Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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news
Why Rick Perry Is Optimistic About America’s Future
NASHUA, N.H.—Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in a speech today that hinted he might run for president again, said he is “optimistic” about the future of the United States. “This is an incredibly resilient country,” said Perry. “We lived through a civil war, two world wars, we lived through the Great Depression, we lived through… -
opinion
Forcing States to Recognize Gay Marriage Could Increase Number of Abortions
On the surface, abortion and same-sex marriage may seem unrelated. However, as explained in an amicus brief of 100 scholars of marriage, filed in the pending Supreme Court marriage cases and summarized here, the two are closely linked in a short and simple causal chain that the Supreme Court would be wise not to set… -
opinion
Clinton Asked 2 Years Ago About Personal Emails
Not even the week of Hillary Clinton’s announcement of her presidential candidacy could pass without further revelations emerging on her use of email when she was secretary of state. We found out this week Congress demanded an accounting of her email habits more than two years ago, but Clinton simply ignored the query. But the… -
opinion
How Slashing Taxes Could Increase How Many Superstar Inventors Move to US
One of the ways that low taxes promote economic growth is by attracting people with valuable ideas. In a new working paper, economists from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University measured how many “superstar inventors” are attracted by low taxes. They found that if top tax rates were cut 10 percentage points, the number… -
news
‘None’ Qualified Like Him, Mike Huckabee Promises Announcement on Presidential Plans
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, meeting with reporters in Washington D.C. this morning, revealed he will give an “indication” of his presidential plans for 2016 in an appearance on Fox News tonight. Talking like a potential presidential contender, but trying not to act like one (Huckabee refused to sit at the head of a table… -
opinion
Cyber Bill Moving Along, but Still More Work to Be Done
Next week will be cyber week in the House of Representatives, and the Senate is set to act soon on cybersecurity legislation. In recent months the growing cyber threat has caused the federal government to take steps to enhance cyber protection. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Homeland Security unanimously passed the bipartisan National Cybersecurity… -
opinion
Momentum Against Common Core National Standards Builds
States continue to wrest their way from the Common Core national standards and tests. Considering the problems that have plagued implementation, along with ongoing concerns from parents, teachers, and state policymakers over loss of state and local control of education, they are right to do so. Among the implementation issues, yesterday the Associated Press (AP)… -
news
Carly Fiorina’s Simple Solution for America’s Complex Tax Code
Soon-to-be Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina tells The Daily Signal that not only will she push for a simpler tax code but she thinks it’s time for the American people to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to government regulations. “You can’t have a regulatory thicket that has been growing for 40 years,”… -
opinion
Advocates Tell Congress: Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Now
In a recent hearing on “The Need to Reform Asset Forfeiture,” the Senate Judiciary Committee focused on how the property of ordinary citizens could be seized without them even being charged with a crime. Because current forfeiture laws treat property as “guilty until proven innocent” and often subject innocent owners to oppressive legal costs, Congress should… -
opinion
Why ‘Currency Manipulation’ Provision Should Be Kept Out of Trade Legislation
Any day now, a major debate will commence in Congress over legislation to grant Trade Promotion Authority to the executive branch. Among the more controversial issues to be debated will be proposals to include “currency manipulation” provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other future free trade agreements. These provisions would require the United States to… -
opinion
Watch Ryan T. Anderson Explain Why He Fights Against Gay Marriage
The Washington Post followed Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson as he went to Harvard Law School to debate same-sex marriage and why he fights for marriage and against the legal redefinition of marriage. >>> Read the full Washington Post profile of Ryan T. Anderson. -
news
Marco Rubio and Mike Lee Make the Case for Tax Reform
Today, Sens. Marco Rubio and Mike Lee made the case for tax reform. In March, Rubio, R-Fla., and Lee, R-Utah, released a “pro-growth” and “pro-family” plan, with reforms for both individuals and businesses. Here is a quick recap of their plan, discussed at an event at The Heritage Foundation. -
opinion
Should This Company Be Banned From Labelling Their Nutritional Bars as Healthy?
If you’ve ever looked into nutrition, you’d know it is a contentious area. What’s healthy and trendy one decade is verboten the next. And, vice versa, what’s banned one decade is embraced the next. Just consider eggs and red meat. When I was growing up in the 90s, my mom vigilantly made sure we didn’t… -
news
Missouri Welfare Reform Bill Would Ban Buying Lobster, Steak With Food Stamps
A bill introduced in the Missouri legislature would limit the types of food that recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would be able to purchase. House Bill 813, introduced by Republican state Rep. Rick Brattin, would prohibit a recipient of SNAP benefits to use the funds for “cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood,… -
news
It’s Tax Day and Americans Want Reform. Here’s What You Need to Know in 99 Seconds.
To coincide with Tax Day today, The Daily Signal describes the very beginnings of taxes and forecasts future chances at reform. In 1913, Congress adopted the 16th Amendment, which enacted the national income tax. Since then, the tax code has only been modified a few times. But now, Americans want change. According to a recent… -
opinion
Tax Day: Just One-Third of Your Total Tax Bill
It’s tax day—time to send those income tax payments to your federal and state governments. While tax withholding throughout the year means that many individuals actually receive tax refunds when they file, most people cringe at the total amount of state and local income taxes they pay each year. As burdensome as income taxes are,… -
opinion
The IRS’ Tax-Exempt Backlog Is Gone? … Really?
Forgive me for taking any statement from the public relations department of the IRS with a grain of salt. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says that the agency has eliminated a huge processing backlog of groups seeking tax-exempt status left over from the years it spent targeting conservative and tea party groups. That’s more than 60,000… -
opinion
New Mexico Enacts Sweeping Civil Forfeiture Reform
Last month, the New Mexico legislature unanimously passed a bipartisan bill essentially abolishing civil forfeiture in the Land of Enchantment (yes, that’s what they call themselves). But weeks went by and it looked like Gov. Susana Martinez was going to pocket veto the bill. If she hadn’t signed the bill by noon Tuesday, it would… -
opinion
Infographic: Is It Time to Update the Tax System?
The Heritage Foundation's Matthew Streit wrote more about this in a column last month for The Daily Signal: The last major update to the U.S. tax system was in 1986—over 29 years ago. Think about how much has changed since then. In 1985, Microsoft Windows was released. Since then, Microsoft has released more than 20… -
news
Children Picked Up By Police for Walking Home Alone
Two children were picked up by police on Sunday after a caller reported seeing them walking unattended in their neighborhood. The parents of the children have previously been investigated for letting them walk home alone. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv of Silver Spring, Md. practice what they call a “free range” parenting style, which she described…