After yesterday’s Senate vote against an earmark ban, we again made the case that the damage earmarks do to our nation’s deficits go far beyond the nominal amounts spent on the earmarks themselves. The problem is that the votes earmarks secure from the sponsoring legislators then allow for ever higher …
The report of the President’s Fiscal Commission is due today. As a stalemate appears increasingly likely, what appears to be an updated “chairman’s mark” to guide the commission’s discussions over the next several days was released. Like its predecessor, the report, puzzlingly titled “The Moment of Truth” (as if this …
Today marks the deadline for the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to vote on a proposal to reduce the federal deficit and put runaway entitlement spending on a sustainable path. From the current looks of things, it is unlikely that the labors of the bipartisan commission will …
The President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is not set to release its final recommendations on how best to tackle deficit spending and entitlement reform until December 1. However, several of its members have already gone public with proposals to reduce runaway spending and put Medicare and Medicaid, …
When the next Congress arrives in Washington, Members will need to get to work to reduce runaway government spending. One area that has been identified as a good place to start—especially as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform prepares to give its recommendations on deficit reduction next month—is …
The Heritage Foundation favors far-reaching reforms of our Federal Government’s spending, including with respect to entitlements. The ever-growing, out-of-control entitlement culture fosters dependency instead of self-reliance. At the same time, the Federal Government takes and spends an ever-growing portion of the wealth of this Nation, and spends the money of …
Still in the midst of a recession, the United States finds itself at a crossroads regarding which path will lead to economic growth and job creation. There are two choices: further government involvement and a stronger role for Washington—accompanied by higher taxes and heavier regulation—or the path of less government, …
In February, we reported that in 2010, Social Security would start running deficits in 2010. Well, Social Security deficits have officially arrived, as analyst Michael Barone lays out in the Washington Examiner: Social Security tax receipts for the first half of 2010: $346.9 billion; Social Security benefits payments for the …