How Do Nations Succeed? With Economic Freedom
It’s often easy to forget where we’ve been on the journey to where we’re going. In America, the foundation of our society and the source… Read More
Housing Finance Nominee: Expect Big Government Housing Policies Doomed to Fail
President Obama nominated Representative Mel Watt (D–NC) as new chief regulator to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), replacing the current acting director Edward DeMarco…. Read More
Too Big to Fail: Brown–Vitter Swings and Misses
In an unusual left–right pairing, Senators Sherrod Brown (D–OH) and David Vitter (R–LA) last week introduced legislation to increase capital requirements on large banks. Calling… Read More
GDP Grew 2.5 Percent in the First Quarter
After dreadfully low growth in the last quarter of 2012—just 0.4 percent—gross domestic product (GDP) returned to a healthier rate of growth of 2.5 percent… Read More
Reid Suggests Exploiting Budget Gimmicks for Sequestration
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) is proposing not one but two old budget gimmicks to spend $85 billion more in 2013 than allowed under… Read More
Morning Bell: Internet Sales Tax Is a State Money Grab
Why are states so eager to collect taxes on Internet sales? In short, because they could grab money from other states. Heritage legal expert David… Read More
Immigration Bill Is a Trojan Horse for Spending
The contentious immigration bill (S. 744) put together by the Senate Gang of Eight is a spending Trojan Horse with several provisions that simply declare… Read More
Morning Bell: Beware the Internet Sales Tax
The Internet sales tax is back, and it could be the next big vote in the Senate. The proposed law would enable states to force… Read More
Thomas Perez a Troubled Pick for Labor Secretary
The President has a right to nominate cabinet secretaries who share his political views. He does not have a right to appoint unqualified cabinet secretaries…. Read More
EconomyNews
Hunting for Surprises in the Obama Budget
It is somehow fitting President Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2014 after Easter, a mere 65 days late—but who’s counting? Fitting because going… Read More
Raising the Minimum Wage to $9 Would Harm Most Vulnerable Job Seekers
President Obama’s budget proposes raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour. This would hurt the very workers the President wants to help. When the… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama’s Fake Budget Marketing Exposed
President Obama is marketing his new budget by saying it has “more than $2 in spending cuts for every $1 of new revenue.” Is this… Read More
A Step in the Right Direction: Obama’s Chained CPI Proposal
Outside the President’s general, grow-the-government, increase-the-debt, tax-the-rich budget themes lies a commonsense proposal to use a more accurate measure of inflation when calculating government benefit… Read More
Conservative Chileans Appreciated Margaret Thatcher
The death of Margaret Thatcher received extensive media coverage in Chile, proving that the “Dama de Hierro” (“Iron Lady”) is still capable of stirring powerful… Read More
EconomyNews
The Obama Budget: Heritage Experts’ Analysis
Minimum Wage President Obama’s budget proposes raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour. This would hurt the very workers the President wants to help…. Read More
Trade Agreements Can Advance Economic Freedom
The United States is currently engaged in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations designed to reduce barriers to international trade and investment. The latest text from… Read More
Blame Income Inequality?
Scott Winship’s recent piece in National Affairs, “Overstating the Costs of Inequality,” elevates the national debate over the role that income inequality plays in economic… Read More
EconomyNews
National Financial Capability Month: Is President Obama Setting a Good Example?
Last week, the President declared April 2013 National Financial Capability Month in an effort to encourage Americans to budget responsibly. This is a commendable goal…. Read More
One Step on Cyber Espionage: Reform the Foreign Investment Process
Japanese telecommunications company Softbank wants to buy Sprint Nextel for about $20 billion. One barrier to the deal is unusual: Softbank and Sprint are being… Read More
Economic Freedom Key to Unlocking a Prosperous Arab Future
In the latest issue of the journal Democracy, Michael Wahid Hanna identifies Seven Pillars of the Arab Future. First on his list: economic growth and… Read More
Cyprus Bank Bailout: Russia Partly to Blame
As Cypriots come to grips with this week’s agreement to bail out its banks, Russian policymakers need to think about why their citizens are involved… Read More
Protectionist Japan? Check the Numbers
A recent news report was headlined: “Lawmakers, business groups balk at trade deal with protectionist Japan.” A more accurate title would have been: “Protectionist U.S…. Read More
Three Reasons for Social Security to Use Chained CPI
During last week’s vote-a-rama in the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I–VT) intended to put Senators from both parties on the record for opposing the adoption… Read More
The Best Plan for Farmers and Ranchers: Free Trade
Congress is currently fighting over the future of U.S. farm programs. In 2011, taxpayers subsidized farmers to the tune of $10.4 billion in government payments…. Read More
Government Sugar Policy: Buy High, Sell Low?
It was recently reported that the federal government is considering buying 400,000 tons of sugar to prop up prices for sugar producers. The government would… Read More
President Obama’s Middle East Trip Underscores Need for Economic Freedom
President Obama is in the Middle East this week, two years and three months after Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi unleashed the Arab Spring by… Read More
Senate Budget Tax Plan: Slowing Opportunity for Americans to Grow Income
Senator Patty Murray’s (D–WA) budget tax plan directly calls for $975 billion in new tax increases over the next decade. Indeed, the Senate budget is… Read More
Ways and Means Small Business Tax Reform Proposal a Positive Step
Under the leadership of Chairman Dave Camp (R–MI), the House Ways and Means Committee released draft legislation for improving the tax treatment of small business…. Read More
Retirement: Delaying It Brings Many Benefits
Too many healthy seniors retire early at a loss to their wealth and to society. Meanwhile, Social Security is in dire need of reform. Delaying… Read More
Does the United States Really Have a Trade Deficit?
In 2012, $3.4 trillion came into the United States through trade and investment, and $3.4 trillion left, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)…. Read More
