Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Automatic IRA Builds Retirement Security

President Obama's FY 2011 budget contains at least one common-sense idea that could help to increase Americans' retirement security: the Automatic IRA.

Obama's Earmark Reform Promises Can Help Restore Federal Budget Discipline

A useful supplement to President Obama's freeze proposal would be to reform the process of providing earmarks to influential businesses.

Hiring Tax Credit Will Not Create Long-Term Jobs

President Obama's proposed tax credit for new hires will likely create no jobs on net.

Obama's 2011 Budget Tax Hikes Contradict Focus on Job Creation

President Obama has said his number one goal in 2010 is to create jobs, but the tax increases in his 2011 budget contradict this objective.

Obama's Budget Seeks $2 Trillion More in Spending and Deficits Than Last Year

President Obama's budget would spend an additional $1.7 trillion and run up an additional $2 trillion in budget deficits.

Value-Added Tax: No Easy Fix for the Deficit

A value-added tax would not reduce the budget deficit but actually increase it.

The Real Budgetary Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills

A closer look at the health care bills indicates that both spending and the federal debt will go up much more than advertised by the bills' supporters.

Deficit Reminds Us All: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

When I was first elected to Congress in 1992, I ran on a platform of support for the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. I was concerned that absent Constitutional restraint, the Congress would spend the country into bankruptcy.

A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out

For many of us, the holiday season means gathering with friends and family and celebrating with food and drink. Too much food, in many cases.

Congressional Spenders Ignore Deepening Government Waste

To get a handle on how out of control federal spending has become, consider this: It surged to $30,000 per household in 2009. That's up from $21,000 (adjusted for inflation) in the 1980s and '90s. Yet rather than cut back, Congress plans to spend even more.

New Priorities Require New Budget Process

As federal spending soars past $30,000 per household, America finds itself at a fork in the road. Realistic budget estimates show unsustainable trillion-dollar budget deficits as far as the eye can see.

A Tale of Two $250s

This fall, as American families anticipate the holiday season and an uncertain economy in 2010, they're likely to decide to cut back. Maybe they'll stay home for Thanksgiving instead of flying to Grandma's house. They'll put fewer gifts under the Christmas tree.

Turning Social Security into Welfare

Seems simple: Social Security recipients will get no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year, so President Obama wants to give each of them $250. The Republican House and Senate leadership support the move in principle.

Tax the Wealthy Even More? That's Rich

Your parents probably told you that you can't get something for nothing. But your government is sending a very different message. For now, at least. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center recently released a report finding that almost half (47 percent) of American households will pay no income taxes this year.

Obama Would Create $13 Trillion Deficit

President Obama's budget office recently caused a stir when it projected that his tax-and-spend agenda would leave more than $9 trillion in new budget deficits over the next decade - doubling the national debt. Now, it appears even that figure was too low.