Congressman Paul Ryan (R–WI) and Senator Ron Wyden (D–OR) have proposed a new bipartisan framework for structural Medicare reform. It continues the conversation with the American people on a solution to save the popular but financially troubled entitlement program. While there are differences between the proposal and the Heritage plan outlined in Saving the American Dream, and while their proposal does not go as far or as fast as it should in changing the massive entitlement program, it would establish a premium-support system of financing for Medicare, a variant of …
Whom has the recession hurt the most? There is no easy answer to that question—job opportunities have diminished for every ethnic and demographic group. But one of the worst hit groups has attracted little media attention: the youth. Younger Americans overwhelmingly voted for Obama in 2008, but the Obama economy has not treated them well:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one of the largest and most complicated overhauls ever enacted. Policy experts continue to debate the impact it will have. Among the issues that has raised concerns is its cost. Supporters point to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that the law will reduce the nation’s budget deficit by about $140 billion over the next 10 years. But according to an analysis by The Heritage Foundation, the health overhaul could end up costing American taxpayers millions of dollars in higher health …
The inability of Congress to stop the Obama tax hikes is already having a real, negative impact on the U.S. economy. Businesses are delaying hiring and investment decisions because they do not know what their tax liability will be next year. Even tax experts have noticed the incredible amount of confusion that now exists as Congress flees D.C. without preventing the tax hikes. Tax Notes Today reports in “Uncertainty in Tax Code Is Extraordinary, Former Tax Official Note” (gated copy) that former Joint Tax Committee chief of staff Lindy Paull …
There’s been a lot of misinformation when it comes to the new health care law—but not in the way Obamacare supporters have been claiming. We heard early on in the health reform debate that a massive overhaul of the private health care sector would bend the health care cost downward. But when that looked unlikely under the best scenarios, Obamacare proponents pivoted and said the American public would embrace this law. Even former President Bill Clinton recently admitted he was wrong in saying that Democrats would pick up additional support …
Two new studies highlight the growing concern that the true cost for Obamacare is greater than originally anticipated. Last week, a new report from the Office of the Actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its estimates—exposing yet again that the new law will mean more health care spending, not less. Plus, the Congressional Research Service released a report that suggests states will face higher costs as a result of Obamacare. These studies are just two examples of how assumptions, even small ones, in forecast models …
The June jobs report is not a happy one as we head into the holiday weekend. Private-sector hiring is still weak, at less than 100,000 new jobs. Even worse, wages fell, and hours of work are flat in the last quarter. While hiring in temporary services is still increasing, it is at a lower level than the past nine months. The labor-market recovery is no longer strengthening but is instead holding in place since spring. While the unemployment rate dipped to 9.5 percent, this is because there was a large …
The March jobs report contained some of the good news that analysts have been waiting for. First, private hiring increased by 123,000 jobs, with every sector except financial and information adding jobs. Second, revisions to the employment reports of the previous months were revised upwards. Third, the unemployment rate remained flat at 9.7 percent, despite a tick up in the labor force. (Often, the unemployment rate increases as workers return to the labor force after the worst of a recession has passed. In this case, the labor force increased by …
The February report showed that, although the labor market is still treading water, there is room for optimism. After all, almost every industry except for construction is either adding jobs or is flat. Job growth in the service sector was positive thanks to health care and temporary services. Manufacturing and retail trade were basically flat over the past month. The economy still shed jobs, but this reduction was the result of steep job cuts in the construction industry, many of which can likely be attributed to last month’s epic blizzards. …
Vice-President Biden recently released the report of his task force on how to help the middle class. While there are a few excellent recommendations, most of the report focuses on failed policy prescriptions of the past. An early indication on the biased nature of the report is the early admission that labor unions contributed heavily to the writing of the report, while business input is sparse in comparison. The report claims that middle class income has been stagnant since the 1970’s, and middle class families need the hand of government …
