President Obama’s infamous words—saying electricity rates will “necessarily skyrocket” under his cap-and-trade program that would impose a costly energy tax on American consumers—are set to come true. Just ask the market. Although cap and trade is not law, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) backdoor train wreck of energy regulations is forcing utilities to file for significant rate hikes in years to come because of the upgrades they will have to make or the complete shutdown of older plants. Take Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E), for instance. In what’s labeled as …
Marriage in America is in serious trouble. More Americans are cohabitating, fewer are marrying, and if they do wed it is at a much later age than previous generations. Although divorce rates have declined slightly over the past 20 years, pervasive no-fault divorce laws allow marital dissolution to continue plaguing American communities. Four out of 10 children are now born outside of marriage, increasing government dependence by leaving thousands more children without the social and economic stability of married households. Given the profound impact of intact, married families on child …
The U.S. Commerce Department today announced that the trade deficit for April was $43.7 billion. This number is misleading because it implies a “deficit” in terms of dollars leaving the country, which is not the case. For example, the trade deficit numbers do not include the billions of dollars foreigners spend on U.S. Treasury bonds to help finance our government’s enormous budget deficit. Last year, foreigners spent an average of $59 billion per month on U.S. Treasury bonds. Also not included are the dollars people in other countries invest in …
It’s easy to see why Obamacare’s unpopularity grows substantially with every new detail that comes out. As former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) infamously noted, we had to pass the bill to find out what was in it. Well, now we know. Many businesses affected by Obamacare—those not lucky enough to receive the coveted waivers—now view their slimming insurance options with extreme caution. A shocking new study out by McKinsey and Company finds that 30–50 percent of employers who currently provide health insurance for their employees are likely to drop …
President Obama’s decision to allow some deepwater drilling to resume in the Gulf of Mexico is already yielding impressive results. ExxonMobil announced yesterday it had discovered what amounts to 700 million barrels of oil in the Gulf — the largest find in 12 years. The discovery comes about two months after ExxonMobil had resumed drilling under new regulations put in place by the Obama administration. The company had drilled two wells at the site prior to last year’s oil spill, but was forced to cease work when the government …
With Defense Secretary Robert Gates making his final rounds and Secretary of Defense nominee Leon Panetta headed to his Senate hearing tomorrow, the obvious question is how Panetta will face the defense issues at hand. The Defense Department is rife with challenges, including rampant defense spending cuts in the name of fiscal responsibility and lack of proper modernization. End-strength reductions for the Army and Marines and talk of leaving Afghanistan echo in the halls of both the Pentagon and the Capitol. Panetta’s answers to these challenges will be important for …
Speaking at yesterday’s Bloggers Briefing, conservative filmmaker Stephen Bannon held up a copy of USA Today to demonstrate the challenge of getting Americans to take seriously this country’s debt crisis. On the front page was a banner headline, “U.S. owes $62 trillion.” Underneath the headline and above the fold was a photo of a tearful Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) from Monday’s late-afternoon press conference. The two stories had nothing to do with each other, but no doubt USA Today had an idea which one was more likely to sell papers. “Look, …
The U.S. economy continues to drag, but why’s the recovery going so slowly? The 13.9 million unemployed Americans aren’t the only ones who want to know. Yesterday, following a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke (who described the economic recovery as “frustratingly slow”), JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon grabbed the microphone and asked Bernanke whether excessive government regulations are hampering the growth. Dimon said: I have this great fear that someone’s going to write a book in 10 or 20 years, and the book is going to talk …
Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology released a comprehensive report that details the Obama Administration’s attempt to prematurely and unnecessarily shut down the used nuclear fuel repository at Yucca Mountain. The report demonstrates that issues surrounding opening Yucca Mountain are purely political and not one bit scientific and technical. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the report is the information revealed from Volume III of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Safety Evaluation Report (SER), which was obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request from …
The visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Washington has attracted little attention in the US media, perhaps further proof that Berlin barely ranks as a world power these days, and consistently punches under its weight in international affairs. Compared to both David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, Merkel is a remarkably low-key figure when it comes to global impact, despite the size of the German economy. Judging by the content of yesterday’s joint press conference in the White House East Room, which has to rank as among the most dull …
