Some prominent left-wing commentators have devoted weekly columns and blogs to the notion that Great Britain has misguidedly pursued harsh spending “austerity” and that doing so has left the country lingering in unnecessary anguish. In the opinion pages of The New York Times, Paul Krugman inveighs that: Britain, in particular, was supposed to be a showcase for “expansionary austerity,” the notion that instead of increasing government spending to fight recessions, you should slash spending instead—and that this would lead to faster economic growth. Such invocations of the confidence fairy were …
House Republicans return to Washington today to vote on a two-month payroll tax extension. If news reports are correct, the bill is likely to fail, leaving in doubt how lawmakers will resolve their differences before the year draws to a close. These year-end squabbles are now routine business in the nation’s capital. At issue in this case is the short-term extension of the payroll tax rate through February. “I believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. The American people are tired of that. Frankly, I’m tired …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus podcast, Heritage Action for America CEO Mike Needham discusses the latest on the debt negotiations. Listen to the full interview, here. With the shadows of default looming, what’s the likelihood that Congress strikes a deal? Are there any positive options? Furthermore, what’s the conservative strategy to deal with the debt limit while controlling government spending? For answers to those questions and more, click here. To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on iTunes. To listen to …
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its long-term outlook for the federal budget. As expected, we are going broke slightly faster than we were a few months ago. No doubt the usual bigger-government types will use this news to repeat the mantra that we need to both cut spending and “enhance revenues” (a thinly veiled euphemism for tax hikes). Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner used this oft-repeated line just this week.
Treadmills for shrimp and poetry in zoos. The AARP recently decried these examples of government spending as part of a recent TV campaign against Medicare and Social Security reform proposals. AARP says that in order to balance the budget, Congress should consider cutting funding for these types of programs, instead of considering Medicare and Social Security reform. AARP’s campaign refuses to acknowledge that current Medicare and Social Security spending is on an unsustainable path. Getting the nation’s spending—and ultimately the debt—under control cannot be done solely by cutting funding for …
Many of the freshmen serving in the 112th Congress were elected last November riding a wave of Tea Party activism, fueled in part by frustration over out-of-control government spending. This week they’ll have an opportunity to show the American people they’re living up to their promises as the House of Representatives debates a continuing resolution to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. We visited Capitol Hill this week to chat with some of them about why government spending must be cut now. Lawmakers are considering cuts …
House Republicans are now pledging to reduce fiscal year 2011 discretionary spending to $100 billion below President Obama’s original request. As reported, this new budget proposal would: Unwisely reduces security spending by $16 billion relative to President Obama’s request; and Reduce non-security spending by $84 billion relative to President Obama’s request and by $69 billion compared to the 2010 level. Rather than stop at $84 billion, lawmakers could seek a full $100 billion reduction in non-security discretionary spending. Defense should be funded at the level proposed in the FY2011 president’s …
House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) has released a fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget target. This target—302 allocation in budgetary parlance—was necessary since the previous congressional Democratic majority failed to pass a 2011 budget resolution or even enact a single 2011 appropriations bill. Instead they passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government, which expires on March 4. Thus, this dereliction of the basic duties of governing required the new Congress to start from scratch. The Ryan proposal would cut non-security discretionary spending by $58 billion below the …
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) promised during his campaign that he would balance the Empire State’s budget without increasing taxes or borrowing. Left untouched, the state’s $135 billion budget would otherwise result in $10 billion in deficit spending. This week, Cuomo appears to have taken the first step to making good on his promise. He unveiled a budget proposal that would, on paper, reduce New York’s spending by $3.5 billion from what was spent last year. (This is, however, a deceptively high estimate based on accounting gimmicks. The actual …
The new Congress has made spending reduction a priority. This week, Members are getting to work on that promise. Yesterday, by a vote of 245–189, the House passed legislation to fully repeal Obamacare. The new health law represents unsustainable new spending, including an expansion of Medicaid and the creation of a new health entitlement. On paper, this massive growth in government is paid for by burdensome new taxes and unrealistic cuts to Medicare. But at the end of the day, Obamacare will explode the deficit, and its repeal is the …
