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  • Entitlements, Taxes & Spending

    Replace the culture of entitlement with the culture of mutual responsibility.

    The United States of Argentina?

    Is President Obama channeling Juan Perón? The President does seem to have a few things in common with the political descendants of the late Argentine dictator. For example, due to ongoing lawsuits stemming from Argentina’s still unresolved $100 billion sovereign debt default in 2001, Argentina’s current president, Peronist Cristina Fernández … More

    Effective Marginal Tax Rates: A Growing Discussion

    Did you notice how your paycheck shrank in January? The expiration of temporary payroll tax cuts boosted marginal tax rates about two percentage points for most Americans. That might not be a very large number on its own, but taken together with the full range of government policies affecting workers … More

    Obama’s Budget to Be Late Again

    President Obama’s budget will be late again. When the President and Congress failed to close the fiscal cliff deal until January 2, it was predictable enough that the Administration would once again submit its budget a bit late. The fiscal cliff changed both revenues and spending, and so all the … More

    Morning Bell: Don’t Raise Debt Ceiling Without Balancing the Budget

    All across America, families are balancing their budgets and even paying off debt. Since the financial panic of 2008, personal debt has fallen as Americans tighten their belts and pay back loans. Some, unfortunately, had to declare bankruptcy because their debts got too big. Washington cannot declare bankruptcy; it must … More

    Smaller Paycheck? Welcome to Obama’s Post-Fiscal-Cliff World

    Working Americans receiving their first full paycheck of the year may have had a rude awakening today. Despite all the President’s promises not to raise taxes on the middle class, he did exactly that. By allowing the payroll tax holiday to expire at the end of 2012, President Obama and … More

    Sandy Relief: Final Vote on Pork Package Set to Go

    Despite all the handwringing, it appears that President Barack Obama will get what he wanted in his excessive $60.4 billion request related to Hurricane Sandy. Shortly after his request was sent to Congress, the Senate approved President Obama’s package largely intact. Last week, the House passed $9.7 billion for the … More

    Morning Bell: “Default” Is a Red Herring in Debt Ceiling Debate

    Yesterday, President Obama accused his opposition in Congress of threatening to “default” on America’s loans in order to make a political point. I am not going to have a monthly or every three months conversation about whether or not we pay our bills because that in and of itself does … More

    Gambling Taxpayer Money on a High-Speed Train to Vegas

    Even as the President and Congress have again failed to deal with the genuine fiscal threats facing the nation, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering gambling $5.5 billion in taxpayer funds on a high-speed train to Las Vegas. The loan could be approved under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad … More

    Hurricane Sandy Relief: Washington’s Latest Spending Spree (VIDEO)

    The U.S. House returns Tuesday to consider the latest installment of Hurricane Sandy disaster aid. The $17 billion base bill (H.R. 152) could grow by an extra $33 billion of pork-laden spending — without offsets. Heritage’s Patrick Louis Knudsen outlined what’s at stake with the spending package this morning. The Senate’s version of the … More

    Obama’s Press Conference: Debt Ceiling Spin

    President Obama referred repeatedly to the debt ceiling debate in today’s press conference in a textbook example of Washington “spin,” or the art of selectively ignoring certain facts while portraying others in a particular light. “You don’t go out to dinner and then, you know, eat all you want and … More