Listen to last Sunday’s Heritage Libertad Radio Show in Spanish or English. The Spanish segment kicked off with a discussion of President Obama’s recent speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, including his insistence on raising taxes on the rich. Later on we take member questions: How much interest on the debt are we paying every year? How long with it take to repeal Obamacare? The English segment kicked off with a discussion of terrorism, including the death sentence of a Christian pastor in Iran. Afterward, we take a look at some new revelations …
Yesterday, the White House announced that President Obama would once again be giving a “major jobs speech” in September after his Martha’s Vineyard vacation. If spending three years delivering identical speeches created jobs, President Obama would be taking credit for 4% unemployment today. Alas, they do not. In fact, President Obama has given many “major“ speeches and addresses on jobs since taking office. While some news organizations treated this announcement as “breaking news” yesterday, it is unfortunately more of the same from a President who is long on speeches and short …
My fellow conservatives, Americans are disappointed. They are disappointed that the debate over our debt limit was about the needs of politicians instead of the needs of the country. They are disappointed with a broken government that refuses to fix itself. And they are disappointed that the Budget Control Act that passed the House last night and is likely to pass the Senate today does not make the transformative changes this nation requires. There are several elements of this plan that are simply unacceptable, even when framed inside the narrow …
Put the security of the nation at risk or raise taxes. This is the sour “deal” liberal lawmakers are offering in exchange for insufficient spending cuts, according to reports of this weekend’s debt negotiations in Washington. The framework that Republicans and Democrats are close to approving would raise the debt limit by at least $2.1 trillion and get Obama and congressional Democrats past their target date: Election Day 2012. In return for this generous political cover, Democrats would agree to a modest $1 trillion in supposed cuts spread out over …
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 …
Some national business leaders are outright opposing measures of fiscal responsibility. Fortunately, fiscal conservatives in Congress are fighting back. Case in point: reaction to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) Chairman John Mica’s (R–FL) proposed six-year reauthorization bill, which limits transportation spending to the federal fuel tax revenues flowing into the trust fund. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s reaction was to label the proposal “unacceptable.” Apparently in their view, the proposal doesn’t spend enough money on the business community. Chairman Mica quickly responded to the president of the Chamber on …
Rep. Dave Schweikert (R-AZ) attempted on Tuesday to explain the debt debate — how the budget gap should be closed — in terms everyone can understand. Schweikert noted on the House floor that proposals to deal with the deficit from President Obama and other liberals — such as ending tax breaks for corporate jets (though not the ones included in the stimulus), letting existing tax rates for higher income Americans expire, and exempting five oil companies from the domestic production tax credit — would get us about half an hour …
Social Security is currently unsustainable. It began running deficits in 2010 and its trust fund will be exhausted by 2036, which is when seniors will see about a 25 percent cut in benefits. This is the scenario we face if Congress and the President fail to enact meaningful entitlement reform and continue reckless fiscal policies. This course is reversible, however. At a recent House Budget Committee hearing on the fiscal facts concerning Medicare and Social Security, Members were divided on how to save Social Security. Despite hearing from Steve Goss, …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Economy Needs Tax Reform, Not Tax Hikes – J.D. Foster Paul Ryan Schools Sebelius at Hearing … Ouch! – Kathryn Nix Republicans Split on Trade Tactics – Vicki Needham NAT GAS Act Isn’t the Solution for Energy – Calvin M. Dooley Welcome to Jimmy Carter’s 2nd term – Charles Hurt The Primary Education of Indiana’s Dick Lugar – Shira Toeplitz In the Murdoch Hacking Scandal, Roger Ailes Stands to Gain – …
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.
