The nation faces an unprecedented tidal wave of tax hikes on January 1, 2013. Aptly called “Taxmageddon,” at nearly $500 billion the tax hike is so massive that it has accomplished what many regarded as impossible: consensus.[1] There is broad agreement that at least most of this tax…
President Obama is campaigning heavily for Congress to prevent the lapsing of a special low-interest rate on student loans. Specifically, unless deferred, the interest rate will rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on federal Stafford student loans issued after July 1.[1] Senate Majority…
President Obama recently sent Congress a series of policies as part of his “Startup America Initiative.”[1] The goal of the program is to help startups and small businesses to create jobs. The proposal includes four tax provisions that he also included in his budget. Some…
From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Ernest Istook. …
Curtis Dubay discusses the payroll tax debate. …
The Obama class warfare campaign is in high gear. There are many must-pass bills for Congress to consider before year’s end, giving President Obama leverage to promote his class-warfare agenda.The President has demanded that Congress continue and expand his payroll tax cut. His stimulus bill contained a 2%…
How a nation treats its veterans says a great deal about the kind of nation it is. To provide an adequate defense, America has to achieve three vitally important objectives with respect to compensation and benefits for those who serve and have served in the armed forces: …
Chairman Conrad, Ranking Member Sessions, Members of the Senate Budget Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is J.D. Foster. I am the Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are…
Abstract: The hodgepodge of new taxes that have already or will soon take effect as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may not all show up in the income tax tables, but their huge cost is still very real. This…
Abstract: The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act could be considered an excellent piece of legislation--if, that is, the goal of the legislation was to ensure massive Social Security deficits without creating a single new job. Yet another attempt by the federal government to coerce companies into hiring more…
Saving the American Dream is The Heritage Foundation’s plan to fix the debt, cut spending and, above all, restore prosperity. It balances the nation’s budget within a decade—and keeps it balanced. It reduces the debt and cuts government…
Testimony of William W. Beach, Director, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation, Before the Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives The salutary news…
Like a Roman Legion advancing against its enemy, Social Security's future problems approach slowly, but their arrival is inevitable. Rome's legions lined up behind a wall of shields that moved slowly across battlefields with a discipline that few others possessed. Enemies did not know the exact moment when the legions would reach them, and the…
The August jobs report showing exactly zero net job creation and an unemployment rate hovering above 9 percent have reinforced the imperative among Washington policymakers to focus on job creation policies in the waning months of 2011. The focus is certainly right, but most of the policies under consideration would…
Abstract: The Economic Freedom Act, proposed by Representative Jim Jordan, would terminate the ineffective Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), and substitute a proven way to stimulate the economy: tax relief—from permanent repeal of the capital gains and death taxes to significant reductions in payroll…
An economy floundering and an election looming have President Obama thrashing about for a viable jobs policy. Obama has spent the nation into unsustainable deficits, leaving little room for additional policy. And as Senator Michael Bennett (D–CO) correctly pointed out, “We have nothing to show for it.”[1] The…
Brace yourself. In a mere 271 days, you and your fellow Americans will be hit with a tax hike the likes of which this...…
Americans who feel overtaxed already are in store for a shocker: Obamacare will add 17 new taxes or penalties for a...…
This is no time to be raising taxes on anyone. This is sufficiently obvious that even President Obama and House...…
The political battle over extending the payroll tax holiday is understandably confusing for many Americans, so it is...…
On the front page of the White House's website, a clock slowly ticks away, second by second, counting down to the day,...…
As the clock counts down toward Christmas, Congress still has major unfinished business to attend to. Not that we...…
House Republicans return to Washington today to vote on a two-month payroll tax extension. If news reports are...…
On Friday, December 9, 2011, Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), with several cosponsors, introduced H.R. 3630, the "Middle...…
President Obama and Republicans in Congress continue to wage war over an extension of the payroll tax cut. But missing...…
In an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sharply...…