In our work on public sector compensation, Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute and I have routinely counted enhanced job security as a benefit for public workers, and we have tried to quantify just how valuable it can be. Some critics have argued that public workers actually have no extra job security, but this […]
Sunday marked the anniversary of an oppressive law that has resulted in almost 40 million “missing” women and some of the most egregious human rights violations in recent history. Thirty-one years ago, on September 25, 1980, the Chinese government instituted a population control policy that prohibits almost all Chinese couples from having more than one […]
Congress keeps threatening to shut down over the budget, but there is at least one thing the two houses can agree on. Pending free trade agreements have bipartisan support in both the House and Senate; all that is needed is for President Obama to send them to Congress, so that they can be passed. Congressman […]
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta asserted during a press conference on September 20 that the recently enacted debt ceiling law requires $450 billion in savings from the Department of Defense (DOD) budget over the next 10 years. While this is a widely accepted assertion, it is not accurate. The debt ceiling law imposes caps on […]
Americans knew the negative impact Obamacare would have on the nation before the law even passed. Millions of Americans will be added to Medicaid, which already provides low-quality coverage and patchy access to care. The new law will not result in universal coverage, despite its $1 trillion+ price tag. Premiums will go up. And Americans […]
For the past few decades, the federal government has continuously increased its power over local schools, through funding with strings-attached, with depressing results. Since the 1970?s federal spending on education has nearly tripled, yet student achievement has remained flat and graduation rates have not improved. However, that increased spending has had a major impact on […]
Republicans and Democrats on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction this week finally agreed on something substantive: The U.S. corporate tax rate is too high. It’s a point we’ve been making for years at Heritage. High federal and state corporate tax rates — a whopping 39.2 percent when combined — make it difficult for […]
The United States is scrambling to avoid a diplomatic crisis at the U.N. over a Palestinian statehood vote and a promised U.S. veto. As other countries try to find a way to defuse the crisis, Palestinian officials asked for U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood yesterday. How did it come to this? Heritage’s Kim Holmes contends […]
Most Americans identify China as the country most likely to challenge the United States globally, and many even expect China to replace American dominance. U.S. lawmakers are finally waking up to the challenge, which is not only military and economic but extends to the spheres of information and public diplomacy. At least, some on Capitol […]
A few weeks ago, the President asked Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the agency’s draft for more stringent Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Although Jackson begrudgingly complied, the EPA is still moving to an ozone standard more stringent than the current one. The current ozone standard of 84 parts […]
