U.S. Intelligence Agency News

Pensions are a huge part of public employees’ compensation, often providing a quarter to a third of their total compensation. A new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council shows how politicians play politics with public pensions, threatening public employees and taxpayers alike. State and local governments across the U.S. hold about $3.8 trillion in…

Finally, a reform plan has been introduced to preserve Social Security without troubling younger generations with undue debt and tax burdens. This plan, the Social Security Reform Act of 2016, was introduced last week by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. Johnson’s plan applies the right…

President Barack Obama sent high-level administration officials to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s funeral procession last week, a gesture of respect he did not offer for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funeral. After Castro’s death, Obama released a statement saying: “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and the world around…

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of dismantling Dodd-Frank, and now Senate Democrats are pretty much the only thing that can derail that promise. This week, key Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee indicated they want little to do with dismantling the 2010 law. But in their rush to save Dodd-Frank, they’ve shown just…

Donald J. Trump is president-elect of the United States of America. Many, including me, never expected to read those words. But for many Democrats, this election result is unfathomable. Many reasons exist for why Trump will swear the oath of office on January 20, 2017. But among them is the fact that the Democratic Party…

Earlier today, the D.C. City Council voted to allow physician-assisted suicide. But the debate isn’t over. The Washington Post reports that “the council must still hold a final vote on the bill, possibly as early as Nov. 15,” and that the mayor, Muriel Bowser, must decide if she’ll sign or veto the bill. The mayor…

Social Security’s benefit structure is so complex that few Americans understand it. There’s a simpler way to provide benefits that also would help to improve the program’s worsening finances. Most Americans don’t understand the rules and details that affect their monthly Social Security retirement benefits, according to a Government Accountability Office report based on data…

The very first line of today’s court ruling in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) states: “This is a case about executive power and individual liberty.” Today, for once, liberty won in a big way. It would be hard to overstate the importance of the decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, and the government program is going broke. If Congress doesn’t take action to reform the nation’s largest entitlement program, its looming insolvency likely will lead to large benefit cuts along with large payroll tax increases. The Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security Trustees each year report on long-term…