Today’s announcement that Social Security recipients will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) again in 2011 brought an immediate reaction from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA). She proposed that the lame duck Congress vote on giving seniors another $250 one-time payment supposedly to replace the COLA. This seemingly altruistic gesture …
The 2010 fiscal year just ended, but America’s fiscal crisis has just begun. In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) preliminary estimates show that the federal government spent $3.45 trillion, amassing a deficit of $1.3 trillion. Spending on entitlement programs, which include Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, comprised 41 percent …
The Heritage Foundation’s 2010 Index of Dependence on Government, published today, showcases the disturbing trend of Americans becoming more dependent on their government – via their fellow non-dependent tax paying Americans – than ever before. The surge in the Index of 13.6% over last year takes the Index to an …
My fellow conservatives, The stakes couldn’t be higher for our nation at this moment. In the coming months, Americans will help choose which direction our nation’s future will take. Will the federal government continue to spend more, tax more, control more, and defend our liberties less? Or will we choose …
Should Americans be forced into mandatory participation in a government-run long-term care Ponzi scheme? Or is a taxpayer bailout of another congressional misadventure a better idea? These may be the choices confronting a future Congress if the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Program is left intact. CLASS is …
Following the Civil War, the Republican Party won elections by characterizing their opponents as the party responsible for the conflict. These fear tactics carried the GOP to several successes over the course of about 20 years. This election strategy is still alive and well today. Now, it’s liberals who are “waving …
The latest Democracy Corps poll, performed by Democratic pollsters Stan Greenberg, James Carville and Bob Shrum, shows that by a 64% – 29% margin, the American people believe that things in this country “have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track.” But nobody seems to have bothered to tell …
With the introduction of new legislation to implement the Automatic IRA—a simple, low-cost retirement savings vehicle for employees of small businesses—the effort to enable many more Americans to use a payroll deduction to build retirement security moves to a more active phase. A new bill by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D–NM) …
If you do a quick read of the Medicare Trustees Report, it would seem that Medicare’s finances have dramatically improved since last year. The 2010 report shows that Medicare has a $30.8 trillion shortfall (net present value terms of excess costs over revenues over the 75-year time horizon). Last year …
The Social Security and Medicare Trustees today released their annual reports on the fiscal condition of the programs, and the situation for these programs is still dire. Although the programs’ fiscal health hasn’t worsened since last year, both programs are still on an unsustainable course. Most significantly, the programs are …
