Recent upheavals in the Middle East—including the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia and Egypt, riots in Bahrain, and near civil war in Libya—raise the question of what lessons the People’s Republic of China, and especially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), are likely to have learned. The concern focuses not only on whether the Chinese foreign policy of non-interference is appropriate and sustainable (although the attacks on Chinese oil workers in Libya prompting their likely evacuation would suggest not) but also whether the Chinese are likely to interpret this upheaval …
Wisconsin. Ohio. Michigan. New Jersey. New York. Budget-battle showdowns are coming soon to a statehouse near you. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has provoked the ire of labor union leaders in Wisconsin, but he’s not alone. Governors across America are confronting budget shortfalls — and looking to public employees to help make up the difference. Walker’s budget repair bill asks government workers to make a 5.8% pension contribution (about the national average) and 12.6% health insurance contribution (about half the national average). In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie proposed that …
Today Wisconsin, tomorrow California? The battle between government unions and state budgets was inevitable once the unions were given collective bargaining rights over the past 50 years. The battle boiled over the past few weeks in Wisconsin as Republicans in the Legislature are attempting to repeal the state’s collective bargaining law for public-employee unions, along with requiring state workers to pay half their pension costs. A Rasumssen poll released Feb. 24 showed that 67 percent of Americans disapprove of Democrats’ tactics in Wisconsin, where all the state’s Democratic senators fled …
Within the much-debated continuing resolution—an appropriations bill to fund the federal government through September 2011—is a bit of hope for students in the nation’s capital. The spending bill would remove language inserted in 2009 by Senator Richard Durbin (D–IL) prohibiting new students from receiving scholarships through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP). Despite its success, the program has been hanging by a lifeline for the last two years. Since 2003, the scholarships have helped thousands of low-income students escape the failing D.C. public schools by giving them the opportunity to …
On February 10, a U.S., military C-17 touched down in Buenos Aires. On board were eight special forces soldiers and a medic en route to provide a hostage rescue training course for the police of Buenos Aires. Little did they know they would be stepping into a diplomatic ambush. In the aircraft’s cargo hold were items to be used for training purposes. Argentine customs and law enforcement officials charged that many items on the aircraft did not correspond to the manifest submitted by our embassy in Buenos Aires. Argentine Foreign …
This week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which oversees the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), met with General Khalid Wynne, Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The meetings, and associated announcements, underscore the close security relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan. China and Pakistan have a long history of military cooperation. The Chinese have helped Pakistan develop its indigenous arms industry, and joint ventures between the two states include joint production of the …
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, in an exclusive interview with the Heritage Foundation, called union collective bargaining a “vicious cycle,… one I think people have realized we can’t afford anymore.” Government unions bargain for more taxpayer money, collect dues from their membership, and come right back to the table demanding more. In the case of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA), more means Viagra, Cialis, and the like for male employees of Milwaukee public schools. In 2002, through collective bargaining, MTEA won the inclusion of Viagra in its members’ health plans, …
As Americans watch Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stand firm against union demands, we should pause to remember two former governors who also resisted riotous protestors: Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan. As Massachusetts governor in 1919, Calvin Coolidge resisted the unionization of police officers. As soon as police officers began protesting in the streets, Coolidge responded by reminding the people that “there is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anytime, anywhere.” Coolidge’s resolute stance against burgeoning police unions resonated with the people of Massachusetts, and soon many …
The Washington Post is quick to note the soft underbelly of President Obama’s midstream decision to abandon legal support for the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In an unsigned editorial, the Post, which shares liberal objections to DOMA as public policy, points out how easily the Administration’s tactic of retreating from duly enacted law “could come back to haunt it.” The editorial cites the example of a future Republican Administration attempting to “sabotage” the Obama health care initiative by refusing to defend it. Being hoist with one’s own petard …
House and Senate leaders are caught in a debate over real and phantom discretionary spending cuts. Senate leaders have proposed freezing 2011 discretionary spending at 2010 levels. Because this rejects the President’s proposed $39 billion increase, they are calling their yet-to-be-released proposal a $39 billion cut—essentially, claiming credits for “cuts” against a spending level that was never enacted in the first place. By contrast, the House-passed bill not only rejected the President’s proposed $39 billion hike but actually $61 billion cut off the 2010 level. Thus, only the House bill …
