Hypothetical scenarios often dominate the storyline of possible collusion between organized crime and jihadists in Latin America. The elaborate web of networks woven by drug cartels and Islamists adds to the confusion. A wide range of U.S. adversaries have conducted successful human smuggling operations, posing an immediate threat to U.S. national security.
Dr. Tom Price, the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, has said the Congressional Budget Office’s recent “score” of the Republican Obamacare replacement bill defies logic. Even worse, it defies the very
rules which govern the CBO.
The tax reform idea that has received the most attention recently is replacing the corporate income tax with a cash-flow tax on domestic business — and imposing a tax on imports into the United States.
American taxpayer money spent on U.N. programs is often wasted, and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is a prime example. The United States remains the largest contributor to the United Nations, funding 22 percent of the organization’s 2015 budget. The United States is also the single largest donor to UNRWA, paying approximately $380 million toward a nearly $1 billion budget in 2015.
The annual Social Security Trustees report was quietly released in June, but it looked bleak. The Social Security program (including retirement benefits, Disability and Supplemental Security Income) is facing an $11.4 trillion unfunded …
Washington recently put Wall Street back into its crosshairs when Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced a bill to levy a 0.03 percent tax on transactions involving stocks, bonds and derivatives. His goal …
The House and Senate versions of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act would give the Pentagon greater control over security assistance to other countries — oversight now generally …
In 2014, the California State Legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed, Senate Bill 270, a statewide ban on plastic bags scheduled to take effect in July 2015. Before this bill …
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wants to expand Social Security for the most vulnerable retirees—specifically, widows and widowers whose incomes fall dramatically after their spouse dies. What she has not mentioned, however, is repealing …
Over the past several years, there has been much debate about how to tax the compensation of the managers of private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. The issue is important because these funds provide capital for businesses at various stages of development or seek to minimize risks for investors, and raising taxes on these funds would reduce the rate of return to fund investors.
The claim that women only make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes is usually followed by a call for a whole new wave of regulations and pay mandates …
Gold is a useful hedge against inflation and uncertainty, but investing in it speculatively is not always a good strategy. In 2011, the price of gold climbed to historic heights; but since …
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney recently approved an ordinance imposing a 1.5¢ per ounce tax increase on sugar-added and artificially sweetened soft drinks, including diet sodas, in an attempt to curb …
In recent years, Texas has become the nation’s leader in wind energy. In 2014, wind farms in the Lone Star State had the capacity to produce more than 12,000 megawatts of electricity, …
Two significant rulings by the National Labor Relations Board in 2015 expanded the longstanding interpretation of “joint employment,” a designation given when two firms are involved in directing, controlling, training and supervising …
The U.S. Department of Labor has updated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations, raisingthe threshold at which salaried employees are exempt from overtime pay, effective December 1, 2016. Salaried employees …
Since the Great Recession, the unemployment rate has steadily fallen from a high of 10 percent in October 2009 to the current rate of 4.9 percent. However, job gains and a …
An estimated 70 percent of Americans are enrolled in a prescription drug plan through their employer, health insurer or Medicare Part D. Millions more have joined discount drug card programs. When hundreds …
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has vowed to raise taxes on the wealthy if she becomes president. Taxing the wealthy is politically popular since it is assumed that few people will be affected. …
Income inequality has become a hot button topic of late. Two years ago, Thomas Piketty’s book on the causes of income inequality rallied people on the left to call for more taxes …
The way the military buys weapon systems needs serious reform, and it appears that the House Armed Services Committee agrees. Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) recently introduced H.R. 4741, the Acquisition Agility Act. This …
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is in deep trouble. It has taken nine years to finalize this extremely important multilateral deal among the United States and 11 other countries. These countries …
The states are looking for ways to reduce their prison costs. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, the states spent over $52 billion on prisons in fiscal year …
Many Americans begin to experience normal aches and pains as they age. They also become increasingly at-risk for a form of heartburn called acid reflux. Drugs to treat acid reflux, including prescription …
When President Johnson signed the Medicare program into law on July 30, 1965, no one expected the program to grow at the rate it has. In 2014, the Medicare program spent $613 …