No, the undead aren’t Senators worried about the outcome of next Tuesday’s election. Nor are they the bodies of the departed, reanimated to feast upon the living. Citizens in the U.S. Capitol aren’t in any danger —well, no more danger than usual, anyhow—of having their brains sucked out and devoured. Rather, the undead in this case are treaties signed by Presidents past, treaties that are dead but yet still alive. Call them zombie treaties. In order for a treaty to have domestic effect as law in the United States, they …
The midterm elections have garnered international attention fueled in no small part by the widespread interest in the Tea Party movement. Editor-in-chief of National Journal’s Hotline, Reid Wilson and Vice President of Government Relations for The Heritage Foundation, Mike Franc looked beyond November 2 in a discussion with foreign media lead by Tim Chapman, Chief Operating Officer for Heritage Action for America. Many people worry that “America is at the edge of something very catastrophic,” and they fear, “we can’t afford to get it wrong anymore,” according to Franc. Wilson …
Earlier this year, Richard Foster, the Chief Actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), issued a report projecting that about half of all seniors and disabled Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will be pushed out of that program due to the new health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In response to a request from Sen. Charles Grassley (R–IA) and three other Republican Senators, Foster recently confirmed that in addition to losing access to the health plan of their choice, those …
“Facts are stubborn things,” wrote Mark Twain, “but statistics are more pliable.” Jonathan Alter amply demonstrates this truism in last weekend’s New York Times Book Review. In regard to income inequality—a perennial favorite among the media and liberals—he opines: Over the last three decades, the top 1 percent of the country has received 36 percent of all the gains in household incomes; 1 percent got more than a third of the upside. And the top one-tenth of 1 percent acquired much more of the nation’s increased wealth during those years …
The First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which focuses on disarmament and international security, has for the past month been hearing statements from U.N. member states, U.N. officials, and NGOs on a wide range of subjects, from outer space to chemical and biological weapons. But a central focus of many statements is the U.N.’s proposed Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The supposed purpose of this treaty is to establish “common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.” The U.S. agreed to participate in the negotiations …
The Heritage Foundation’s Red Tape Rising report released this week documents not only the rising tide of government regulation in President Barack Obama’s first two year’s in office, but also the tsunami of regulation set to crush Americans over his final two years in office. Specifically, fiscal year 2010 federal regulators promulgated 43 major rules estimated, by the regulators themselves, to cost the U.S. economy $28 billion. That is the highest level ever on record. And that total only includes a few of the 243 new formal rule-makings by 11 …
Since the beginning of the Obama administration, the federal government has steadily increased the number of jobs transferred from private contractors to the civil service. Insourcing was supposed to save money, but the results tell a different story. The effort stems from a March 4, 2009, administration memorandum on government contracting. President Obama described this initiative as, “…reforms in how government does business, which will save the American people up to $40 billion each year.” But would it really save money to increase the number of federal government employees at …
Sen.Tom Coburn (R-OK) put out a report today documenting one billion in your tax dollars given to dead people. Zombies only exist on Halloween, yet dead people received checks from the federal government in the form of stimulus checks, aid to heat homes, housing subsidies, claims for prescription drugs, and medical supplies. Dead people are haunting the federal government and taking money away from the living. As Coburn writes in the report, with a $1.3 trillion deficit for his year and a $13.6 trillion amassed debt as a nation, tax …
Earlier this month, the Obama administration reported that the federal deficit hit a near-record $1.3 trillion for fiscal year 2010. That means the government had to borrow 37 cents out of every dollar it spent. If Congress continues existing taxing and spending policies, federal deficits will reach a projected $2 trillion deficit in just 10 years. America cannot survive such sustained deficits, and Americans know it. According to a poll conducted last week by The Hill, 52% of independent voters surveyed cited debt reduction as a priority, compared with only …
Lunch With Heritage Chat with Curtis Dubay
