLA, does more than beg to differ with the reigning orthodoxy. She shows the difference between good science and contemporary sex education in her new book You’re Teaching My Children What? She’ll summarize her conclusions at a Heritage Foundation lecture today …
When President Obama spoke to Congress on his health care plan, I was thinking about the 16-day stretch in July during which his bill was being assembled on Capitol Hill. That’s because so much of what he told us, whether about deficits, illegal aliens or abortions, seemed at odds with what the Congress is doing in his name. “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future,” the president said. He was unequivocal, and I applaud his promise, but …
This Morning Bell is the fourth in a five-part week-long series on how Obamacare will affect you. “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions,” Or so President Barack Obama promised to the American people in his health care address before a Joint Session of Congress on September 9th. But then why did the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops send a letter to Congress on October 8th writing: “No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. … No current bill meets this …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalRPJctQE4[/youtube] “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government…Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.” Or so President Obama says on the White House website. But does he mean it? Of course not. President Obama is leading the most secretive and least transparent administration in legislative history. And today, we have more proof. The video above was taken as Senate and White House leadership met behind closed doors to cobble together a bill that will make yesterday’s Finance Committee vote …
