Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

November 10, 2009
Decreasing Union Transparency: A Step Backward for Workers
By James Sherk and Ryan O'Donnell
(WebMemo #2692)
Union members deserve to know how their dues are spent. Congress should act to protect workers if the President will not.

November 10, 2009
The Oberstar Transportation Plan: A Costly Exercise in Lifestyle Modification
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2693)
The Surface Transportation Authorization Act would mark a dramatic, harmful change in federal transportation policy.

November 10, 2009
Copenhagen Climate Change Conference Could Threaten National Security
By James Jay Carafano, Ph.D.
(Special Report #70)
According to Senator Boxer, passage of a cap-and-trade bill is a matter of national security. She is wrong.

November 10, 2009
A Meaningful Agenda for President Obama's Meeting with Southeast Asian Leaders
By Walter Lohman
(WebMemo #2694)
When he meets with ASEAN leaders this week, President Obama needs to make substantive progress on several pressing issues: free trade, Burma, and the rise ...

November 9, 2009
Revenge of the Dirty Dozen: 12 Policies that Undermine Civil Society
By Katherine Bradley and Charles A. Donovan
(WebMemo #2690)
Taken as a whole, these 12 policies serve to undermine traditional families, devalue life and human dignity, and weaken civil society in American life.

November 9, 2009
Dangerous Trajectories: Obama's Approach to Arms Control Misreads Russian Nuclear Strategy
By Ariel Cohen Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2338)
Russia still considers the United States its "principal adversary." Russia also relies on its nuclear weapons to compensate for its inferiority in conventional weapons relative ...

November 9, 2009
TSA Nominee Erroll Southers's Stand on Collective Bargaining Needs Clarity
By James Sherk
(WebMemo #2689)
Congress should wait to confirm any nominee to head the TSA until that nominee states his or her position on mandatory collective bargaining over security ...

November 9, 2009
The U.N. Human Rights Council: No Better for Obama's Engagement
By Brett D. Schaefer and Steven Groves
(Backgrounder #2339)
The record of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights was a disgrace. Three years ago, the commission was replaced by the Human Rights Council, and ...

November 9, 2009
Taiwan's Economy Needs More Than Cooperation with China
By Derek Scissors, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2691)
More open Taiwanese trade and investment with China fits the principles of American foreign policy. The U.S. should assist Taiwan in this effort, starting with ...

November 9, 2009
Seven Reasons Why Congress Should Repeal, Not Fix, the Death Tax
By William W. Beach
(WebMemo #2688)
Policymakers should do what their voters want them to do: They should repeal the death tax and kill it, once and forever.

November 9, 2009
Government-Run Health Care Even Without the Public Option
By Robert A. Book, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2686)
The reforms under consideration in Congress would impose such rigid control on private health plans that it amounts to a government-run health care system.

November 9, 2009
Japan's Security Policy: Navigating the Troubled Waters Ahead
By Bruce Klingner
(Backgrounder #2340)
The United States's relationship with Japan has just become more complicated. The recent election victory of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has resulted in ...

November 6, 2009
Pelosi Health Care Plan: Who Pays the Surtax?
By Rea S. Hederman, Jr., and Guinevere Nell
(WebMemo #2687)
The Pelosi health care plan relies on a large surtax that would gradually encompass all American taxpayers, much like the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax does. ...

November 6, 2009
A Closer Look at the House Democrats' Health Care Bill
By the Staff of the Center for Health Policy Studies and the Staff of the Center for Data Analysis
(WebMemo #2684)
A Closer Look at the House Democrats' Health Care Bill

November 6, 2009
Heritage Employment Report: October Has Few Treats, Lots of Tricks
By Rea S. Hederman, Jr., and James Sherk
(WebMemo #2685)
As job losses mount, the monthly jobs report continues to demonstrate both the failure of the stimulus bill and the hollowness of the Administration's claim ...

November 6, 2009
The Pakistan-Britain Terror Connection: Lessons and Warnings for the United States
By Ted R. Bromund Ph.D., and Lisa Curtis
(Backgrounder #2337)
The Pakistan-Britain terror connection poses a serious threat to Great Britain and its allies, including the United States. Breaking the personnel, financial, and ideological links ...

November 5, 2009
The Pelosi Health Care Plan: Employer Mandate Penalties on Small Businesses
By John L. Ligon
(WebMemo #2683)
The Pelosi health care reform plan would create an employer penalty system that would apply to small businesses--even those with 25 or fewer workers.

November 5, 2009
Prisoner Reentry: A Limited Federal Government Role
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Testimony )
To address the issue of offender recidivism, the federal government should operate reentry programs for offenders formally incarcerated in the federal correctional system.  The federal ...

November 5, 2009
Doing Health Care Reform Right: The Empowering Patients First Act
By Greg D'Angelo and Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2682)
The Empowering Patients First Act could accomplish needed reforms while minimizing Washington's role in health care.

November 5, 2009
Union Contracts of Health Care Workers Would Inflate Health Care Costs
By James Sherk
(WebMemo #2681)
Widespread unionization of the health care sector would make a government-run "public plan" much more expensive than currently advertised.

November 4, 2009
Why Government Control of Bank Salaries Will Hurt, Not Help, the Economy
By David M. Mason
(Backgrounder #2336)
In response to the recent financial crisis, the Obama Administration and the Federal Reserve Board are capping executive salaries and bonuses, and imposing a host ...

November 4, 2009
School Choice in America 2009: What it Means for Children's Futures
By Lindsey Burke
(Backgrounder #2332)
School choice -- what does it mean for American's daily lives? It means that more and more parents are able to send their children to ...

November 4, 2009
Rethink the Housing Tax Credit: Stimulus Plans Should Think Past the Needs of Special Interest
By Ronald D. Utt Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2680)
Replacing the expiring tax credit with a new one for which most members of America's financial elite would be eligible is a costly and unnecessary ...

November 4, 2009
Federalization of Medicaid: Health Reform Bill Would Reduce State Authority
By Dennis G. Smith
(WebMemo #2678)
But under H.R. 3962, the ability of states to run Medicaid and SCHIP to reflect state variations and preferences would be substantially diminished.

November 4, 2009
Chemical Security: Separating Risk from Excessive Regulation
By Jena Baker McNeill
(WebMemo #2679)
While ensuring the safety and security of chemical facilities is important, excessive regulation that prevents the private sector from doing business is a poor approach. ...