Heritage members and fans are discussing President Barack Obama’s State of the Unions address at Twitter and Facebook right now. And here are just some of our experts immediate reactions to parts of the speech: State of the Economy President Obama inherited a global recession and a global financial meltdown. So far, his enacted policies have had no beneficial effect as the 10 percent unemployment demonstrates in spades, and his threatened policies remain perhaps the greatest barrier to a strong economy. The economy will recover, and appears to have started …
Throughout his long speech, President Obama never acknowledged that Americans have been sending him a message or that he had bothered to listen. Instead, the sole fault he acknowledged was that “I take blame for not explaining it [his agenda] more clearly.” He still believes the problem is that people fail to understand his goals. Instead, his problem is that we understand them all too well. His efforts to make light of his recent political setbacks left a clear impression that he has learned nothing from them. Instead, he presented a …
In a preview of the State of the Union address, President Obama has recommended a plan to help students pay off their debt – with taxpayer dollars, of course. As Politico reports: The Obama-Biden Administration will make student loans more affordable by limiting a borrower’s payments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance. It will also keep the total cost of loan repayment manageable by forgiving all remaining debt after 10 years of payments for those in public service work and 20 years for …
On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Chuck Todd discussed an NBC poll that shows 70% of Americans say government isn’t working and commented that because of the “Tea Party crowd,” Republicans can no longer “go home and sell a piece of of pork that they got from Washington.” That’s a good thing. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Our nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course. The three major entitlements – Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid – alone are set to eclipse historical tax levels by 2052 and a realistic assessment of the Congressional Budget Office baseline shows the government piling on an additional $13 trillion over the next ten years. The time for pointing out the existence of a problem is over. Both Democrats and Republicans now agree entitlement reform must be a top priority. The question now is what exactly the inevitable reform will include. Specifically, …
In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama is expected to announce a freeze on federal spending with some notable exceptions including one for defense spending. Today, The Heritage Foundation releases a chart book examining the state of the U.S. military. Most Americans already know the U.S. military is unmatched throughout the world. What they don’t know is that a deeper look reveals the state of the military is one in need of recapitalization after eight years of warfare and coming off a previous decade of underinvestment. While …
Today, the Orlando Sentinel reports that President Obama will introduce a budget next week which will cut future exploration funding from NASA, including the planned missions to the Moon and Mars set in motion following the Columbia disaster. On first glance, this may appear to be a budget cutting move to fall in line with the drop-in-a-bucket spending freeze Obama has proposed. But it isn’t. In fact, NASA’s budget is increasing. So if NASA’s budget is increasing, why are exploration plans being put on hold? Obama is halting America’s exploration of the …
Richard Grenell, former spokesman of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 2001 to 2008, has written another blog detailing how U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice has been less than fully engaged on advancing U.S. priorities at the U.N. Last week, Grenell criticized Amb. Rice for her infrequent attendance at crucial meetings in the U.N. Security Council and her dislike for mixing it up with other nations to advance U.S. policies. Specifically he noted that she has been
A seemingly uneventful transition of power will take place today in the small Central American country of Honduras as Interim president, Roberto Micheletti, hands over the keys to the presidential palace to president-elect Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. The occasion will be marked with the usual pomp, celebration and traditions that mark any presidential inauguration. But for the people of Honduras, tomorrow’s inauguration will be nothing short of historic. Hondurans will welcome the closing of a turbulent chapter in their storied history. For months (if not years), democracy and the rule of …
Time and time again, congressional leaders have denied that the proposed health care legislation would result in a federal takeover of health care. Proponents of Obamacare claim that consumers would retain personal choice in selecting health plans and physicians. For example, consider President Obama’s comments at a Raleigh, NC town-hall meeting on July 29, 2009: “Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. I’m tired of hearing that…Under the plan I’ve proposed…if you like your health care plan, you keep your health care plan.” The President and Congressional …
