Baucus Joins International Tax Reform Debate, but His Plan Falls Short
Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus (D–MT) released his draft proposal for reforming the tax treatment of multinational businesses. It is a positive… Read More
The Truth About Spending Cuts and the Economy
Liberal economists like Paul Krugman might be calling for more government spending to help our ailing economy, but federal spending cuts are the better bet… Read More
Farm Bill: Taxpayers and Consumers Are Getting Catfished
As lawmakers look for ways to cut spending from the farm bill, they should go hunting for catfish—the new, not-so-pretty face of government waste. The… Read More
Lawmakers’ Currency Demands Could Backfire on U.S. Exporters
A number of U.S. legislators want to give the Obama Administration the power to impose tariffs on imports from countries that manipulate their currencies. Such… Read More
A Case for Separating the Farm Bill: Passing Trillion-Dollar Bills Should Be a Fuss
As of last week, President Obama’s number one economic priority is a new farm bill. He recently stated: Number one, Congress needs to pass a… Read More
Tax Increases Really Hurt Growth and Jobs
Some lawmakers, led by Senate Budget Committee chair Patty Murray (D–WA), are seeking to raise taxes in the budget conference to replace the modest spending… Read More
A Farm Bill in Name Only
To paraphrase a famous Mark Twain quote, suppose you passed a farm bill. And suppose you passed a food-stamp bill. But I repeat myself. Hard… Read More
Changing the Transportation Status Quo: Empowering the States
Senator Mike Lee (R–UT) and Representative Tom Graves (R–GA) have introduced twin bills (S. 1702 and H.R. 3486) called the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), which… Read More
Liberals Angry About Food Stamp Program “Cuts” They Supported
Food stamp program benefits decreased at the beginning of November when a temporary boost from the 2009 stimulus package expired. This reduction is now being… Read More
How President Obama Is Killing Jobs
Five years on and President Obama still refuses to assume responsibility for his woeful economic record. The buck stops with Republicans, other countries, changes in… Read More
Promoting Economic Freedom in Asia: Time for Secretary Lew to Step Up
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is touring Asia this week. He will visit Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam and end with a much-anticipated visit to… Read More
Employee Rights Act: Protecting Workers from Union Overreach
Sponsored by Representative Tom Price (R–GA) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R–UT), the Employee Rights Act addresses insufficient protections employees have vis-à-vis unions. The bill would… Read More
“Use It or Lose It” Shows There’s More Room to Cut Spending
As the budget conference committee meets to negotiate U.S. federal spending, lawmakers should not lose sight of the billions in taxpayer money still being wasted… Read More
Senator Mike Lee: Time to Rethink the War on Poverty
Progressives sometimes accuse conservatives of not caring about the poor. But it’s liberal policies that deepen, prolong, and institutionalize poverty. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) made… Read More
Regulation D Rule Would Harm Entrepreneurs and Economic Growth
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a rule that would impede capital formation, job creation, innovation, productivity improvement, and economic growth by making… Read More
Debt: Seven out of 10 Voters Think the U.S. Is on the Wrong Track
A recent Peterson Foundation poll showed that 70 percent of registered voters believe that the country is on the wrong path when it comes to… Read More
Congress Should Do These 3 Things in the Next 31 Days
In the next 31 days—starting today—the budget conference committee will try to accomplish something Congress has failed to do for the past four years… Agree… Read More
Still Not the Time to Raise Federal Pay
President Obama has announced a 1 percent across-the-board federal pay increase in 2014. This comes on top of federal employees’ already scheduled seniority-based raises. Unless… Read More
European Central Bank Lowers Interest Rates, Trumping “Zero Lower Bound” Theory
The European Central Bank (ECB) lowered a key interest rate to 0.25 percent on Thursday. This is a big deal, since it demonstrates that the… Read More
Wal-Mart and Economic Freedom in India
Wal-Mart recently decided to part ways with the Indian firm Bharti, thus ending its efforts to penetrate India. The breakdown in cooperation between the Indian… Read More
Why Conservatives and the Business Lobby Can’t Just Get Along
Even before Democrat Terry McAuliffe narrowly defeated Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor’s race, lobbyists representing the business community were rethinking their relationship with… Read More
FDA’s Proposed Trans Fat Ban: An Attack on Freedom
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking the first step to ban trans fat. It has made a preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils… Read More
Economy Still Growing Too Slowly
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s (BEA) first estimate of economic growth for the third quarter of this year shows an economy that continues to grow… Read More
House Farm Bill Conferees Will Allegedly Agree to Controversial Property Provision
According to a recent Politico article (subscription required), Representative Collin Peterson (D–MN), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, claimed that the House farm bill… Read More
The Road to a $12.50/Hour Minimum Wage in D.C. Is Paved with Good Intentions
If only the D.C. city council understood good intentions do not ensure good results. Council members are debating four different proposals to raise the city’s… Read More
Just One Dollar Less: Why Washington’s Budget Will Be $150 Billion More in 2014
What would happen if lawmakers took this year’s budget, subtracted $1, and made that the budget for next year? Let Freedom Ring made this video… Read More
Should Government Restrict the Candy Supply?
What happens if there are too many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the marketplace? What if there’s an influx of imported jelly beans? This simply… Read More
Tax Revenue Rose Five Times Faster Than Spending Fell in 2013
The monthly Treasury statement of the actual budget figures for 2013 this week shows tax revenue rising five times faster than spending fell in 2013…. Read More
Americans Support Stronger Work Requirements for Food Stamps
Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that the food stamps program should include stronger work requirements, according to the October Food Demand Survey (FooDS) out of… Read More
Happy Halloween: Candy-Crushing Cronyism
This Halloween, millions of Americans will, as every year, be handing out candy. But this year, the real trick could be finding treats made in… Read More
