Senator Patty Murray’s (D–WA) budget tax plan directly calls for $975 billion in new tax increases over the next decade. Indeed, the Senate budget is only a framework document, but it clearly lays out who should pay the higher taxes. The Democratic majority wants higher taxes by “eliminating loopholes and …
The Federal Reserve Beige Book, released on March 6, cited Obamacare as a factor in slowing hiring and employment growth. The Beige Book is a report published eight times a year that details the economic activity in the 12 different Federal Reserve regions. As this most recent report explains, “Employers …
President Obama’s so-called Buffett Rule just won’t go away. It is back in its latest iteration because Senate Democrats proposed it to partially offset the soon-to-begin sequestration spending cuts. In the Senate Democrats’ version, the Buffett Rule, named after famed investor and vocal advocate for (and benefactor of) liberal policy …
Retiring House Ways and Mean Health Care Subcommittee chairman Wally Herger (R–CA) has introduced the most complete and detailed major Medicare reform proposal in a decade. Herger leaves a rich legacy with the Save and Strengthen Medicare Act (H.R. 6645). The bill moves Medicare to a defined-contribution model with competition …
The November employment report appeared to be good news. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest level since 2009, and the economy created 146,000 jobs. However, a closer reading of the details shows that the labor market is not recovering any faster but instead continuing its long, painful …
On September 8, 2011—well after the enactment of Obamacare—President Obama told Congress: “Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future.… But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And …
On March 13, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated its score of Obamacare, announcing that the program is $48 billion cheaper than in its previous 2011 score. The primary reason for this change is that more individuals will lose their employer-provided coverage than originally anticipated, and the government will collect …
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 …
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 …
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 …