Before the State of the Union address, Heritage Foundation scholars laid out five foreign policy and national security commitments that needed to be in the speech. The President scored about 1 out of 5. The speech did nothing to dispel concerns that the Obama Doctrine just does not make the grade. A Commitment to Peace and Prosperity Through Strength. Grade: “0.” The President’s call for a federal spending freeze did not include “security.” The problem is that the White House’s five-year budget forecast already calls for cuts (in constant dollars) …
An ugly financial bubble bursts. A misguided U.S. Congress responds by blaming foreigners and passes a trade bill that prompts widespread retaliation and exacerbates the initial popping of the bubble. That was 1930 and the Great Depression. Fast forward 80 years. An ugly financial bubble has burst and the U.S. Congress—having already failed with trillions in deficit spending—is now blaming foreigners. A bill in front of the House Ways and Means Committee (and scheduled to be sent to the House floor next week) blames Chinese exchange rate policies for the …
Today, President Obama is hosting a jobs summit at the White House with union bosses and corporate CEOs to discuss ways to accelerate job creation in the US. Noticeably absent are any representatives from the Chamber of Commerce or the National Federation of Independent Businesses, who represent most of the employers throughout the country. While not receiving invitations from the President might not stop everyone from attending events at the White House, the absence of the Chamber and NFIB reveal this summit for what it really is: just another PR …
Three years ago the U.S. finished negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia that would have given American businesses reciprocal access to the Colombian market that Colombian companies have been receiving for years. Two years later, in an unprecedented move, Speaker Pelosi denied the FTA an up or down vote in the House, stripping the agreement’s “fast track” procedural protections under the law. Despite calls for action, the Obama Administration has followed suit by failing to push the agreement forward. Now Canada has swooped in to lock in an …
Answer: they both want to punish Colombia. Venezuela’s authoritarian, anti-American President Chavez claims Colombia threatens his national security, runs around too much with the “Empire,” [the U.S.], and will one day provoke a war with Venezuela. For these reasons, he aims to punish Colombia by cutting off trade and undermining economic security in Colombia and Venezuela. Being the economic kingpin of Venezuela, he can make it happen. Chavez’s latest attack on Colombia and President Uribe comes just as the U.S. and Colombia move toward agreement on how to operate regular …
