In the coming weeks, the Senate will begin the confirmation process for three key Administration positions: Senator John Kerry (D–MA) for Secretary of State, former Senator Chuck Hagel (R–NE) for Secretary of Defense, and White House Chief Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan for Director of the CIA. All three have been …
Africa’s progress in Heritage’s 2013 Index of Economic Freedom remains stagnant. Though making progress last year, with an average score gain of 0.2 points, the continent declined by 0.1 points in 2013. Over the past few years, scores of Western nations have seen their ratings plummet (including the United States). …
The new crop of nominees for President Obama’s Global Development Council need look no further than The Heritage Foundation’s just-published 2013 Index of Economic Freedom for inspiration. When the President announced the creation of the council last year, its stated purpose was to provide guidance on new developments and ideas …
The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times had front-page stories yesterday on the Securities and Exchange Commission suing the China subsidiaries of major accounting firms for not cooperating with investigations into possible fraud at Chinese clients. The famous multinational auditors are complaining, the Chinese firms are complaining, the Chinese …
The clock is ticking. Massive tax hikes are threatening to push America’s already declining economic freedom over the “fiscal cliff,” a politician-made economic catastrophe. President Obama’s proposal to avert the fiscal cliff is a $1.6 trillion tax hike plus new stimulus spending, along with expanded power for himself to raise …
Fresh charges of corruption are shaking up the Workers Party of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, as The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Reforms are long overdue. The most recent “Rosegate” scandal stems from official charges brought by the Federal Police (Brazil’s version of the FBI) after an investigation of …
Although Japan is now best remembered for two decades of economic stagnancy, its post-war development plan can still serve as a model for emerging countries and economies recovering from crisis. This notion was on display in October, when, for the first time since 1964, Tokyo hosted the annual meetings of …
