The State of California keeps sinking into a deeper hole of debt, with reports showing that the state’s budget shortfall is projected to be $16 billion, up from $9.2 billion in January. But despite all the red ink, the state is still going ahead with a high-speed rail boondoggle that would cost billions. The LA Times reports: If California starts building a 130-mile segment of high-speed rail late this year as planned, it will enter into a risky race against a deadline set up under federal law. The bullet train track …
Facebook’s much-vaunted initial public offering is on the horizon and promises to shower a few lucky individuals with millions if not billions of dollars. One of those Facebookers is the company’s billionaire co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who renounced his U.S. citizenship ahead of the IPO, potentially reducing his tax burden. Saverin, who was born in Brazil and is a resident of Singapore, holds a 4 percent stake in the company, which could be worth about $3.84 billion. Bloomberg reports that though Saverin won’t escape all U.S. taxes—he will still owe what …
The largest tax hike in history is due to strike the United States on January 1, 2013. Known as “Taxmageddon,” it would impose $494 billion in higher taxes on the American people in the first year. So terrible would be its impact that yesterday Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Senate Democrats that the country is headed toward a “fiscal cliff” and that Congress must deal with the impending tax nightmare. On Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that his chamber will take up the issue before the November election. …
Should our fighting men and women be forced to drive unarmed SUVs into war zones, with speed as their only defense against rocket and car bomb attacks? Tragically, that’s a true story of U.S. military readiness today, and America’s defenses will only get worse under the drastic cuts aimed at our armed forces. In a new video by The Heritage Foundation, combat veteran Kerry Kachejian explains why U.S. military readiness is so crucial. He has first hand experience in the matter from his experience during the reconstruction of Iraq and …
It’s one thing to talk a good game about cutting spending, but it’s quite another thing to actually do something about it. This week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to finally set some limits on Washington’s spending spree while also ensuring that the U.S. military has the resources it needs to defend America. Here’s the lay of the land this week in the nation’s capital. On Thursday, the House is set to take up a spending reduction plan known inside the beltway as “reconciliation.” Under the measure, Congress …
For some professions, it makes a lot of sense to have some high standards before you’re allowed to work — doctors, pharmacists, pilots, you get the picture. But did you know that some states have some serious hurdles for jobs like makeup artists, tree trimmers, animal trainers and massage therapists? It’s true, and a series of new reports reveals how rules like these are making it harder for lower-income workers and entrepreneurs to earn a living. The Institute for Justice (IJ) finds that “occupational licenses” — essentially permission slips from …
Last weekend, the people of France took a sharp turn to the left, and the rest of Europe may be on the brink of rebuking its recent tack toward fiscal responsibility. With Sunday’s election of French Socialist leader Francois Hollande, France has leapt backward toward the policies that have helped sink the continent in a sovereign debt crisis. Disturbingly, the big government platform Hollande campaigned on is all too familiar to the American people, and if the United States is not careful, it could suffer the same fate as its …
On Friday, Americans woke up to the news that the labor market in April 2012 continued its plodding path of mediocrity. A mere 115,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate remained above 8 percent. But one of the most troubling indicators of the economy’s poor climate is the declining labor force participation rate — that is, the number of people actively employed or seeking employment. As this infographic shows, that rate dropped from 63.8 percent to 63.6 percent, the lowest level since December 1981. In a new paper, Heritage’s …
Her name is “Julia,” and if you haven’t seen her, she’s a colorful cartoon character invented by the Obama campaign to help spread the message of how women will “benefit” under the president’s policies. What it shows instead, though, is the president’s vision of America — that individuals need the federal government at each stage of their life, and that he deserves credit for making our lives even better. In Julia’s story, as depicted in a cartoon slideshow, a faceless young American woman grows from birth to old age with …
It hasn’t been a good week for the Environmental Protection Agency, and today’s Washington Post editorial page didn’t make it any better. On Monday, EPA Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz resigned after video emerged in which he likened the agency’s “philosophy of enforcement” to Roman crucifixions. Today, The Post took up the issue of the EPA’s zealous enforcement overreach and slammed the agency for “earning a reputation for abuse.” On Armendariz’s “Roman” Remarks, The Post opined: The most reasonable interpretation is also among the most disturbing — that Mr. Armendariz …
