Robert Rector’s Study: Open Borders + Welfare State = Disaster

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  May 6th at 12:08 PM  | 

We’ve noted many times throughout the debate over amnesty that you simply cannot legalize so many low-skilled people without reforming the welfare state.  Some people don’t like to hear it, but the reality of today’s redistributive society is that the higher-skilled population transfers a tremendous amount of wealth to the lower-skilled population in the form of the tax code, entitlements, welfare, and social services.  Do | Read More »

Obama’s Debt Outsourcing American Sovereignty, Distorting Trade

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  August 20th at 10:45 AM  | 

Any day now we will breach the $16 trillion debt mark.  Thank you Obama and the Democrats for mortgaging off the future of our children.  You won’t be around in 50 years to bail them out like you did your crony money-bundlers at GM and the UAW. One of the important components of our federal debt in the share of debt owned by foreign countries.  | Read More »

About The Budget Agreement

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  August 1st at 02:56 PM  | 

Yesterday, it was announced that John Boehner and Harry Reid had reached an early agreement on the FY 2013 budget in order to avoid a government shutdown on October 1.  Pursuant to the agreement, both chambers will vote on a 6-month continuing resolution after returning from the August recess in September.  The CR will provide spending for discretionary programs set at the $1.047 trillion level | Read More »

The Debt Ceiling Deal One Year Later

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  July 25th at 03:44 PM  | 

As we approach the 1-year anniversary of the disastrous debt ceiling deal hatched late last July, it is worthwhile to reflect on what we have gained from that legislation.  On August 1, 2011, the House passed the Budget Control Act with support of 72% of the Republican conference.  The Senate followed suit on August 2, with support of 60% of the Republican conference. Buoyed by | Read More »

What Spending Cuts?

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  July 13th at 08:53 AM  | 

We constantly hear about the age of austerity and painful spending cuts that are being enacted in Washington.  The only problem is that they don’t exist. Earlier this week, the CBO published a report on the budget deficit for the first 9 months of Fiscal Year 2012 (October 2011-June 2012).  The headline figure of the report shows that the 9-month deficit stands at $905 billion, | Read More »

10 Reasons to Oppose Highway/Student Loan/Flood Insurance Omnibus Bill

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 28th at 07:40 PM  | 

While everyone is focused on how to deal with the impending government takeover of healthcare, we must continue to battle the forces of big-government in Congress.  Yesterday, in another display of venerable bipartisanship, leaders from both parties agreed to roll the $120 billion Democrat highway bill, subsidies to fuel the Big Education bubble, and a 5-year extension of government-run flood insurance into one omnibus bill, | Read More »

Double Capitulation Alert: Say No to Highway and Student Loan Bills

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 27th at 07:00 PM  | 

While everyone is waiting breathlessly to see whether the Supreme Court will strike down Obama’s egregious power grab in the healthcare sector, a bipartisan group of congressmen and senators are working to grow government in several other sectors of the economy.  We must not be complacent. In our battle to shrink the size of the federal government, there have been a number of issues on | Read More »

Sugarcoating the Cost of Special Interest Subsidies with Food Stamps

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 14th at 09:00 AM  | 

Here’s a novel idea: let’s stop subsidizing Big Sugar.  Maybe if the government wouldn’t intervene in the agriculture sector, inducing sharp increases in the price of commodities, many of the 46 million people on food stamps would be able to afford food. Then again, why would liberal politicians abrogate their source of political power?  They stand to benefit from subsidizing rich sugar farmers and keeping | Read More »

The Tea Party, Reagan, and Why We Fight

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 12th at 11:15 AM  | 

Much ink has been poured over the past 24 hours regarding Jeb Bush’s controversial remarks about the state of the Republican Party.  In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg News, Bush said the following: “Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, similar to my dad, they would have a hard time if you define the Republican | Read More »

Vote Yes on Broun Highway Bill Motion

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  June 7th at 07:56 AM  | 

Among the many Republican capitulations we have witnessed over the past year, one of the most egregious is their willingness to support the Senate highway bill.  We’ve chronicled the problems with the highway bill extensively in these pages over the past few months.  Aside for the policy issues, the cost of the bill is most problematic because it will engender future bailouts. The $109 billion | Read More »

