Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Entitlements Darken Long-Term Outlook for Federal Budget

Congress ought to take the warnings issued in the CBO's "Long-Term Budget Outlook" seriously.

The FY 2010 Defense Budget Request: Prelude to Another Procurement Holiday?

The Obama Administration's core defense budget request for fiscal year 2010 (not including funding for overseas contingency operations) will absorb 3.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This points to a future in which the military will be unable to acquire the modern weapons and equipment for a prudent national security strategy. Congress needs to work toward a core defense budget that is at least 4 percent of GDP.

Obama Gets a Tax Issue Right--Is Congress Next?

President Obama's PAYGO proposals suggest the revenue baseline be fixed. Congress should now direct the CBO to reform its procedures for calculating the revenue baseline.

One Cheer for the House Republican Budget Cuts

House Republicans get credit for beginning a necessary and overdue conversation about spending restraint. They should go further to offer meaningful cuts.

Income Tax Will Become More Progressive Under Obama Tax Plan

Tax progressivity discourages hard work, savings, investing, and entrepreneurship. Discouraging these catalysts of economic growth is always counterproductive, but doing so during a severe recession is particularly irresponsible. To make the tax code less progressive and encourage economic growth, Congress should scrap plans to increase tax rates on top earners and instead reduce the number of brackets and lower the rates on those that remain.

Trustees Reports Highlight Pressing Need to Reform Entitlement Programs

The fact that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are on an unsustainable course was reconfirmed by the latest annual reports from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees.

The Results Are In: Stimulus Bill Neither Timely Nor Targeted

As The Heritage foundation predicted, the stimulus bill is neither timely nor targeted. Only time will tell if it is temporary.

Salvaging Social Security

Following the news from Washington has never been easy. But there's an added challenge today: the problem of large numbers. It's almost impossible for anyone to really grasp the idea of a billion, let alone a trillion. Even the experts get confused.

Obama's eight bogus budget arguments

President Obama has proposed a historic expansion of spending, taxes and debt. His budget would increase real spending from $25,000 per household to $32,000 per household by 2019. It would raise taxes by $1.4 trillion. And it would double the national debt - a staggering $9.3 trillion in new borrowing.

A Devastating 100 Days for America's Children

On the evening of November 4, a newly elected President said, "This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids." Today's youth may look back at those words and wonder why the doors remained closed.

'Donor states' must team up

Arizona sure could use an extra $127 million a year to fix its roads and bridges. Well, guess what? It could get that much - without increasing taxes, without cutting other government programs and without borrowing.

Farmer bailouts must be revised

Megabillion-dollar bailouts are in today's headlines. But let's not forget the longest-running bailout of all - the roughly $25 billion subsidy showered annually on just some of America's farmers.

Even Drunken Sailors Have a Credit Limit

The saying "spending like a drunken sailor" comes from the 1700s and 1800s, when sailors would come ashore from a long time at sea and go on a wild spending spree. These sailors were constrained by the amount of their paycheck and the credit they could incur from people who knew them.

Shine a Light on Spending

Work in Washington long enough, and you're bound to agree with almost everyone at least once. Even socialists occasionally have good ideas.

Bailouts, Not Bonuses, Are the Real Problem

Politicians are apoplectic that American International Group (AIG) executives received $165 million in bonuses. AIG's Financial Products unit engaged in credit-default swaps that put the insurance giant on the verge of insolvency before the feds bailed them out. Politicians are steamrolling forward with an initiative to tax their bonuses. Conservatives are outraged by the bonuses, but know that bonuses aren't the problem -- the bailouts are.