Last month, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) gave the keynote address to the American Federation for Children Policy Summit in Washington, DC. You can see his whole speech here and you can read about the studies Christie mentions demonstrating that school choice programs work, here.
America’s Navy sails alone. It’s impossible to compare the U.S. Fleet to the rest of the world’s navies, because the United States has a singular role and mission. We need a better navy than anyone else. No post-World War II President has backed away from the nation’s expansive leadership role. Nor has any recent President significantly reduced its foreign policy commitments by treaty or interest. In fact, the number and scope of U.S. military missions has expanded in the past 15 years. As long as the United States undertakes a …
Heritage Middle East analyst Jim Phillips makes a pretty good case that the Israeli confrontation with a convoy at sea bound for Gaza was a set-up by Hamas to provoke an incident that would draw intense criticism on Israel. The Taliban has every reason to try the same tactic by launching a successful attack on US soil. Senior US military officials told The Washington Post that the US has plans for a retaliatory strike on Pakistan if the Taliban hit the US. Furthermore, US officials revealed that the National Security …
The infamous words “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste” were first uttered by President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel last year, when he laid bare his intention to use the credit crisis to reorder the U.S. economy. This sentiment now seems to animate the President’s own intention to introduce economy-crushing climate legislation on the back of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while somehow blaming Republicans and, yes, the Bush Administration for what may be the worst environmental disaster in the history of our nation. Meanwhile nearly …
In the wake of the moratorium on offshore drilling projects that President Obama announced late last month, The New Orleans Times-Picayune has attempted to measure the cost of so much disruption to one of Louisiana’s core industries. The result? A conservative estimate – assuming a shutdown of just six months – suggests the moratorium could cost the state $2.97 billion and 7,590 jobs directly related to the oil industry. That is not counting all the other industries indirectly related to oil production and exploration. The story states that each job …
CATO’s Dan Mitchell has a new Center for Freedom and Prosperity video out titled “Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers” on how “government workers have now become a cosseted elite, with generous pay, extravagant benefits, lavish pensions, and ironclad job security. In exchange for this privileged status, they reward the politicians with millions of dollars of support and a host of in-kind contributions.” Dan’s presentation details much of the best research on government worker compensation (especially the work of CATO colleague Chris Edwards) but left unmentioned in this video is the role that …
A growing number of states have decided not to participate in the Obama administration’s Race to the Top grant program, forgoing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. More and more states are choosing not to apply for a RttT grant as it become exceedingly evident that unions are driving the reform agenda and that Washington is becoming increasingly involved in states’ educational decision-making authority. Education Week reported yesterday: About two dozen states are going back to Washington for another shot at billions in education grants under the Race …
Yesterday, the federal district court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction against the Federal Election Commission in SpeechNow.org v. FEC. As a former Commissioner on the FEC, many people would probably be surprised to learn that I am almost always pleased when my former agency loses a case. My view is based on what I learned from two years of trying to properly interpret and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), the campaign finance law that governs anyone running for Congress or the White House. That is …
The President repeatedly promised that if you liked your health plan, you would be able to keep it. Nothing would change. Fat chance. In fact, millions of Americans of Americans will lose or be transitioned out of their existing employer based health insurance. The official Actuary at HHS- who doesn’t speak for the Administration- said it would be 14 million. But a new report by former Director of the Congressional Budget Office Douglas Holtz-Eakin predicts it could be as high as 35 million. That kind of disruption comes at a …
The Washington Post editorialized yesterday: Montgomery County has just completed a nightmarish budget year. Stressed, squabbling and besieged elected officials savaged services and programs and jacked up taxes to eliminate an eye-popping deficit of almost $1 billion in a $4.3 billion spending plan. Meanwhile, across the Potomac River in Fairfax County, all was sweetness and light by comparison. With a budget roughly equal to Montgomery’s, Fairfax officials erased a deficit a quarter as large with relative ease and far less drama. The Post even goes on to correctly identify the …
