The federal estate tax, better known as the death tax, was eliminated this year after a decade-long phase-out. Nothing in Washington is permanent, however, and due to a quirk in budget law, it comes roaring back to life in 2011 (less than four months from now) at a 55 percent rate and only $1 million exemption—its levels prior to the phase-out—unless Congress acts before the end of the year. There have been sporadic efforts in the Senate this year to address this impending massive tax hike that will threaten the …
The recent global financial panic and recession had many authors. Millions of individuals and businesses made bad decisions about investing and debt. Scores of big shots like Dick Fuld, former CEO of now defunct Lehman Brothers, gambled big and lost bigger. And then there were those few who were in a class by themselves. Those whose actions cannot be said to have directly caused the meltdown but contributed to it far above all others. Chief among those few are former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who presided over an overly …
September 17 is Constitution Day, a day set aside to reflect on the ratification of the United States Constitution. Towards that goal, we have produced a short video honoring the Constitution and urging everyone to pause and reflect on how we can return our country to its First Principles. We hope you will share this video with friends and families and urge them to join you in that goal. This holiday, take a moment to reflect on the importance of this document. With an unsteady economy and a government growing …
At the Internet Governance Forum meeting earlier this week in Vilnius, Lithuania, Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) expressed his concern and worry about efforts by some governments to constrain the independence of the Internet at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session. For those who are not familiar with ICANN, the organization is a nonprofit corporation charged with regulating and managing the Domain Name System under which Internet Protocol addresses and registration of top-level domains (such as .org and .com) …
Obamacare will force health care spending to rise faster and higher over the next decade than if Congress had just left the nation’s health system unchanged. That’s according to a recent report from the Office of the Actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report projects the new law will inflate national health expenditures by an additional $88.8 billion in 2019 alone. So much for the President’s promise that Obamacare would bend the cost curve down. The White House tried to put a happy face on the …
A lot of people are unhappy with China. They’re unhappy for several reasons, but trade and investment might top the list. Some are demanding that the U.S. government take steps to punish the PRC. A few of these steps make only a bit of sense—others make no sense at all. All of them, however, harm the American economy in addition to harming the Chinese economy, which is an odd way to cure a recession. There is cause to be unhappy with Chinese policy. Among other actions, China heavily subsidizes state-owned …
New data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show the largest increase in poverty in U.S. recorded history. Under President Obama’s watch, an additional 3.7 million Americans fell into poverty in 2009. Buried in the Census report are startling figures revealing the principal cause of child poverty: the collapse of marriage. Single mother families are almost five times more likely to be poor than are married couples with children; overall, nearly 70 percent of poor families with children are headed by single parents. The big secret in the Census …
The White House has discovered a new tactic for pushing legislation that most Americans don’t want through Congress: implying the legislation in question is either all for the troops or could hurt the troops if not passed. Wrapping the crassest political messaging in the flag is the lowest of low-ball politics. Pretending to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform with congressional actions that have nothing to do with “providing for the common defense” is even worse. Perhaps the most egregious example of playing politics …
The Census Bureau’s annual snapshot out today shows there were 50.7 million, or 16.7 percent of the population, without health coverage in 2009. These numbers come as the nation experiences a growing shift from private health coverage to more expansive public health programs. Given today’s high rates of unemployment and the fact that most Americans get health insurance through their employers, the increased number of uninsureds comes as no surprise. The exodus from job-based insurance will only escalate under Obamacare. The CMS actuary estimates that, under the president’s system, approximately …
Congress is back, but before Members head home again to campaign, they have to first do what they do best: spend other people’s money. Today, Congress will vote on the Rural Energy Savings Program Act, H.R. 4785—a bill that would authorize $5 billion over five years for the Department of Energy’s Home Star loan program and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Star program. The Home Star program, also known as “cash for caulkers,” provides low-interest loans for consumers to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes, while the Rural Star …
