The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the tax bill passed in Congress last year, represents the most substantial change to the nation’s tax code in a generation. This change has greatly benefited the U.S. economy as American businesses have become more competitive globally while American workers have seen an increase in their wages. Economists […]
Local Governments in Puerto Rico Punish Charitable Activity
When Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico and other places in the fall of 2017, Americans of all types raced to help. Utility companies were among the first to provide aid, as restoring the island’s power grid was a monumental task. As is customary for natural disasters, the federal government, through the Federal Emergency Management […]
Congressional Eye Turns to DOD’s JEDI Contract
One wonders if the “Force” is working against the Department of Defense (DOD) with its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project (JEDI). The contract bid request that by some estimates could reach $10 billion to build an enterprise-level commercial cloud solution, including Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, to support the all defense agencies […]
Trump Administration Implements New Guidance to Help Fix Individual Health Insurance Market
Except for a few noteworthy successes, such as repealing the individual mandate that forced people to buy health insurance they did not want or could afford, and ridding us of the Independent Payment Advisory Board that turned Medicare over to unelected bureaucrats, Congress has remained almost at a standstill when it comes to fixing and […]
New HHS Transparency Regulation Mandates Inaccurate Information
The Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), the trade association that represents the nation’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies, announced a new proposal on Monday regarding direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertising. This voluntary agreement by PhRMA members would help patients access more useful information about the cost of their medicines. In 2006, the association adopted a series of […]
Grossly Expensive ‘Medicare for All’ – Hidden in Plain Sight
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has an editorial today, “The Price of BernieCare” and declares that “Democrats object that Republicans are telling voters the truth about single payer.” The WSJ points out that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said this week that healthcare will determine the result of the November elections. Meanwhile, the Republicans are running […]
More Clarity that BPA is Safe
The long-awaited final core study on Bisphenol A (BPA), a compound used to produce strong plastic products and epoxy resins, has been released. On September 28, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) announced that the CLARITY-BPA Core Study and Primary Data from the CLARITY-BPA Grantee Studies were available. The core study confirms what has been known […]
Lost in Space: New Branch Makes Little Sense
Citizens Against Government Waste has previously covered the idea of creating a sixth military branch. The argument in favor of a Space Force is almost entirely without merit. It will increase bureaucracy, add to overhead costs, and complicate existing command structures, all without providing additional capabilities. For these very reasons, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was […]
DOJ Files Suit Against California’s Onerous Net Neutrality Law
While not unexpected, it was still disappointing to see California Governor Jerry Brown (D) sign into law Senate Bill 822, creating the most restrictive set of rules for internet service providers (ISPs) in U.S. history. California has often attempted to set standards for the rest of the nation in everything from the environment to technology, […]
Healthcare Remains a Top Issue in November Elections
Healthcare remains a top issue among voters for the upcoming November 2018 elections. In a September 26, Pew Research poll, 88 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans believe healthcare is second in importance to Supreme Court nominations. Considering the intense debate swirling around the Supreme Court, that is significant. Healthcare ranks higher than […]