The State of Indiana has been allowed an exception for one year from the Affordable Care Act and has subsequently denied government incentives to expand Medicaid and has declined to set up an exchange for consumers. This exception is being officially referred to as a health-law “waiver”. This exception was given to Indiana in order … Continue reading
On Tuesday, August 27, the IRS issued its final rule regarding the individual mandate to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rulemaking formally establishes the IRS requirement for most Americans to be subjected to a financial penalty if an individual does not acquire “minimum essential coverage.” The rule will be published … Continue reading
In the past weeks U.S. Representative Steve King, a Republican from Iowa’s 4th district, has emerged as the leader of the anti-immigration reform coalition in the House. Cantaloupes and drug mules aside, King has become the face of conservative opposition to any proposed reform that includes a pathway to citizenship, or even legal status. King’s … Continue reading
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Many states have implemented minimum wages that are higher than that. But, in most places around the country, the minimum wage is not enough to support a family’s basic needs. This is where the debate over implementing a “living wage” comes into play. The living wage, as the … Continue reading
The medical device industry currently consists of 8,000+ manufacturers and employs over 400,000 Americans. Over the last seven months, the industry has been subjected to a 2.3% excise tax on all medical device sales – not only profits. The tax has been a primary funding mechanism for the health care overhaul so far. The medical device industry … Continue reading
Last Tuesday, President Obama delivered a speech in Chattanooga, Tennessee, outlining his long awaited corporate tax reform. The speech called for a revenue-neutral corporate tax reform that lowers the top corporate tax from 35% to 28% for the majority of businesses. Manufacturers’ tax rate will top-out at 25%. President Obama made a statement that the … Continue reading
With New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner continuing to pursue his interest in photography, one may be inclined to think that public outrage over politics would be focused solely on Weiner’s alter ego, Carlos Danger. However, Representative Steve King of Iowa has managed to grab some of the spotlight for himself by offering his … Continue reading
The US economy has been showing signs of recovery in the last year, adding 195,000 jobs in June alone, as the labor market advanced despite huge federal spending cuts and tax increases. This may sound nice at first, but the underlying truth to various “recovery” statistics is that the majority of new jobs added are … Continue reading
The other day I was ranting about the problems of the D.C. Metro system to another intern. For the fourth time that week, I had been trapped on a crowded, broken train for 40 minutes, completely uninformed and frustrated. Occasionally the train would jerk forward violently, jostling disgruntled riders, and reminding us that we were … Continue reading
Over the course of the past few weeks, the Senate has been more hectic than usual. There has been much debate over the use of filibusters in the Senate, and the more often than not useless delays that they have been causing. Historically, the filibuster has been a way to obtain a bipartisan compromise; but … Continue reading
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