GOP Supporters of Increased Revenue are Motivated by Support for Big Government

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  May 30th at 02:57 PM  | 

It’s another week in Washington, and another story is out containing a plethora of quotes from Republicans who are willing to “put revenues on the table.”  Here are some quotes from today’s article in Politico: “Nobody wants to raise taxes, but the question is can you lower tax rates, lower loopholes and deductions and apply that to debt reduction? I think the answer is yes,” | Read More »

Mitch McConnell Does it Again

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  April 20th at 10:45 AM  | 

There’s got to be some way to create a legislative scorecard on committee votes. Last month, House Republicans almost unanimously passed the “Ryan” budget resolution for FY 2013.  It established the topline discretionary spending level at $1.028 trillion, just $15 billion below last year’s levels and $19 billion below the cap set in the Budget [Out of] Control Act.  To put that in perspective, the | Read More »

A New Highway Bill to Cave City

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  April 16th at 06:28 AM  | 

As we’ve noted throughout the past year’s imbroglio over transportation spending, it is clear that complete federal control over transportation spending in a post-interstate highway era (post 1992) is inefficient, costly, anti-federalist, and precludes state and private innovations.  Yet, Congress continues to buckle down on a policy that has failed in recent years, exposing taxpayers to future bailouts and tax increases.  Worst of all, it | Read More »

The Buffett Rule Obfuscates the Real Debt Crisis

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  April 11th at 06:36 AM  | 

Over the past few weeks, Obama has exhibited the intensity of a Navy SEAL in his execution of class warfare.  He is trying to convince everyone that those who earn 17% of Adjusted Gross Income, yet pay 36.7% of federal income taxes don’t pay anything, while those who pay little or no taxes shoulder the entire tax burden.  Obama will continue to toss out misinformation | Read More »

Obama’s Secret Debt Milestone

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  March 22nd at 07:00 PM  | 

Here is a debt milestone that we surpassed this week, yet you won’t read about it anywhere in the media.  The gross federal debt has increased more under Obama in just 3.2 years than it did during Bush’s entire 8-year tenure.  And Bush was no limited government conservative either. When President Bush was sworn in on January 20, 2001, the total federal debt stood at | Read More »

New Record Monthly Deficit 37 Months into Obama’s Presidency

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  March 12th at 10:49 AM  | 

Here’s a headline you won’t see in the media this week: we incurred the largest monthly deficit on record in February. Seven months into a government “reined in” by the Budget Control Act, we are supposed to be reaping the benefits of budget reduction.  Yet, according to CBO, we incurred a gargantuan $229 billion $232 billion deficit in the month of February.  The conservative Washington | Read More »

The Highway Bill and ANWR: It’s a Trap!

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  February 14th at 04:58 PM  | 

Well, it appears that our efforts are paying off.  Responding to our charge that the GOP was violating the pledge against bundled megabills, Boehner announced that he will split the proposal into three separate bills; the highway bill (HR 7), pension reform (HR 3813), and expanded oil and gas drilling (HR 3408).  This from Roll Call: In a joint statement with Rules Chairman David Dreier | Read More »

Obama to Increase Spending Again

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  February 10th at 04:15 PM  | 

On Monday, Obama is slated to release his annual budget proposal for FY 2013, along with a 10-year budget (2012-2021) outlook.  One would think that after talking incessantly about cutting spending, Obama would spend less money next year than this year.  Yet, in Obama’s world, a spending cut means spending less than you were slated to spend, even though it is still higher in nominal | Read More »

$16.4 Trillion in Debt By End of Year

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  January 27th at 12:02 PM  | 

So this is what the “age of budget austerity” looks like? Yesterday, the Senate voted against a measure to disapprove of Obama’s request for an additional $1.2 trillion of debt.  Every Democrat (except for Ben Nelson and Joe Manchin) voted against the resolution.  Consequently, pursuant to the Budget Control Act (the “debt ceiling deal”), Obama will automatically get his new credit card.  Our debt will | Read More »

Obama’s ‘Better Late Than Never’ Budget

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  January 24th at 10:42 AM  | 

It’s that time of year again – time to formulate the FY 2013 federal budget.  Like every family, business, and organization, the federal government must draft an annual budget.  Unfortunately, Obama and the Democrats treat this fundamental necessity with callous disregard. Pursuant to the 1974 Budget Act, the president must submit a budget to Congress on the first Monday in February, roughly seven months prior | Read More »