The U.S. Commerce Department today reported that the country’s 2010 trade deficit was $497.8 billion, an increase of $122.9 billion from 2009. Exports increased from $1.57 trillion to $1.83 trillion, and imports increased from $1.95 trillion to $2.33 trillion. Increased imports are often a sign that the U.S. economy is growing. Imports typically fall during recessions and increase during economic recoveries. Prospects for a strong economic recovery could be boosted by extending agreements like the Andean Trade Preference Act and implementing new trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. …
House Republicans are now pledging to reduce fiscal year 2011 discretionary spending to $100 billion below President Obama’s original request. As reported, this new budget proposal would: Unwisely reduces security spending by $16 billion relative to President Obama’s request; and Reduce non-security spending by $84 billion relative to President Obama’s request and by $69 billion compared to the 2010 level. Rather than stop at $84 billion, lawmakers could seek a full $100 billion reduction in non-security discretionary spending. Defense should be funded at the level proposed in the FY2011 president’s …
At 11:34 EST, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced, “In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic.” The departure of Mubarak has long been considered a prerequisite for transformation of the government. His departure, however, hardly means the crisis is at an end. The military has been prominent in guiding the government response, and now with Mubarak’s departure, the armed forces—one of the few government institutions widely respected in the country—will bear the responsibility …
House leadership has recently laid out budgets cuts for next year’s budget. Join us tomorrow from 12-1 EST for our “Lunch With Heritage” online chat featuring Director of Government Relations, Brian Darling. Brian will take your questions about the battle that will be waged in congress for the cuts and the likelihood that the cuts will get through both the House and the Senate. Please join us for this lively discussion. If you would like to be reminded about the event, please leave your e-mail address in the form below. …
The data is in, and it is now widely recognized that an intact family structure is closely linked to household’s economic well-being and its ability to rise from dependency. Decades of research also provides evidence that children of married couples tend to fare better across a spectrum of measures, including academic performance, behavior, substance abuse, and psychological/emotional well-being. What may not be so well known is the fact that the ripple effects of family dissolution go beyond the impact on the immediate children of broken marriages. Current trends toward dissolving …
In the last few days in Indonesia, inter-communal ugliness has reared its head in way that is major cause for concern. That concern is lighting up mobile phones, Twitter, and Facebook accounts across Indonesia. Indonesians – particularly its middle and professional classes – are outraged to an extent unseen since June 2008 when Islamist militants descended on Jakartans peacefully commemorating Pancasila, Indonesia’s democratic, non-sectarian state creed. The most recent incidents themselves are terrible. In Banten on Sunday, a mob numbering as many as 1,500 attacked an Ahmadi congregation, resulting in …
The Obama Administration thought they had solved the crisis in Egypt. Yesterday in Marquette, Michigan, President Barack Obama told students at Northern Michigan University, “What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold. It’s a moment of transformation that’s taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change.” But hours later, after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down, White House officials were “stumbling for their next step in a crisis that was spinning out of their control.” How could President Obama have gotten events …
Egypt’s beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak announced tonight in a televised speech that he refuses to step down, but he promised to launch an investigation to hold officials of his regime accountable for fomenting violence against protesters since the political turmoil began on January 25. Mubarak promised that he would transfer some undefined leadership responsibilities to his Vice President, Omar Suleiman. He also proclaimed his love for Egypt and promised that “I will not leave it until I am buried in the ground.” Mubarak failed to satisfy the tens of thousands …
HERZLIYA, ISRAEL. Emergence of a nuclear Iran; turmoil in Egypt and destabilization of secular, pro-Western Middle Eastern states; blurring of the lines between unconventional, conventional, and low-intensity conflicts; explosion of information challenges in and around the battlefields—all of these concerns will increasingly challenge U.S. and regional policymakers and military commanders in the Middle East and beyond. These were conclusions at Israel’s flagship national security event, the Herzliya Conference, which ended February 9. The prestigious conference, organized by Interdisciplinary College Herzliya, attracted NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen; U.K. Defense Minister …
Great Britain has been a stalwart ally and friend to the United States, helping us save the world in World Wars I and II, and the Cold War, and is currently helping in our fight against implacable Islamism. Our connection goes deep, which is why the most recent revelation from WikiLeaks is such a blow to our relationship, and further evidence that Heritage was right about its concerns regarding New START. It has been revealed that New START, in addition to requiring traditional information (the number and type of items …
