On election day, taxpayers turned out in droves to support fiscally conservative candidates that they entrusted with the responsibility of cutting the federal budget, reducing the size of the national debt, and returning Congress to the hands of the American people. Charged with these critical tasks, the 112th Congress has agreed to new rules and proposed debt-busting legislation in an effort to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity.
Planned Spending Cuts Do Not Include Defense
One of the top priorities of the Republican’s campaign to take back Congress in 2010 was to reduce the deficit by cutting spending. Republican leaders intended to return nondefense discretionary spending to 2008 levels by trimming $100 billion in the first fiscal year.
Federal Bailout No More! State and Local Governments Must Deal With TheirOwn Pension Predicaments
In December 2008, state governments had nearly $1.94 trillion set aside in pension funds for approximately 20 million active state and local government employees and seven million retirees and dependents who currently receive benefits.
Using market-based discount rates that reflect the risk profile of pension liabilities, finance professors Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua Rauhof Northwestern University calculated that states have pension liabilities of $5.17 trillion, which means that state pension plans are unfunded by $3.23 trillion. Local government pension plans are unfunded by $574 billion.
Cut Corporate Income Taxes
America has been called the land of opportunity largely because it has been a place where businesses and individuals prosper. This has been the result of a stable government, an educated workforce, protection of intellectual property, and a tax rate that historically has been low. Unfortunately, taxes are now going in the wrong direction.
Pork on Life Support: Time to Pull the Plug
Save America’s Treasures was one of the 60 programs proposed for elimination in President Obama’s 2011 Terminations, Reductions, and Savings report. Released in February 2010, the report recommended the elimination of the program because it “has not demonstrated how it contributes to nationwide historic preservation goals.” Its demise would allow the National Park Service to“focus resources on managing national parks and other activities that most closely align with its core mission.” Citizens Against Government Waste has long criticized the program, which has been the source of tens of millions of dollars in pork since 2001.
Extending Bush Era Tax Cuts Will Aid the Economic Recovery
One of the more spirited public policy debates that hasunfolded leading into the midterm elections has been what Congress should do with the Bush-era tax cuts,which are set to expire at the end of this year. President Obama has stated he favors only extending tax cuts for the middle class and letting others expire, while businesses, Republicans, moderate Democrats, and taxpayer advocates maintain that anything other than a full extensionamounts to a tax increase that will only prolong the nation’s current economic woes.
Time to REIN in the Executive Branch
On September 22, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) introduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act as the companion bill to Rep. Geoff Davis’ (R-Ky.) legislation, H.R. 3765. The DeMint legislation aims to stop costly anti-free market and job-killing regulations that are often imposed by federal agencies without any congressional oversight.
The Perfect Storm for ESPCs
Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) is an idea whose time has come. The federal government is beyond broke. The budget deficit reached a record $1.4 trillion at the end of last fiscal year. It is projected to remain over $1 trillion annually for as long as estimators can see. This level of deficit spending will […]
Pension Precipice
It is time to stare the brutal facts in the face.
Creating More Federal Employees
The debt of our nation is soaring. The U.S. Government has spent more than $13 trillion above what it has taken in. The Obama Administration and Democratic majority in Congress have passed policies causing government to grow faster than ever adding more than $1.4 trillion in additional debt this fiscal year alone.