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  • Entitlements, Taxes & Spending

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

    Chart of the Week: Total Tax Burden Is Rising to Highest Level in History

    President Obama unveiled the details of his jobs plan last week, including a proposal to offset the new government spending with tax hikes. It’s a bizarre strategy for a president who says he wants to create jobs. As the above chart from Heritage’s 2011 Budget Chart Book illustrates, Americans are … More

    Federally Funded Boulders for Nevada

    Yesterday, I wrote about the House-passed bill H.R. 2887, which would reauthorize expiring aviation and surface transportation programs for a few months. Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK) is expected to offer an amendment to remove a mandate that forces states to waste 10 percent of all Federal Highway Administration money on … More

    Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

    While some of the press stories might make one think that Bernie Madoff ran Social Security, the reality is quite different. Although Social Security does bear a resemblance to a Ponzi scheme in that it has promised much more in benefits to younger Americans than it can possibly pay, these … More

    CNN “Fact-Checks” Opinions

    During the Republican debate Monday night in Tampa, Florida, Governor Rick Perry (R–TX) said that President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus created zero jobs. CNN “fact-checked” this statement and determined it was false. To review, in 2009 just before the stimulus was enacted, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5 percent. Today—two years … More

    Chart of the Week: How Social Security Is Contributing to the Spending Crisis

    Last week’s presidential debate at the Reagan Library elevated Social Security as a national issue that could reshape the 2012 campaign. Candidates spent the week trading blows about the role of the 76-year-old social insurance program. Leaving aside the political rhetoric, one thing is certain: Social Security needs to be … More

    Depends on What You Mean by ‘Meeting’: Super Committee Expected to Be Super Secret

    The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the “super committee”) met for the first time today. This bipartisan, bicameral committee was created in the law increasing the debt limit and is tasked to find between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion in savings over the next 10 years. Membership … More

    Lunch with Heritage Online Chat on Jobs and the Super Committee

    Click here to join us right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. We are joined by Senior Policy Analyst Curtis Dubay. He is taking your questions on what should be done about jobs, how tax rates effect job growth, and what the Super Committee should focus on. Lunch … More

    Presidential Race Puts Social Security Reform Back on National Agenda

    Social Security took center stage at last night’s Republican presidential debate, emerging as a key issue among candidates at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Not since President Bush’s ill-fated attempt to reform the social insurance program in 2005 have Republicans talked this much about Social Security. Of course, … More

    Chart of the Week: Your Share of the National Debt Is Growing Rapidly

    The newly formed Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction holds its first meeting this week. The 12-member panel will gather at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for an organizational session, then meet again on Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. for a hearing on “The History and Drivers of Our Nation’s Debt and … More

    Morning Bell: The Unemployment Empty Promise

    Sometime next week—we don’t quite know when—President Barack Obama is due to announce his latest jobs plan designed to lift America out of its unemployment doldrums. And though we also don’t know the exact details of the plan, there’s a pretty good chance it will include several key components we’ve heard … More