Former Vice President Richard B. Cheney, already enjoying a season of public reflection on more than four decades of service to the nation, last night received The Heritage Foundation’s top honor for contributions to the conservative movement. The Heritage Board of Trustees presented the Clare Boothe Luce Award to Cheney, 70, at a banquet attended by more than 1,000 of Heritage’s biggest donors and supporters, capping their President’s Club gathering at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel. “Dick Cheney has set a lifelong example of what it means to be …
Back in February 2010, when Congress was still debating the Obamacare legislation, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) proclaimed to America that the law “will create 400,000 jobs almost immediately.” But according to a new report by Heritage’s James Sherk, Obamacare will have the opposite effect, pricing many unskilled workers out of full-time employment due to the law’s requirement that employers offer health benefits to full-time employees. According to Sherk, the minimum cost of employing full-time workers under Obamacare amounts to an average of $27,500, more than what many …
Various organizations and media outlets have attempted to refute the notion that government policy is creating uncertainty and hindering economic growth. However, when properly analyzed, the uncertainty argument is a legitimate one. Critics of the uncertainty narrative say that businesses cite poor sales – or lack of demand – not taxes or regulations, as the biggest hindrance to growth. A recent blog argued that the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)—the leading small business association—cited that over the past three years, a plurality of its members – 30 percent – …
Click here to join us right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. We are joined by Heritage’s Senior Tax Policy analyst Curtis Dubay. He is taking your questions about the proposed surtax on millionaires, the so-called “Buffett Rule”, and the impact it would have on jobs. Lunch with Heritage feat. Curtis Dubay
If something is too big to swallow, you cut it into bite-sized pieces. But that won’t improve the taste—unless you jettison any stinky stuff. Likewise, the notion of splitting-up President Obama’s Senate-rejected 326-page “jobs bill” won’t improve any of the proposals. It’s good that the break-up would prevent the classic congressional strategy of blending the good and the bad together into one piece of legislation. That strategy expects that Congressmen will hold their noses and vote for a package when they’re not given a choice to remove the worst parts. …
Free trade advocates can finally rejoice in the long-overdue passage of free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama that will benefit U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers. The FTAs will generate an estimated $13 billion in new U.S. exports, a $12 billion increase in U.S. GDP, and 70,000 or more new jobs. These benefits are all without a single penny of federal spending, making the FTAs a cost-free job stimulus program. Amidst the victory euphoria, however, there is the nettlesome annoyance of those now taking credit, including from …
If the goal is producing $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in 10-year savings, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction must think big and produce recommendations with real substance. Nothing could be truer than dealing with the health care savings component. Typically, these negotiations are so focused on reaching the savings target that the policy gets neglected, or worse hijacked in the wrong direction. One only needs to look at the 1997 Balanced Budget Act to see this in action. Yes, a Republican Congress and Democratic administration were able to join …
Congressional passage of three free-trade agreements yesterday marked a rare victory for economic freedom in America. But the United States has a long way to go before it regains its status as a leader in economic freedom, according to a new video from the Charles Koch Institute. Government regulations and rapidly rising federal spending have curtailed economic freedom in the United States. The result is a poor economy with high unemployment. The Koch Institute bases its findings on the latest Economic Freedom of the World Report. Heritage’s annual Index of …
A week ago, the Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero agreed to Spain’s participation in NATO’s European missile defense system by allowing four U.S. Navy Aegis guided-missile destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class to be stationed at the naval base of Rota, in southwestern Spain. These destroyers are armed with the Standard SM-3 surface-to-air missile (SAM) designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. Navy destroyers will be based in Rota beginning in 2013, along with 1,100 servicemen and 100 civilian employees. Together with …
Statistics released today about American teens’ sexual behavior belie the popular portrayal of American youth as permissive and careless. New data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that the majority of teens have remained abstinent. Though the proportion of teens who are sexually experienced has remained relatively unchanged since 2002, the CDC report does note that the percentage represents a significant decline since 1988. And it’s important to note that the proportion of youths who are abstinent has risen by 17 percent among teenage girls and by 47 …
