“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 …
Is the end near for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)? Things have been pretty glum over the past few years, as the government-owned organization has reported loss after loss. The latest hit? A whopping $2.2 billion for the second quarter. That follows a loss in fiscal year 2010 of some $8.5 billion. And if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for USPS, it’s an oncoming train, as it projects that by September it will run out of cash and default on a payment owed to the …
On December 21 last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by chairman Julius Genachowski, voted 3–2 to impose “neutrality” regulations on the Internet. At the time, dissenting commissioner Robert McDowell noted that the day—quite literally—was the “darkest day of the year.” The regulatory winter, however, may prove to be a short one. Not only is Internet regulation under attack in Congress and the courts, but there are signs that Genachowski may soon take a new post at the Commerce Department, leaving his signature initiative in doubt. The latest blow …
Forget the War on Business. That’s so 2010. Say hello to the War on Regulation. At least that’s the message coming from the White House. The administration’s regulatory offensive began Jan. 18 with an opinion piece by the president in the Wall Street Journal. The op-ed coincided with a new executive order which, the president wrote, not only ensures that regulators will consider the economic consequences of new rules, but also launched a 120-day government-wide review of regulations already on the books. The promised review even got a mention in …
Do regulatory costs matter? Not quite, according to the January 14 “Fact Checker” column on WashingtonPost.com. The column, by Glenn Kessler, criticizes Heritage’s recent “Red Tape Rising” report, which documented the growing cost of federal regulation in fiscal 2010. Noting that the study has been prominently cited by Rep. Darrell Issa (R–CA), the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he awards Issa a metaphorical “Pinocchio” for using data from the report. (Issa was given a second Pinocchio for using a study commissioned by the Small Business Administration on the …
There’s a new regulatory skeptic in town, and his name is Barack Obama. At least that’s the image the President tried to paint today in a bylined opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. The message was clear: Forget the War on Business. That’s so 2010. Say hello to the War on Regulation. But is Obama really a born-again regulatory reformer? That, of course, would be good news. After breaking records over the last year in terms of new regulations imposed, a reassessment would be welcome. In his op-ed, the …
Should bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., set rules for the Internet? Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), thinks so. In remarks today, he stated that he had developed a new plan to impose so-called “net neutrality” rules on Internet service providers, setting a vote on the issue for December 21. Details of the plan are yet to be released, but the chairman indicated that the plan was based on a legislative proposal floated a month ago by Representative Henry Waxman (D–CA). That plan, however, was soundly rejected …
Celebrating the company’s Wednesday initial public offering, President Barack Obama last night called his government takeover of General Motors a “success story.” “American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than my administration invested in GM,” he said. Left unsaid is the fact that if the Obama Administration keeps selling their GM stock at the IPO price, the U.S. taxpayer will lose $10 billion on the deal, and that does not include the loans GM still owes, cash for clunkers, the Chevy Volt subsidies, or the millions of unseen costs …
For years, supporters of Internet regulation have argued that it is a political winner—that voters would flock to candidates who promised to impose so-called neutrality rules on the Web. Last week, that proposition was put to the test, as a group called the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) released a statement signed by 95 candidates for Congress pledging to support net neutrality regulation if elected. At the time, a spokesman for the PCCC predicted that “the announcement would help generate enthusiasm for net-neutrality legislation in the next Congress.” The test …
The Federal Communications Commission is joining the fight against bullying. Reportedly, the agency will soon issue rules requiring schools that receive federal funding for Internet equipment and service under its “E-rate” program to educate students on “how to act responsibly online.” Specific topics will include “cyber-bullying prevention” and “behavior on social networking sites like Facebook.” It’s an odd new mission for the agency. Certainly, no one should defend bullying, and everyone is in favor of proper behavior online. But do America’s schools really need direction on those issues from the …
