US Debt Commission Leaders Paint Gloomy Picture
The heads of President Barack Obama's national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control. Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles told a meeting of the National Governors Association that everything needs to be considered including curtailing popular tax breaks, such as the home mortgage deduction, and instituting a financial trigger mechanism for gaining Medicare coverage. The nation's total federal debt next year is expected to exceed $14 trillion — about $47,000 for every U.S. resident.
"This debt is like a cancer," Bowles said in a sober presentation nonetheless lightened by humorous asides between him and Simpson. "It is truly going to destroy the country from within."
Businesses will begin more tax forms
With a new mandate looming that will require business owners to file millions more tax forms, the Internal Revenue Service has begun the daunting process of figuring out how to turn the law's sweeping demands into actual rules for taxpayers.
EPA livestock tax blocked by Tiahrt amendment
Farmers and Ranchers achieved an important victory late June 18 when the House Appropriations Committee adopted the Tiahrt Amendment preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating livestock as a greenhouse gas source. U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) offered the amendment during consideration of the FY2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The provision blocks the EPA from mandating Clean Air Act permits for greenhouse gases emitted by livestock, including carbon dioxide and methane. The amendment was adopted with broad bipartisan support.
Kansas Chamber endorses David Harvey for Senate
The Kansas Chamber PAC has announced today they have endorsed David Harvey for the Kansas Senate in the 7th District. “We are proud to endorse David Harvey who has demonstrated a pro-jobs approach to stimulating the Kansas economy and the personal leadership to form strong public policy,” said Kansas Chamber Interim President and CEO Kent Beisner. “David Harvey is committed to reducing government spending and growing jobs in Kansas.” Here are David’s priorities: *Streamline government and make it more efficient. *Balance the budget by eliminating wasteful spending. *Oppose tax increases that damage our economy. *Allow local control and funding of our schools. *Reform government to ensure accountability and transparency. *Ensure health care decisions are made by individuals, not government bureaucrats.
In Kansas, a bad year for freedom and liberty
It was a bad year for economic freedom in the Kansas Legislature. There were the big votes that most people know of — the big-spending budget, the increase in the sales tax, and the statewide smoking ban — but the legislature passed — and the governor signed — many other laws that chip away at personal liberty and economic freedom. The following list contains many of these bills.
Bombshell! Tancredo Withdraws Moran Endorsement
Because I care about the burden illegal immigration places on this country, I am withdrawing my endorsement of Congressman Moran and proudly endorsing Congressman Todd Tiahrt. If you care about the damage illegal immigration does to our society, I hope you can join me in supporting and voting for Congressman Todd Tiahrt. - Congressman Tom Tancredo, former GOP Presidential Candidate
Doctors Threaten to Pull Out of Texas Medicaid
Montanaro believes that reimbursement levels will continue to decline, which will prompt more doctors to decide to restrict or stop taking Medicaid patients. "They're going to try to expand the rolls of Medicaid ... and at the same time they want to reduce the reimbursement to doctors," he said. "With the (pay) trend going downwards, I don't see additional physicians signing up. It's just not going to happen." A survey by the Texas Medical Association, the state's largest physicians interest group, showed that 45 percent of its members who responded said they would limit how many Medicaid patients they would treat if the Medicaid fees were cut by 1 or 2 percent, while another 24 percent said they would stop accepting any Medicaid patients.
Obama suing AZ cops to do what he told cops to do
President Obama is suing Arizona for having its cops identify and round up illegal aliens even though he’s also deputizing them to do the same thing. That’s right: Under a little-known federal program called ICE 287(g), the administration has continued to enlist at least eight Arizona state law-enforcement agencies to carry out the procedures at issue in the new Arizona law, which goes into effect July 29.
Labor Dept: $7.1 Billion in Overpayments to Unemployed
Preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Department of Labor find that, in 2009, states made more than $7.1 billion in overpayments in unemployment insurance, up from $4.2 billion the year before. The total amount of unemployment benefits paid in 2009 was $76.8 billion, compared to $41.6 billion in 2008. Fraud accounted for $1.55 billion in estimated overpayments last year, while errors by state agencies were blamed for $2.27 billion.
Sales tax increase already hurting Kansan’s
It now pays to be thirsty instead of hungry in many Kansas cities. Walk into your favorite Lawrence grocery store and fill your cart with food to feed your family. After the July 1 increase in the state’s sales tax, you’ll now pay 8.85 percent in sales tax on your supermarket purchase. Now, go to your favorite Lawrence liquor store and fill your cart with liquor to feed your wild hair. At the checkout counter, you’ll pay an 8 percent tax. Nice job Kansas Legislature ?
