The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom is out, and the news is not good. For the second year in a row, America became less economically free. The U.S. is now just the ninth-freest economy in the world. The decline in the U.S. ranking was driven by skyrocketing government spending, new regulatory uncertainty associated with Obamacare, […]
On March 16, 2006, when our national debt stood at $8.27 trillion, a young Senator from Illinois announced his intention to vote against raising our nation’s debt ceiling to $9 trillion, explaining: The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. Leadership means that “the […]
If it is allowed to be implemented, Obamacare will eventually do deep and irreparable harm to our nation’s budget deficit. But while Obamacare is more of a long-term threat to fiscal health at the federal level, it is a clear and present danger to the states. Of the 34 million Americans who gain health insurance […]
This morning, The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal released the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, and while the news is good for many countries, it is depressing for the United States. All told, 117 countries, mainly developing and emerging market economies, improved their Economic Freedom Index score. Meanwhile the U.S. dropped to 9th […]
Hours before Secretary of Defense Robert Gates landed in China, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) staged a test flight of its new stealth fighter, possibly termed the J-20. In some quarters, it is being argued that this flight was deliberately scheduled to upstage the American visit. In the mystery that is Chinese […]
Last night’s BCS Championship game pitted the Auburn Tigers from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against the Oregon Ducks from the Pac-10. To guard against biases that could have influenced the game’s outcome, officials were provided by the Big 10. If football-crazed fans from Auburn and Oregon can understand why referees from the SEC and Pac-10 […]
The Obama administration is not known for its pro-British track record, but this is by far the strongest indication yet that the current White House has little regard for the Special Relationship and its unique role in modern American history. During a White House photo-op with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, President Obama had this to […]
All of us at The Heritage Foundation were profoundly saddened by the tragedy that occurred this past Saturday morning in Tucson, Arizona. We mourn all of those who lost their lives and are praying for a full recovery by all of the surviving victims. As Speaker John Boehner said Saturday, “An attack on one who […]
“You know, my people told me I should never meet with you,” Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir told Richard Williamson, former U.S. special envoy to Sudan, during the Bush Administration. Clearly, it’s no easy task conducting diplomatic relations with Khartoum’s government. Yet two days from the referendum that will likely split north and south, the international […]
A panel of the 9th Circuit of Appeals unanimously ruled this week that the Mount Soledad Cross, a memorial that now honors Korean War veterans and sits on federal land near San Diego, amounts to a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The issue of memorial crosses and other religious markers on […]
