Students and teachers at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School began the school year with the ultimate back-to-school pep rally on Tuesday. President Obama delivered a speech to students at the highly-ranked Philadelphia magnet school, which was named a 2010 national “Blue Ribbon School.” Last year, the president delivered a back-to-school speech about the importance of staying in school and the merits of education, topics he reprised in this year’s address. Last year’s protocol included a letter from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to schools nationwide, complete with lesson plans …
Would you vote to cut taxes only for the middle class, if that were your only choice? The furor over the answer from House Republican Leader John Boehner (R–OH) obscures the fact that it’s a tough question—one for which all politicians should have a response ready before it’s asked. Reporters want to push them onto the horns of a supposed dilemma: either disavow across-the-board tax cuts or be labeled a toady for the rich. Or dodge the question and get depicted as a weasel. The better approach is to challenge …
The Senate failed today to repeal one of the more troublesome provisions of Obamacare. Tucked away in the legislation that made Obamacare into law is a tax provision that will be a compliance nightmare for businesses when it goes into effect in 2012. The provision calls for all businesses to file 1099 forms with the IRS for all transactions with other businesses over $600. This new requirement will force businesses to divert scarce resources to complying with additional bureaucratic red tape that they could better use creating new jobs. The …
House Cloakroom: September 13-17, 2010 Analysis: The House returns from their six week recess with a light schedule this week, heading towards a potential adjournment date of October 1st. House leaders are signaling attempts to get their members home a week earlier than expected in anticipation of Election Day. There are several measures that are expected to be taken up before the recess. The Senate is expected to pass a Small Business Jobs Bill (HR 5297) that will have to come back to the House to accept any changes before …
Senators Mitch McConnell (R–KY) and Chuck Grassley (R–IA) have introduced legislation titled the Tax Hike Prevention Act. According to information provided with the release of the legislation, it provides for a “permanent extension of the provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax bills, permanently patches the AMT [Alternative Minimum Tax] and includes the Lincoln/Kyl death tax provisions for 2011 and beyond (i.e., a $5 million exemption and a 35 percent rate on amounts above).” Ideas that extend tax reductions are good for the economy and private enterprise. Preventing taxes from …
In a recent op-ed in the Spanish media, President Barack Obama espoused the new health reform law would ensure that minorities like Latinos would have access to health care services through better coverage options. However, the President left out that the bulk of this “coverage” is pushing many Hispanic and African Americans into an inefficient program that has seen a sharp drop in physician participation. Obamacare puts an additional 16 million Americans into Medicaid, a poorly performing welfare program. Rather than improve the health care system, the expansion is expected …
Without action from Congress, the Obama tax hikes are set to take effect January 1, 2011. However, this doesn’t mean businesses are waiting until then to prepare for the potential impact. In fact, the uncertainty surrounding the tax increases is already holding back potential job growth. Today’s Wall Street Journal points out, “The uncertainty over looming tax increases is starting to affect both investing and corporate decision making. … Small-business owners say unease about tax policy, along with the economy, has led them to hold off on hiring and investment.” …
Early this year, The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom reported that the U.S. economy is no longer in the top tier of economically free countries and runs the risk of falling further behind. This disappointing news is vividly echoed in World Economic Forum’s just-released study, Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011. According to the report, which is based in part on an opinion survey among more than 13,000 business leaders around the globe, America is losing its competitiveness edge, slipping over the last 2 years from 1st place to 4th place …
Health Insurers Plan Hikes. That was the headline of a Wall Street Journal story last Tuesday which reported: “Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats’ efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections. Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.” And The Wall …
The Heritage Foundation favors far-reaching reforms of our Federal Government’s spending, including with respect to entitlements. The ever-growing, out-of-control entitlement culture fosters dependency instead of self-reliance. At the same time, the Federal Government takes and spends an ever-growing portion of the wealth of this Nation, and spends the money of future generations. This cannot continue. We must overhaul Federal entitlement programs and get their cost under control, before the country bankrupts itself. Although entitlement reform is essential in reining-in Federal spending, The Heritage Foundation welcomes fiscal discipline across the board. …
