To most Americans, the phrase “welfare reform” conjures memories of a bipartisan law that President Clinton said would “end welfare as we know it” in 1996. So why – 15 years later – has the situation only gotten worse? First, a little background (watch this quick video, too). The 1996 law replaced a failing program (AFDC) with a new one (TANF) that required able-bodied adults to either work or prepare for work in order to receive benefits. These requirements have helped millions of families become able to provide for themselves …
In my maiden Senate floor speech, I focused on the budget and economic issues we face and how our burgeoning debt and deficit is directly linked to the sluggish pace of job creation and economic growth in states like Ohio. As I said during the speech, I believe the twin challenges of our time are to revive the American economic miracle and stop the reckless government spending that threatens to extinguish the American dream. One affects the other. Without a growing economy and more jobs we simply cannot reverse the …
Is the President’s new “winning the future” slogan about America succeeding, or is it about his 2012 campaign hopes? President Obama’s FY2012 budget proposal makes it clear that he did indeed punt on making the difficult choices our country badly needs. He even failed to use the recommendations of his bipartisan deficit commission, instead deferring to some future bipartisan dialogue. Mr. Bowles and Mr. Simpson laid a platter of solutions in front of the President. The President turned his back on his commission’s recommendations and chose instead to present a …
After years of deficit spending and overreaching promises made by Congress, the time has come to pay the piper. As Congress searches for areas to reduce the burgeoning national budget, there are those who clamor for cuts to defense, the largest slice of the discretionary spending pie. While inefficiencies certainly exist in the Department of Defense which should be trimmed, let’s examine just how the DoD budget stacks up against the rest of the nation’s spending before we decide to close a ring of the Pentagon. The current defense budget …
In the past week, military excursions into the tribal regions of Pakistan targeted Islamist militants believed to have connections to a number of plots designed to strike at the European mainland. As more evidence comes to light, it becomes clearer that Islamist militants have been preparing to hit “soft” targets in and around Europe, in a manner and fashion similar to the coordinated attacks in Mumbai in 2008. While the United States appears to have avoided the target lists associated with this latest round of threats, it would be foolish …
Small business is the backbone of our economy. They create new jobs, employ half of the private sector workforce, and represent 99.9% of the businesses in this country. In recent years, small businesses have created 7 out of every 10 private sector jobs. In tough economic times, the government should do everything in its power to help small businesses, not burden them with new regulations and higher taxes. In order to jumpstart this economy, we must empower small businesses and give them the resources they need to create jobs and …
Two of the most prominent “safety net” hospitals in Massachusetts are facing sizable budget gaps again this year, and are turning to the feds to bail them out. Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) have long received, in part because of their emphasis on the under- and uninsured, greater political assistance in propping up their balance sheets. The desired Medicaid waiver amendment would be worth $86 million this year for CHA and $90 million for BMC. These institutions play an important role in Massachusetts, but the new …
I have always been thankful that so many of our country’s greatest leaders and statesmen were able to be on this earth at the same time and place to draft the Constitution. As a lifelong student of history and government, we were blessed as a nation to have individuals that put self-interest and sectionalism aside to debate, argue, draft and sign the Constitution. Our Constitution has been that beacon upon the hill, that guiding star at night, and that shining city that millions of persons around the word have longed …
If at first you don’t succeed, change the message. That’s the lesson learned when it comes to the new trillion dollar health law passed this spring. One of the central advocacy groups who pushed for the Obamacare recently held a confidential ”messaging” conference call with the progressive movement where they revealed the results of extensive polling on the new law. Remember when the left was confident their controversial health care vote would soon be cheered by the public? The thinking was that Jane and John Doe simply needed more time to understand …
Editor’s Note: On the right, please watch our exclusive interview with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and then below, please read an original guest blog to The Foundry from the Governor himself. We’ve been through a global recession. Now we’re fighting through a stalled recovery. Revenues are the lowest they’ve been in half a century. Their finances a wreck, many states have effectively sunk into bankruptcy. Indiana is still afloat. In fact, we’ve fared better than most. We continue to meet our obligations without raising taxes, and the reserves we carefully …
