Let's hope the president's SOTU address will inspire Congress to resolve the battle over border "wall" funding. None of the default options are appealing. Read More...Tags: border wall, security barriers, President Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, continuing resolutions, Illegal immigrants, Shutdown pause, conference committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Normandy fence, Rep. James Clyburn, State of the Union address, National Emergencies Act of 1976, Resolution of disapproval, institutional decline of Congress
12/24/18 Filed in:
Political System | EssaysThere are heroes left in America, not necessarily in the top jobs, and this end-of-the-year essay celebrates the contributions some of them have made in the current political environment. Read More...Tags: Ship of Fools, Tucker Carlson, border wall funding, President Donald Trump, partial government shutdown, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Mark Meadows, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, First Step Act, farm bill, food stamps, Jared Kushner, federal prison reform, A.K.Van Jones, Sen. Mike Lee, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Turkish President Erdogan, troop withdrawal from Syria, troop reduction in Afghanistan
12/17/18 Filed in:
Political System SAFE proposed four relatively modest goals for the closing weeks of the 115th Congress; guess how many of them will be achieved this year. Read More...Tags: unified Republican government, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump, repeal and replace GovCare, Sen. John McCain, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Bipartisan Budget Act, Joint Select Committe re budget process, debt limit, Sen. David Perdue, farm bill, governmment shutdown, border wall funding, Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, NAFTA, USMCA, Sen. Pat Toomey, Thomas Donohue, Robert Mueller, James Comey, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Devin Nunes, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Trey Gowdy
11/26/18 Filed in:
Budget Bipartisan reform of the "broken" congressional budget system sounded like a nice idea, but the JSC proposals wouldn't deliver any real benefits. Better to leave things as they are. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Joint Select Committe on Deficit Reduction, Tom Schatz, Michael Tanner, Mick Mulvaney, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Speaker John Boehner, Amakudari, Rep. Steve Womack, groupthink, Steven Covey, David Obey, Budget Contol Act, Congressional Budget Office, continuing resolutions, biennial budgeting, spending caps, appropriation committees, Senate filibuster rule, reconciliation process, debt limit
04/23/18 Filed in:
SpendingWith its conservative credentials in tatters, the GOP should insist on completing the FY 2019 budget process in a businesslike manner before the Oct. 1 deadline. Read More...Tags: omnibus spending bill, president's budge proposal, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Senate Budget Committee, House Budget Committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen Chuck Grassley, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen . Patty Murray, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. John Kennedy, Sen. Tom Carper, Rep. Steve Womack, Rep. John Yarmuth, Congressional Budget Office, Joint Select Committe re budget process, House Armed Serevices Committee, Rep. Mack Thornberry, more tax cuts, Rep. Kevin Brady, Balanced Budget Amendment, line item veto, rescission, Rep. Dave Brat, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Daniel Horowitz
03/19/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe use of “must-pass” bills to sneak through somewhat controversial legislation is perverting the congressional legislative process; it doesn’t have to be that way. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, omnibus appropriation bill, DACA , GovCare, "must-pass" legislation, policy riders, mega bills, individal mandate penalty, Republican tax bill, grain glitch, taxes on the Internet, sanctuary cities, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Rep. Steve Womack, Rep. Nita Lowey, Bipartisan Policy Center, Citizens Against Government Waste, Heritage Foundation, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney
03/05/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe GOP tax cut may have been a reasonable bet, but trillion-dollar deficits are sure to backfire. Read More...Tags: fiscal meltdown, economic gamble, Federal Reserve, streamlining regulations, cut taxes, Child Tax Credit, Wind Production Tax Credit, protectionist trade policies, tariffs, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Sen. Pat Toomey, Sen. Mike Lee, Joshua Bolten, Larry Kudlow, Lord Maynard Keynes, deficit experiment, productivity miracle, inflation, GOP tax cut, Bipartisan Budget Act, Global financial crisis of 2008-2009, inflation spike in 1966, Paul Volcker, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Senate filibuster rule, Social Security, Medicare, House Speaker Paul Ryan, paid family leave, Ivanka Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump
02/26/18 Filed in:
Political SystemSAFE has been warning of deficits & debt since 1996, so far without avail. This week we sent individualized pitches to the president, six members of Congress, and the budget director.
