The American public’s dependency on government programs jumped almost 25 percent since 2005, according to a study released Wednesday by The Heritage Foundation, which found that roughly 67 million Americans now depend on government programs. (more)
Paul Ryan’s budget has ignited the debate over the future of Medicare. CMS Director Don Berwick recently opined in the Wall Street Journal on the superiority of Obamacare in controlling Medicare costs. Dr. Berwick and Congressional Democrats believe that increasing the role of Washington, D.C. in everyday health care decisions will lower costs. On the other side, Republicans believe that giving patients a choice and encouraging competition is the best way to preserve Medicare for those on or about to be on Medicare and also strengthen the program for future generations. (more)
The celebrity-in-chief is in full campaign mode, having learned from Bill Clinton that if you don’t have what it takes, just get out there and campaign endlessly and it will seem like you’re doing something. One of the worst decades in history is within reach: Imagine Vladimir Putin back in power in Russia and a Russian naval base under construction in Venezuela while Russia also helps the dictator there build the nuclear facilities that will lead to nuclear weapons; a North Korea fully armed with nukes and the missiles to deliver them to our West Coast cities and naval bases, looming over South Korea, itching to grab Seoul in a blitzkrieg strike; Iran with nuclear weapons and rockets to deliver them to Israel or Europe; multitrillion-dollar debts year after year; a moribund economy with unemployment at 8 or 9 percent; open borders bringing in ever more prospective Democrat voters and ever more welfare and Medicaid checks. You can be certain that, regarding these many crises, Barack Obama will do little or nothing. (more)
After two years, the Obama administration may finally acknowledge the 800-pound gorilla in the room — a monstrosity that can no longer be ignored. This afternoon, President Obama will speak to the American people about his plan to cut America’s $14 trillion national debt. The question is whether the Obama administration will take the serious policy steps necessary to curb our fiscal crisis — a crisis that the Congressional Budget Office believes will sink the U.S. economy into an economic abyss by 2037 — or if it will continue the culture of indulgence, preferring to take the easy way out and kick the can down the road for the next generation. (more)
Do the politicians in Washington really think we are that dumb? (more)
America is barreling toward disaster. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its analysis of the latest Obama administration budget: it is nothing but bad news. Over the next 10 years, deficits exceed 4.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) every year, debt in the hands of the public doubles, and the debt-to-GDP ratio rises above 87 percent. Net interest climbs to almost 20 percent of revenues — even with large tax increases — in 2020. The result: the U.S. faces having its debt downgraded beginning in 2018. (more)
Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are on the verge of bankruptcy and are driving our country off a financial cliff. Everyone knows that, you say? Well, in the fantasyland of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, entitlement programs aren’t a serious problem at all. (more)
A bipartisan coalition of 64 senators signed a letter Friday calling on President Obama to tackle entitlement reform and deficit reduction, a sign of mounting pressure from Capitol Hill to get the White House more engaged in the long-term budget debate. (more)
The landscape of American political thought often leaves elected officials with short time frames for taking the “mea culpa” route and expecting to be forgiven by the electorate. (more)
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, called for cuts to the Department of Defense budget and entitlement reform in his Thursday afternoon speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). (more)
