The threat of a value added tax (VAT) in the United States is growing steadily. Despite protesting that it is not something he is considering, President Obama refused to rule out a VAT completely, much as David Cameron and Nick Klegg, the new leaders of the U.K. refused to rule out an increase in the UK VAT during the campaign. Of course, one day after taking office they were laying the groundwork for an increase in the UK VAT to 20 percent. That would be a 5 percentage point increase …
Yesterday we saw how Obamacare is leading large employers to contemplate dropping their coverage of employees. Today we learn it will cripple businesses’ ability to create jobs for entry level workers. Thanks to Obamacare, low-skilled job seekers will find it even harder to find work. And low-income areas will find it even more difficult to attract new businesses. That’s the lesson drawn from a new analysis by White Castle, the iconic hamburger chain. Numbers crunchers there looked at how Obamacare provisions would affect the company’s bottom line. Of particular interest …
The Heartland Institute’s International Climate Change Conference commenced in Chicago last night, bringing together some of the world’s leading climatologists who offer dissenting views from the mainstream “global warming is a serious, human-induced problem” view. This year 73 scientists, economists, and policy analysts from 23 countries will present to over 700 attendees. Heartland’s conference provides a valuable forum for accomplished scientists to showcase their work and offer different reasons as to why the planet is warming and cooling and how fast it is doing so. Several of the panels will …
Is the Senate likely to consent to the ratification of New START? It might appear so now, but things can change. At the moment, it appears that approval will turn on whether the Obama Administration’s commitment to modernizing the nuclear weapons infrastructure is adequate in the eyes of the Senate and will be sustained after ratification. While even here things are uncertain, it is possible that the Obama Administration will do enough to satisfy the Senate, even if in reality the modernization plan will not result in a sustained program. …
There are positive and negative aspects to today’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Florida that it is unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile non-homicide offender to life without the possibility of parole. On the positive side, the Court upheld the constitutionality of life without parole (LWOP) for juvenile killers. Over 90% of juveniles serving LWOP are murderers, so this ruling won’t affect them at all. That means that the 1200 or so juvenile killers serving LWOP got no relief from this case. Furthermore, states can continue to sentence appropriate …
The advocacy group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) has released yet another report decrying what they claim are “huge profit gains” by the five largest for-profit health insurance companies for the first three months of 31%. Shocking? Well, one thing the report glosses over is, “31% of what?” The answer: 31% of the profit for first three months of the previous year, which is a (shocking?) $2,415.9 million for the five companies put together. What they don’t tell you – but which you can figure out with a little …
Since hitting the “reset button” on Russian-American relations last year, the Obama Administration has signed a flawed START nuclear arms control treaty with Moscow, and last week submitted a controversial accord on Russian-American civilian nuclear cooperation to Congress for approval. The Russia 123 agreement, first submitted by the Bush Administration to Congress but pulled back after Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, would come into force unless both houses of congress vote to disapprove it within 90 days. Although congressional leaders from both parties had urged the administration to hold off …
It’s no secret that President Obama has a great interest in nuclear arms control. In Prague last year, the President said, “So today, I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” President Obama chaired a session of the United Nations Security Council last September to shepherd to approval a resolution aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons. As for curbing nuclear proliferation and overseeing disarmament efforts, the President’s recently concluded Nuclear Security Summit relies heavily on voluntary …
An “angry” President Barack Obama lashed out at those he feels are responsible for the Gulf oil spill Friday, telling reporters in the Rose Garden: “You had executives of BP and Transocean and Halliburton falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else. I will not tolerate any more finger-pointing or irresponsibility.” But as CBS News‘ Chip Reid points out: “Mr. Obama’s been president for nearly 16 months. Does he get at least a little piece of the blame?” Pointing to President Obama’s staunch defense of …
House Cloakroom: May 17 – 21 House Analysis: Last week Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced the House would not be taking up a budget this year, which would be the first time since the modern budget process was created in 1974 that the House failed to pass a budget. The reason becomes clear when you take into account a previous statement Hoyer made, “It’s difficult to pass budgets in election years because they reflect what the [fiscal] status is.” The House Republicans successfully used their last chance to amend the …
