In education, as in so many other areas, President Bush is looking to establish his legacy. On No Child Left Behind, no one will be surprised that the President once again called on Congress to reauthorize this landmark law. But the odds of that happening decrease by the day. For better or worse, history will probably judge Bush’s education legacy as the current program—greatly expanded federal control in education, significantly increased education spending, and testing policies that may be having unintended consequences in the states. But Bush does have an …
President Bush has zeroed in on the key weakness of the American health care system: the inequitable and unfair federal tax treatment of health insurance. If Americans cannot get health coverage through the job, then they get no tax break at all on the purchase of their health insurance, forcing them to pay much more than they would if they had job-based health care coverage. Today’s tax system not only undermines the access of millions of Americans to health care, but it also fuels higher health care costs. By reforming …
Taxpayers should welcome President Bush’s pledge in the State of the Union to veto spending bills that do not cut the number of earmarks in half. At the same time, Bush could have done so much more to address the surge in earmarks. Last year’s State of the Union message included a similar pledge to halve the number of earmarks, yet the President declined to issue an Executive Order canceling the extraneous pork in the mammoth omnibus spending bill. That bold step would have sent a strong message to Congress …
President Bush is correct in saying “the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth.” Despite the current economic slowdown, productivity remains healthy and most economic fundamentals are strong. The U.S. economy will recover from this slowdown. However, tax rebates and more government spending will not accelerate any recovery. Every dollar Washington “injects” into the economy must first be taxed or borrowed out of the economy. Such handouts should not be confused with policies that create more growth by encouraging working, saving, and investing. Rebates did not succeed …
Sen. John McCain, a leading opponent of earmarking, today praised President Bush for his plan to issue an executive order cracking down on pork-barrel spending. During a conference call with bloggers, McCain said he was rejoicing at the thought of angry appropriators in Congress. “Thank God he’s doing it,” McCain said of Bush. “I don’t have to tell you about the billions in these committee reports. … The president redeemed himself to a great degree in my eyes by what he’s going to say tonight [in the State of the …
Brian Darling previews President Bush’s final State of the Union address, noting that Iraq, free trade and taxes will be major themes of the speech. Darling also appeared on the National Association of Manufacturers’ “American Business With Mike Hambrick” to share his thoughts about the speech. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIwPLTGppis[/youtube] The White House, meanwhile, released excerpts from the address moments ago.
