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  • Morning Bell: The Governing Class and Us

    In a speech yesterday in Elyria, Ohio — a small town just outside Cleveland sitting at the forks of the Black River — President Barack Obama delivered a politically charged speech in which he hearkened back to the country’s roots, saying that his opponents “don’t seem to remember how America was built.” In his view, taxpayers want their money spent in ways that will help further “the larger project we call America.” In other words, more spending and bigger government paid for with higher taxes. In a city quite unlike … More

    Democrat Senate Candidate Wants to Repeal (Part of) Obamacare

    There are millions of Americans who want to see Obamacare repealed, and with good reason. But it’s a rare day indeed when a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate (and former adviser to President Obama) calls for part of the president’s health care law to be eliminated. But that’s just what happened when Elizabeth Warren, who is campaigning in Massachusetts against incumbent Senator Scott Brown (R), authored an op-ed that calls for the repeal of Obamacare’s medical device tax. Under the law, Obamacare imposes a 2.3 percent excise tax on … More

    Morning Bell: Obama’s New Gas Price Scapegoat

    High gas prices are not a president’s friend, especially in an election year, so it’s not surprising that President Barack Obama is trying his darndest to shift the blame for record-high fuel prices onto something other than his failed energy policies. Yesterday he made a desperate attempt to distract from those failures and redirect America’s gas price rage with a flawed proposal to punish speculators for supposedly driving up the cost of energy. Speaking from the Rose Garden, the president announced a proposal to spend $52 million to fund increased government … More

    In Pictures: What Costs More? Life or Taxes?

    As the saying goes, there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Given that fact, it’s worth taking a look at how much it costs to live and how much it costs to pay taxes, especially on this Tax Day. The Republican Study Committee has pulled together a great chart putting these costs side by side:

    Why Bush Isn’t Responsible for Today’s Debt Crisis

    We get it, the last thing President Obama wants is to be blamed for is the nation’s growing debt—or anything else, actually. But the statute of limitations on blaming President George W. Bush for everything—anything—must have run out by now.  On the debt in particular, it’s sort of a hard thing to avoid considering President Obama is the first president in history to preside over four years of deficits in excess of $1 trillion. But in the time honored tradition of the Obama Administration, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner took to … More

    Morning Bell: What Tax Day Could Feel Like in 2013

    In addition to today being Tax Day, it’s also, coincidentally, “Tax Freedom Day” — meaning that it has taken from January 1 until now for Americans to earn enough money to pay this year’s federal, state, and local tax bill — 29.2% of all our income. In other words, for the first 111 days of the year, everything you earned went straight to Uncle Sam. Compare that to back in 1900, when Americans paid only 5.9% of their income in taxes and Tax Freedom Day came on January 22. The … More

    Picture This: The Buffett Rule vs. Obama’s Budget

    President Obama says his “Buffett Rule” — which imposes higher taxes on wealthy Americans and job creators — will help “stabilize our debt and deficits for the next decade.” But if you compare how much money his policy raises with how much he’d like to spend, you get a much different picture. The Buffett Rule would impose a minimum 30 percent tax on businesses and families earning $1 million. That would bring in $47 billion in revenue in ten years. Next to the President’s budget, which adds $6.7 trillion to the … More

    Morning Bell: Tax Gimmicks, Tax Doom

    The U.S. Senate could vote today on the gimmicky distraction known as the Buffett Rule — President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and job creators in order to supposedly bring “fairness” to the tax code and pay down the debt. As the paper-thin justification for the proposal continues to fade away, the American people are staring down Tax Day, continued joblessness, and the prospect of a major tax meltdown coming on January 1, 2013. The facts of the Buffett Rule are simple. The President wants millionaires (and … More

    VIDEO: Condoleezza Rice Speaks on American Exceptionalism at Heritage

    For those who think the United States should withdraw from the world stage, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a message: America is exceptional because of its willingness to lead, and without maintaining that commitment, America’s greatness will be in jeopardy. In a wide-ranging speech today at The Heritage Foundation, Rice explained why American leadership and a strong foreign policy are vital to guarding U.S. interests and security while furthering the country’s prosperity, particularly given how the world has dramatically changed in the last decade. Rice says those changes … More

    Morning Bell: North Korea’s Rogue Missile Launch

    In defiance of international pressure, North Korea last night launched a long range missile, underscoring the belligerent regime’s continuing threat to U.S. interests and regional stability in Asia. The launch comes as the rogue nation is continuing its transition to new leadership under dictator Kim Jong-un, who replaced his father Kim Jong-il after his death in December. In addition to the missile test, it has been reported that North Korea may also be in the “final stages” of preparations for another nuclear test, leading to escalating tensions that could spur Jong-un … More