At first look, the budget unveiled today by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) advances much-needed reforms and importantly accomplishes the crucial goal of balancing the budget within the decade, though this is partially on the coattails of Obama’s tax increases. Not a silver bullet, it is more …
The Obama Administration is on track to beat former President Bill Clinton for second-longest delay in submitting a presidential budget on time. First place for the latest budget in history? That also goes to President Obama. In 2009, he did not submit a budget until 98 days after the statutory deadline. …
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 …
On their respective blogs, economists Mike Konczal and Paul Krugman criticize the widely cited finding that a nation’s debt above 90 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) slows economic growth. They presume that the limitations of one study by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff mean that its warning can …
Despite claims by the Obama Administration that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) budget couldn’t afford sequestration cuts without reducing personnel—thus causing longer wait times at airports—the agency had no qualms about adding a $50 million contract for new uniforms the week before the spending cuts officially began. On February 27, …
The House version of the continuing resolution (CR) — necessary to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30 — was Congress’s opportunity to reprogram cuts from sequestration or cut even further. Regrettably, the bill fails to deliver on both counts. Worse, because of the …
Sequestration has taken effect, and yet government spending continues growing. Sequestration’s 2.4 percent reductions are not enough to fix Washington’s spending and debt problem because they do nothing to reform entitlement programs, whose costs will grow rapidly with America’s aging population. As more Americans age and retire, more Americans will …
Senator Jim DeMint, the president-elect of The Heritage Foundation, apparently has a crystal ball. This morning he predicted that Obama would use the sequester as a smokescreen: So why is President Obama leading a scare campaign filled with untruths about how sequestration will necessitate firing firefighters, cops, and teachers? I’ll …
About 77,000 unused or underused federal buildings cost taxpayers $1.67 billion to operate and maintain in 2010 alone (latest data available), according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from last year. Unlike your typical house on the market today, these buildings are beyond unsightly. The word derelict might not …