Krauthammer: I believe Obama may be a narcissist
Obama is not the first president with a large streak of narcissism. But the others had equally expansive feelings about their country. Obama’s modesty about America would be more understandable if he treated himself with the same reserve. What is odd is to have a president so convinced of his own magnificence — yet not of his own country’s.
Zuckerman scoffs at WH “pro-business” claims
The White House has begun a pushback against the gathering consensus that the Obama administration is overtly anti-business, but Zuckerman won’t have it. In his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning, Zuckerman ripped Rahm Emanuel for arguing that the administration supports business, and pointed to the explicitly hostile statements that officials have made all along about businesses being thieves, villains, and cheats that the government has to bring to heel.
Ariz. Democrats Blast Obama's Immigration Stance
Arizona Democrats, under siege because of President Barack Obama’s attacks on the state’s popular immigration law, are blasting his contentions that the southern border is secure.?Arizona Democratic Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords joined a growing Republican chorus in denouncing President Barack Obama for not pushing for more specific action in his Thursday speech on the nation’s immigration and border security issues, according to The Hill.
Dem Govs Voice Grave Concerns on Obama v. AZ
In a private meeting with White House officials this weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration’s suit against Arizona’s new immigration law, worrying that it could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections.
Gov. Christie Looks to Privatization in New Jersey
New Jersey would close its centralized car inspection lanes and motorists would pay for their own emissions tests under a sweeping set of recommendations set to be released by the Christie administration today. State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll-booths could also be run by private operators.
How the DoJ allowed voter fraud
Former Department of Justice attorney J. Christian Adams has blown the whistle on politicization within Justice in enforcing election laws, specifically the laws requiring cleaning voter rolls of the deceased and convicted felons.
55% of Voters: ‘Socialist’ an Accurate Obama Label
55% of likely voters think “socialist” is a reasonably accurate way of describing President Barack Obama.
State wheat crop forecast even with 2009
The state's wheat crop is forecast at 369 million bushels as of July 1, almost exactly the same as the 2009 crop — thanks to what is expected to be the highest yield in eight years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Expectations were low for this year's crop because heavy fall rains kept Kansas farmers from planting more than 8.2 million acres, down 600,000 acres from a year ago. But good growing weather boosted yields to 45 bushels per acre statewide, up three bushels from last year.
Gingrich: Obama doesn’t understand America
Newt Gingrich makes a similar argument to Charles Krauthammer’s in yesterday’s Washington Post, which is that Barack Obama really doesn’t get America. That’s not to argue over origins, because as Gingrich also points out, a cadre of American elitists fall into the same trap. While the majority of the country opposes the federal lawsuit against Arizona, the ivory-tower academics are really the only group enthusiastically cheering it on. It speaks to a fundamental disconnect from the American mainstream, and that spells trouble for Obama that goes far beyond this lawsuit.
Michelle Obama at NAACP: Tea Party is racists
First Lady Michelle Obama brought renewed energy to the NAACP today, delivering the keynote speech at the annual convention one day before the nation's largest civil rights group is expected to condemn what it calls racist elements in the Tea Party movement.
Success! BP contains leak with new cap
BP has successfully lowered a new containment cap onto its leaking well, its latest attempt to control the gushing oil since the start of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico 84 days ago. Further testing to be completed over the next week.
What Cleveland should learn from LeBron
Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie and Dan Hayes turn it into a teaching moment, however, by reminding angry Cleveland fans that LeBron James did what more than half of the city’s population has done over the years: leave. While Cleveland has built huge edifices, both literally and then figuratively in LeBron, the city and the state of Ohio has ignored the fact that their tax codes have made them uncompetitive. People don’t want to waste their money on big public projects; they want to keep their money and invest it in their communities themselves.
Federalist #3: Concerning Dangers From Foreign Force and Influence by John Jay
IT IS not a new observation that the people of any country (if, like the Americans, intelligent and well informed) seldom adopt and steadily persevere for many years in an erroneous opinion respecting their interests. That consideration naturally tends to create great respect for the high opinion which the people of America have so long and uniformly entertained of the importance of their continuing firmly united under one federal government, vested with sufficient powers for all general and national purposes.