Read More...Tags: Jim Thomen, budget-deficit disorder, President Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Tom Carper , Sen. Chris Coons, Rep. Kevin Brady, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney
02/19/18 Filed in:
SpendingIn the wake of the budget deal and subsequent delivery of a "dead on arrival" budget, prospects for solving the fiscal problem seem remote - but SAFE isn't about to give up. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer , joint select committee, An American Budget, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, infrastructure program, President Donald Trump, gas tax increase, DACA Program, Sen. Ted Cruz, Jose Alvarez, filibuster rule, omnibus appropriation bill, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Sen. Patty Murray, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Congressional Budget Act ot 1974, impoundment, Congressional Budget Office, Dick Timberlake, budget red line, discretionary spending, mandatory spending, entitlement programs, tax preferences, Rep. Kevin Brady, Neil Brechtel, term limits
02/12/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe more one examines last week's bipartisan, bicameral budget deal, which raised government spending levels across the board, the uglier it looks. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, DACA , President Donald Trump, border wall , dreamers, Diversity Visa Lottery, chain migration, Sen Chuck Schumer, Sen Mitch McConnell, deficits, debt ceiling, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Chris Coons, budget caps, CHIP, community health[care] centers, tea party, President's budget proposal, defense spending, debt limit, tax preferences, fuel cell investment tax credit, Medicare, Independent Payment Advisory Board, donut hole, Joint Select Committe re budget process, "Super Committee" in 2011
The US economy is perking up, but the government’s fiscal affairs are still being mismanaged and the Republican tax plan won’t save the day. It’s high time to cut spending. Read More...Tags: defense spending, roads and bridges, parks, police and fire fighters, municipal bankruptcies, unfunded employee retirement benefits, Department of Education, Pentagon overhead, National Defense Aurhotizations Act, discretionary spending caps, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Infrastucture spending, Sen. John Barrosso, Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, gas tax hke, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Detroit banruptcy, Delaware school district consolidation, hypersonic missiles, GovCare rollout, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, GovCare Taxes, House Speaker Paul Ryan
The GOP tax plan is poorly explained, gives short shrift to the dictates of fiscal responsibility, and muddles or misses tax reform opportunities. It’s as though Republicans caved to anticipated objections before the debate began. Read More...Tags: pro-growth tax reform, victory for the middle class, individual tax cuts, busines tax cuts, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, trickle-down economics, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, two-for-one plan, SimpleTax, tax brackets, tax preferences, free rider problem, Child Tax Credit, wind production tax credit, dividends, capital gains, death tax
10/23/17 Filed in:
Political SystemDon’t stop at political style in assessing the president’s performance; also consider his policies. Read More...Tags: President Barack Obama, President Donald Trump, negative media coverage, President George W. Bush, GovCare, "the talent", NATO funding, opioid epidemic, debt limit, filibuster rule, budget reconciliation process, Republican healthcare bill, Republican tax plan, joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Mitt Romney, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, New World Order, open borders, Brexit vote, Illiblerals
Proposed business tax changes would boost US economy; tax cuts for individuals seem problematic. Read More...Tags: GovCare, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Rep. Kevin Brady, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Treaasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, tax bracket, zero tax bracket, standard deduction, personal exemptions, Itemized deductions, state and local tax deduction, Child Tax Credit, Alternative Minimum Tax, estate tax, C corporations, pass through entities, S corporations, current expensing, taxation of international buinsss income, tax complelxity, tax preparation programs, rocket fuel, Council of Economic Advisers, dynamic scoring, Sen. Tom Carper
08/28/17 Filed in:
SpendingThere is no bipartisan consensus to solve the fiscal problem so the majority party should lead the way. Read More...Tags: political posturing, debt limit, Treasury Department, Treaasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Republcan Study Committee, Rep. Mark Walker, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appropriation bills, continuing resolution, MASA Act, Rep. Diane Black, filibuster rule, border wall funding, Sen. John Cornyn, DACA Program, President Donald Trump, Phoenix rally, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, immigration reform
The president and his party have contributed importantly to the failure of Congress to address important issues in a timely manner. Read More...Tags: continuing resolution, Zika virus, Obamacare bailout, defense funding bill, lame duck session, omnibus spending bill, Export-Import Bank, Sen. Richard Shelby, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Flint Michigan water, Louisiana flooding, Internet giveaway, Rep. Mark Meadows, Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Barbara Mikulski, JASTA, 9/11/attack, nuclear instability, President Obama's vetoes, veto override
04/18/16 Filed in:
Political SystemCongressional oversight sounds good in theory, but experience shows that it’s slow and often ineffective. Read More...Tags: Fast and Furious, Benghazi attack, IRS targeing, Department of Justice, imperial presidency, Eric Holder, executive privilege, Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, anti-Islamist video, President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Trey Gowdy, Lois Lerner, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Rep. Louis Gohmert, Rep. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Paul Ryan
The GOP agenda this fall should be punchy, timely, and offer a clear contrast with Democratic policies. Read More...Tags: House Speaker Paul Ryan, Heritage Action, Conservative Policy Summit 2016, House budget for 2017, disagreement over overall spending level, Heritage budget proposals, opposition of special interests, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Omnibus spending/tax bill, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, justice Scalia, Sen. Chris Coons
01/18/16 Filed in:
Political SystemAs Harry Truman famously said about political life, “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” Read More...Tags: State of the Union address, King of Thrones, Kemp forum, Sen. Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Donald Trump , Senator Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama, San Bernardino terrorist attack, Veterans Affairs, President George W. Bush, Gov. Nikki Haley, Wayne Allen Root, GOP presidential candidates debate, Neil Cavuto, Maria Bartiromo, Sen. Marco Rubio, natural born citizen, "birther" argument, Professor Lawrence Tribe, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Gov. Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton