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    Obama’s “Line-Item Veto” Really Just Tweaking Existing Authority

    Later this month, the Obama Administration is expected to submit a plan to Congress seeking additional power to cut specific items from spending bills. This proposal is commonly called the “Line-Item Veto,” named after the law ruled unconstitutional in the 1990’s. However, line-item vetoes did not require Congressional approval, while … More

    SAFE Act Would Cap Growth of Government

    Over the past decade, federal spending has leaped 62 percent faster than inflation, to more than $30,000 per household. Not content with this expansion of government, President Obama’s budget would push inflation-adjusted spending to nearly $37,000 per household by the end of this decade. This would create sustained trillion-dollar budget … More

    Can U.S. Avoid Greek Disaster if Washington is Asleep at the Wheel?

    Greece’s recent escapades in economic disaster are a sobering example to the United States of the consequences of allowing government spending to far exceed revenue.  But though Americans’ concern regarding the financial outlook of the federal government grows, those with the power to act something seem largely unaffected. The International … More

    We’re Not Greece … Yet

    In his latest New York Times column, Paul Krugman manages to make some useful observations before slipping into his usual role of distorting propagandist. His most important observation is in his title, “We’re Not Greece”. For that matter, we’re not Portugal or France, either, for all of which we can … More

    Morning Bell: Can We Avoid Becoming Europe?

    The Treasury Department announced yesterday that the federal deficit for April soared to $82.69 billion, more than twice the $40 billion deficit that Wall Street economists had predicted. An April deficit is rare for the federal government (there has been a surplus in 43 out of the past 56 years) … More

    Closing the Deficit Requires an Open Mind, Not an Open Wallet

    The typically staid pages of the Washington Post Business Section were graced this morning with subtle humor from the virtual pen of the ever-sober, oft sagacious Steven Pearlstein. In a piece titled “Keeping an open mind on solutions to the budget deficit”, Pearlstein neatly lays out the argument one typically … More

    The America Competes Act: Business-As-Usual in Washington

    This week, the House of Representatives will vote on the $86 billion “America Competes Act.” Just a few years ago, an $86 billion authorization would have been considered real money, even by Washington standards. But in this new era of trillion-dollar spending bills (and, not coincidentally, trillion-dollar budget deficits), an … More

    Europe Faces Reality

    The European economic model is dead. Don’t believe us? – Ask The Washington Post. Yesterday’s front-page story reported that the loans being made to stave off the debt crisis come with conditions which, if enforced, would require “European governments [to] rewrite a post-World War II social contract that has been … More

    What’s the President’s Weapon of Choice for America’s Economic Decline?

    When it comes to spending, President Obama’s proposed budget for 2011 takes fiscal irresponsibility to Greece and beyond. Ernest S. Christian and Gary A. Robbins, both former Treasury tax officials, write in the Washington Times that “the president’s planned fiscal excesses beyond 2010 cannot plausibly be attributed to the recession, … More

    Presidential Rhetoric vs. Reality of Spending Cuts

    The United States must reverse its spending habits, and most Americans know it.  A recent poll by Resurgent Republic shows that 62 percent of likely voters are very concerned about the level of deficit spending of which Congress is guilty.  When those that were somewhat concerned are included, the percentage … More