EXCLUSIVE: It could be said that President Obama has never seen a tax hike he doesn’t like — whether it’s letting the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire, insisting on higher taxes for job creators, and yesterday calling on Congress to raise taxes on the oil industry. But as much as the President wants to raise taxes, Heritage has discovered that there are even more tax hikes hidden in his budget, adding up to a total of $2 trillion in higher taxes. In a new report, Heritage’s Curtis Dubay uncovers Obama’s hidden …
While the President’s FY2013 budget ignores the looming crisis of entitlement spending, the House and Senate Budget Committees, to their credit, are keeping their eyes on the ball this week with hearings on the three largest threats to the country’s economic health: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. These hearings usefully keep attention focused on the urgency of the problem and will be even more valuable if they lead to proposals for real solutions. Naturally, such events invite a bit of political theatrics, as Members on each side critique reform proposals …
Britain’s Liam Fox has a warning for America: Fix the debt problem now or suffer the consequences of less power on the world stage. The former U.K. secretary of state for defense visited Heritage to explain why America’s debt is a national security issue. >> Watch the full 45-minute speech, “Warning to a Superpower” Fox faced cuts to the armed forces in the United Kingdom during his tenure. He said the amount of interest Britain pays on its debt is larger today than its budget for defense. Fox explained that …
One reason economists sometimes compare themselves to astrologers is that their forecasts are often equally accurate. But when it comes to analyzing government policy, economists have trouble even figuring out what happened in the past. Case in point: The most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report of President Obama’s $831 billion “stimulus” bill—also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Administration vowed that the bill would “save or create” (a squirrelly measure in itself) 3 million to 4 million jobs. Last week, CBO’s assessment—the 10th quarterly analysis …
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently issued a report that attempts to explain the usage of the term “hollow forces.” The report argues that given the context of the term, it cannot be used to describe dramatic cuts befalling the U.S. military today. Proponents of shrinking America’s armed forces have leapt on this report, misusing it to argue that warnings of a weakened national security are ill-founded. Numerous defense experts have decried anti-defense advocates for diluting the real issue. James Jay Carafano of The Heritage Foundation comments, “Although the report …
Remember last year’s titanic struggle over increasing the debt ceiling? A mighty contest that threatened to leave the nation in default, lasted for much of the year, and resulted in a $2.1 trillion increase in the national debt—papered over in part by the cover of the not-so-super committee? Well, this movie has a sequel: Debt Limit II, a return engagement scheduled to open on Election Day, November 6, 2012. Of course, the election will be in large part about President Obama’s dreadful handling of the economy, which is finally showing …
President Obama’s cuts to defense put America’s national security at risk, argues Heritage’s James Carafano. As the U.S. draws out of two foreign wars, the President assumes that America will no longer require a capable global force. However, these cuts do not account for growing threats throughout the world. U.S adversaries will only grow emboldened as America draws down its defenses. Proponents of defense cuts argue that America’s forces are overfunded and bloated; therefore, they can accept a degree of reductions. However, the President’s recent budget request will reduce not …
The Defending Defense project—a joint initiative of AEI, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and the Heritage Foundation—brought together Senators Jon Kyl (R–AZ), Kelly Ayotte (R–NH), and Lindsey Graham (R–SC) and Representatives Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R–CA), J. Randy Forbes (R–VA), and Marsha Blackburn (R–TN) on Thursday to discuss the implications of President Obama’s new strategic defense guidance and fiscal year 2013 budget proposal for the Pentagon. Former Senator Jim Talent of The Heritage Foundation moderated the discussion, and Thomas Donnelly of AEI gave closing remarks. Senator Kyl began the event by …
Obama’s new budget proposal that was unveiled on Monday includes increases budget of the Department of Education to $70 Billion, but it curiously cuts funding to the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (D.C. OSP). Click here to join us on right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. we are joined by Heritage’s Education expert Lindsey Burke. She is taking your questions about the Education budget and the success of the D.C. OSP is and why it is important for the future of school choice. Lunch with Heritage …
You don’t need to log on to President Barack Obama’s Facebook page to find out who his friends are, and you don’t need to read tea leaves, gaze into a crystal ball, or consult a psychic to learn where his priorities lie. No, you only have to take a look at his 2013 budget, just released on Monday, to see what kind of company the president keeps and to what extent he will go to lend his pals a helping hand. The folks seated at the president’s head table haven’t …
