“Bless you, Scotty!*” The bankrupt assets of Hostess Brands, Inc., the company responsible for Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, Sno Balls and Ding Dongs, are being put back to work by a buyout firm. What’s not being put back to work are the former Hostess unionized employees. Basically, the new owners (Apollo Global Management LLC, and Metropoulos & Co.) aren’t subject to the old union contract from | Read More »
With all the focus on the presidential race and some of the congressional elections, there are a number of important state ballot questions that we must not overlook. Many of us claim that conservatism is not on the ballot in many states where the candidates for Congress are underwhelming. However, there are a plethora of ballot questions that deal with taxes, marriage, and Obamacare – | Read More »
This week, the House debated and passed the FY13 Energy-Water appropriations bill, which primarily funds the Energy Department and agencies within the Department of Interior. While House leadership claims to support a balanced budget, they are not willing to eliminate the requisite number of programs needed to achieve that goal. As conservatives, we believe that the entire Department of Energy – except for the nuclear | Read More »
It looks like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker might have been right last month when he said would win the recall fight. Three recent polls have found Governor Walker at 50 percent and leading Democrat Tom Barrett: Marquette Law School — 50% to 44% Public Policy Polling — 50% to 45% Rasmussen — 50% to 45% According to Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin, Republicans | Read More »
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 »
Remember Obama’s two-year salary freeze he imposed on federal workers? Well, as part of his FY 2013 budget, Obama plans to end the pay freeze and offer salary increases to federal workers. It is in this context that CBO published a report showing that federal workers still earn more than their counterparts in the private sector. While it is clear that many federal workers (but not | Read More »
After a week to digest the Super Committee Turkey, Congress is back. The Senate will debate the Defense Authorization bill this week and tax issues. The House will consider a bill to stop the National Labor Relations board from rubber stamping a pro-union proposed rule. A Senate committee will have a hearing on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (BBA). The ideas discussed | Read More »
But when major firms move South, it is usually a harbinger of quality decline. Over and over as a labor lawyer in the 1980s and ’90s, I saw companies move away from Chicago, where the pay was $28 an hour, to some place in South Carolina or Louisiana where the pay was about half that….too often, alas, it was the beginning of the end, as | Read More »
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