According to the most recent news, China will likely target Taiwan with 1,800 missiles by the end of next year. The deployment of an additional 200 missiles with increased range and accuracy compared to previous types comes amid the easing of the tension between China and Taiwan following the 2008 election of President Ma Ying-jeou. The Taiwanese president ran on a platform of pursuing a more China-friendly policy. But pursuing such a policy has not affected Chinese efforts to improve its ballistic missile and long-range firepower capabilities. Ballistic missiles are …
Four months after President Obama called for a government-wide initiative to identify outdated regulations that are stifling the American economy, the first results are in. As announced today by Obama “regulatory czar” Cass Sunstein, agencies have identified a wide-ranging set of regulations to roll back, promising some welcome savings for consumers and the economy. Among the steps highlighted today by Sunstein: Eliminating an EPA requirement that gas stations maintain gas vapor recovery systems, a requirement that is redundant with air pollution controls required on cars today. Estimated savings: $67 million. …
Arizona won a spectacular victory today in the Supreme Court in its ongoing efforts to do something about the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who reside in the state and cost Arizona taxpayers an estimated $1.3 billion a year. In its ruling against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration, the Court also disproved the breathless claims of liberals and the editorial pages of publications like the New York Times that the conservative justices on the Court are just the handmaidens of big business who always rule …
Most people think of savings as that portion of a family’s income that they put away for emergencies, a big purchase, or their kids’ college education. It seems that some in the media want to change that definition. The Hill ran an article equating tax increases with “savings” in terms of the budget deficit: Senate Democrats claim they are close to agreement on a spending plan that would reduce borrowing by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, with about half the savings coming from higher taxes. To review: …
Despite President Obama’s assurances that his massive overhaul of the health care system would control health care costs and allow Americans to keep their current coverage, the outlook indicates otherwise. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) recently released its annual report on medical cost trends for 2012, and it is revealing. The report shows health care costs and premiums continuing to rise—and uncertainty increasing for employers who offer insurance to their workers. Health care spending increased by 7.5 percent in 2010 and will grow by 8 percent this year. In 2012, it will rise …
As we mourn the human toll taken by the tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, some are using the disaster as an opportunity to warn about the dangers of climate change. Al Roker recently suggested that climate change is bringing tornadoes from the country to the city. Environmentalist Bill McKibben, the same guy who blamed the Washington, D.C., snowstorms on global warming, penned a snarky op-ed in The Washington Post saying that those who ignore these weather events are ignoring a much bigger problem in climate change. Despite these claims, what …
Over the last several weeks, students, families, and advocates of education reform have witnessed exciting steps forward by numerous states to expand education options. Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Utah (among others) have implemented strategies to expand school choice and give children greater hope for a quality education. Unfortunately, Louisiana may be going in just the opposite direction by attempting to eliminate the only school choice program in the state. The Louisiana House Appropriations Committee has proposed to cut funding for the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program, which provides scholarships …
Solving our nation’s fiscal crisis is not up for debate, and politicians should be past the point of using it as fodder for political gain. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the latest from liberals in Congress who are digging in their heels and refusing to recognize the reality of America’s budgetary mess. Yesterday, the Senate at long last voted on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) FY 2012 “Path to Prosperity” budget, which had previously passed the House. It was defeated 57-40, with no Democrats voting …
“We received confirmation this morning…that Chrysler Group repaid, with interest, by wire transfer to the United States Treasury and by bank transfer to the Canadian government, every penny that had been loaned less than two years ago.” That simple statement by Chrysler (and Fiat) CEO Sergio Marchionne that Chrysler had paid off its taxpayer loans sparked a victory dance among supporters of the automaker bailout that would have made Snoopy proud. President Obama issued a statement from Europe lauding the “tough decisions” he made to help the firm and made …
A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal noted that “Unintended pregnancies likely cost the federal and state governments more than $11 billion a year,” based on research published by the Brookings Institution. A major reason for the cost to government, notes the author, is that “women who unintentionally get pregnant are more likely to be low-income” and thus “are more likely to be eligible for government-financed medical care.” The Brookings report also notes that the majority (57 percent) of these births are to women who are unmarried: one of …
