President Obama is secure in his second term. For environmental groups concerned that an alternative result to the 2012 elections would have meant the dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), January’s inauguration was an undoubted relief. These groups may now turn their attention to the unmitigated expansion of the EPA regulatory apparatus, eyeing the … Continue reading
This week has been a big week in immigration reform: legislation in the Senate and the House are both making significant progress, and even conservative Senator Rand Paul announced his support of a pathway to legalization on Tuesday. With this progress in mind, it is important to get the facts straight on what impact this … Continue reading
The cost of health care is high. There are several news reports and analyses being released by various organizations about the cost of the healthcare as a result of the ACA. The American Action Forum analyzed a report conducted by the Manhattan Institute, which has graded the ACA based on cost containment and premium increases. … Continue reading
With the looming threat of interest rates doubling on future subsidized Stafford loans (a loan where the federal government pays the interest during the student’s college tenure) from its current 3.4% to 6.8% has resulted in a debate on how interest rates on federally financed loans should be determined. With the expiration of a one … Continue reading
Have you ever taken a close look at where your taxpayer dollars go? If not, maybe you should start. The government spends its money in some pretty ridiculous ways. Money is often wasted through silly use of grants, and legislatively through earmarks. Also known as “pork barrel” spending, earmark spending is funding added to the … Continue reading
It has been 100 days since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in Mexico, restoring the Partido Revolucionario Institucional ‘s (PRI) seventy-year rule after a brief twelve-year pause. Today Mexico is in shock, not by the number of deaths and criminal incidents that still harass the Mexican population on a daily basis, but because several … Continue reading
President Obama has been strongly promoting his plan for an energy security trust fund in recent weeks. It has met quite a bit of opposition and many doubt its viability. In this plan $2 billion of oil and natural gas royalties would go towards advancing electric car batteries, biofuels, fuel cells and renewable energy development. … Continue reading
Today, the consensus is that our immigration system is in dire need of reform. However, there are still those who do not wish to acknowledge the precedence that this matter should take. Apart from being merely a matter of doing the right thing, it is crucial to understand that some sort of earned legal status … Continue reading
In early February, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) hosted their 25th annual policy research conference on “Medicare and Social Security in a Time of Budget Austerity.” It was a two-day event and I gladly participated in one of their several sessions on a Friday afternoon. The session that I chose to attend was … Continue reading
After housing indicators showed positive growth signs for the housing market last month, the first housing numbers released this month, from NAHB/Well Fargo, reported their third consecutive decline in their housing market index (HMI), with a decrease of two-points to 44. A suffering housing market suggests a struggling economy. The chart below shows the drastic … Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.