Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
This week the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual U.S. economy review urged an increase in the U.S. minimum wage rate, describing it as “low by both historical and international standards and saying an increase would raise incomes for millions of working poor Americans.” Actually, it’s just the opposite. As Heritage’s James Sherk testified last year,…
The Wall Street Journal in recent days has published a variety of opinions on congressional reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank—which doles out subsidies to foreign firms to purchase U.S. products. Most of the arguments—pro and con—merit polite consideration. But others require a response. Such is the case with the June 17 letter to the editor…
The Fifth Biennial Meeting of States for the United Nations “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects” (PoA) is being held this week in New York City. Supposedly, the point of the PoA is to improve international cooperation on monitoring and…
Join our Google+ Hangout today LIVE at 1 p.m. ET where we’ll discuss what is happening on the border, why it’s happening, why it matters, and what can be done about it. We have three great guests covering unique but complimentary angles. Texas commissioner of agriculture Todd Staples will tell us what is happening on…
A recent article in Foreign Affairs argued for the elimination of all U.S. tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) currently stationed Europe. Throughout the article, Barry Blechman and Russell Rumbaugh claim that TNWs are costly, do not adequately reassure friends and allies (whom the authors allege do not want TNWs in Europe), and have no strategic military…
What do countries that weathered the Great Recession better than others have in common? They got in better shape before the crisis struck. Germany is one example. Reunification meant great opportunity for Germany, but it also meant a prolonged period of economic weakness. The fiscal and structural reforms lawmakers made in response continue to pay…
Today, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, by a vote of 2 to 1, canceled the registration of six trademarks held by the Washington Redskins football team on the grounds that the word “Redskins” is disparaging to Native Americans. There’s been increasing public scrutiny of the Washington Redskins’ name—with President…
The Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday unveiled its energy and water spending bill, which includes an egregious tax on utilities for uranium enrichment services they purchased from now-retired government facilities. Congress has already levied this tax twice and is trying for a third. What Congress politely calls a fee is in fact…
As the House's select committee on Benghazi prepares to start its work, the challenges it faces—and the questions it must answer—are numerous. Critics of the committee argue all questions on Benghazi have already been answered and the matter should be put to rest. Speaking to Fox News yesterday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton persisted that…
As South Carolina’s Republican congressman Trey Gowdy, the new chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, begins his task, it is worth recalling a lesson from Watergate. Specifically, let’s remember the creation of what became known as the Senate Watergate Committee — and how the Senate Republicans of 1973 lost a fight that literally…
Will the Internet continue to be the bastion of freedom and engine of economic growth it has been so far? That may be decided by events to take place over the next year. Since 1998, the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration has contracted with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN,…
It seems like with global warming embedded in our politics (for now), anything we don’t fully understand can now be ‘legitimately’ blamed on the weather. Forget the trusty old excuse about the dog eating your homework: A sampling of news stories tells us instead that global warming might really be the cause of all our…
There is a strategic dimension to the rapidly unfolding crisis in Iraq that hasn’t garnered much attention but could have a significant impact on the broader and longer-term security, economic and diplomatic interests of the United States. The Obama White House clearly has little interest in remaining intimately engaged in the messy disputes of the…
Starbucks made news this week by announcing the College Achievement Plan, a partnership the coffee giant has entered into with Arizona State University in order for the company to help employees complete their bachelor’s degrees by providing full tuition reimbursement. Freshmen and sophomores who work at least 20 hours per week can receive partial scholarships from…
Teachers unions—already experiencing a drop in membership and public sentiment— took another large blow last week when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu struck down five California laws that govern the hiring and firing of teachers. The decision, Vergara v. State of California, will significantly diminish the influence of unions over personnel decisions…
As usual, the Obama administration used its “release-bad-news-late-on-Friday” routine for its latest jaw dropper: a claim by the IRS that it has lost external emails to and from Lois Lerner during the critical period of January 2009 to April 2011. For this period of time, according to a June 13 letter from Treasury to Rep….
U.S. special forces have captured a key suspect in the 2012 Benghazi attacks, and he is now being held (or is about to be held) on a U.S. Navy warship in the Gulf region for interrogation and then, no doubt, to a U.S. federal court for prosecution. This is obviously good news, as Ahmed Abu…
You know things aren’t going well when the only people using your talking points are you. That is increasingly where the Obama administration finds itself in explaining the massive influx of illegal minors crossing the U.S. southern border. The White House line follows two paths. The first is that there is unrest in Central America,…
Attorney General Eric Holder announced on June 6 the Justice Department will use taxpayer funds to “enroll approximately 100 lawyers and paralegals as AmeriCorps members to provide legal services” to “young people who must appear in immigration proceedings.” This will be accomplished through Justice Department grants to the Corporation for National and Community Service, a…
Any day now the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the case of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties—family-owned businesses that have gone to court to challenge a provision under Obamacare that requires them and nearly all other employers to cover abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization, regardless of their religious beliefs. As these…