01/13/20
Our expectations were low for the year-end legislative activity in DC, but Congress managed to undershoot them. One win – multiple losses! Read More...Tags: appropriation bills, logrolling, Impeachment inquiry, border barriers, USMCA, multiemployer pension plans, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump, President Bill Clinton, balanced budget, omnibus appropriation bills, redesignation of military construction funds, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Lamar Alexander, UMW pension plan, Export-Import Bank, paid family leave, Business Roundtable, taxes on healthcare, renewal of extenders
12/16/19
SAFE seeks to enlist Sen. Rand Paul as an ally who could help to build support for our suggestion that balancing the budget should be the top issue in the 2020 presidential race. Read More...Tags: Sen. Tom Carper, balanced solution, Fiscal Commission, Bowles-Simpson commission, President Donald Trump, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer , Sen. Chris Coons, Chris Wallace, Russell Vought, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Mike Enzi, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Democratic primaries debates, Republican tax cuts, special tax breaks, USA Today, Joe Biden, Ross Perot
12/02/19
Don’t blame sporadic, ineffective government on the current president. This pattern has been developing for years, and barring corrective action it will keep getting worse. Read More...Tags: Sen. Bernie Sanders, President Donald Trump, appropriation bills, continuing resolution, border fencing, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, multiemployer pension plans, joint select committee, Rep. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Congressional Budget Office, NAFTA, USMCA, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Mexican President Lopez Obrador, presidental vs. congressional roles, Pew Resarch polling, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
11/11/19
Herewith a state of play review of several topics: Impeachment inquiry - generational divide - fiscal problem - taxes - healthcare - climate realism - "renewable" energy - DE public schools. Read More...Tags: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whistleblower, Joe Biden, Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Chris Coons, shutdown fight, Sen. Tom Carper, President Donald Trump, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Rand Paul, Pete Buttigieg, The Triumph of Injustice, wealth taxes, Medicare for all, Dr. Christopher Casscells, Scott Atlas, Charlie Copeland, MMGWT , John Greer, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, William Happer, David Legates, John Nichols, Environmental Appeals Board, Bloom Energy, Ron Russo, DE Sen. Mike Ramone
10/14/19
Trying to simultaneously conduct a “quick” impeachment inquiry, keep the country running and prepare for a presidential election isn’t a recipe for good results. Read More...Tags: public opinion surveys, Impeachment inquiry, 2020 election outlook, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump, Rep. Henry Hyde, Rep. John Conyers, Pat Cipollone, Joe Biden, russian collusion, Mueller probe, Whistleblower complaint, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Ilhan Omar, electoral college, NPV compact, Bush-Gore fracas
09/30/19
What do the just-launched impeachment process and the long-time fiscal problem have in common? They both reflect a failure to confront bad behavior, which we may have cause to regret. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, Mueller probe, Whistleblower complaint, joe Biden, President Zelensky, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, Rep. Adam Schiff, roman republic, Ciceo, spending caps, continuing resolution, appropriation bills, National emergency, border wall funding, Sen. Patrick Leahy, carbon taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Social Security 2100 Act
08/26/19
Many people view fiscal responsibility as passé, but SAFE continues to support the quaint notion that government budgets should be habitually balanced. Read More...Tags: US gov't fiscal history, deficit spending, President Bill Clinton, Jim Thomen, Sen. Tom Carper, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Sen Mitch McConnell, Sen Chuck Schumer, Sen. Chris Coons, Chris Wallace, Russell Vought, President Donald Trump
08/12/19
Smaller, more focused, less costly government is not in vogue these days, but SAFE has no intention of giving up. Here’s an overview of the battlefield. Read More...Tags: political warfare, better mousetrap strategy, impeachment proceedings, Robert Mueller, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Conservative Caucus of Delaware, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Doug Collins, Bipartisan Budget Act, Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Tom Carper , joe Biden, Tucker Carlson, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard, Medicare for all, debate questions, Google , Big tech, Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Robert Epstein, Sen. Josh Hawley, David Legates, Climate Conference, John Greer, man-made global warming theory, John Nichols, Bloom Energy, DNREC, Shawn Garvin, Environmental Appeals Board, Public Service Commission, Reitred Men's Luncheon Club, Ron Russo
07/29/19
The Bipartisan Budget Act will compound the fiscal problem, and ironically the debt limit – which is supposed to help constrain spending – provided an excuse for hasty action. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Offfsets, Steven Mnuchin, debt limit, President Donald Trump , budget proposal for fY 2020, Russell Vought, Sen. Mitch McConnell, offsets, CHIMPS, no "poison pills", President Barack Obama Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Esper, economic results, trade policies
06/03/19
The infrastructure deal was arguably derailed by unrelated political bickering, but there was no solid basis for a such a deal in the first place. Read More...Tags: deteriorating infrastructure, ASCE, federal fuel taxes, Highway Trust Fund, permitting delays, Keystone pipeline, Jones Act, Project Labor Agreement requirements, sale/leasebacks, Arizona, Indiana, President Donald Trump Donald Trump, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rober Mueller, no grand bargain
03/11/19
For voters who would favor less partisan strife in DC, don’t hold your breath because the Democratic game plan ensures it’s not going to happen. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, James Comey, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Alan Deshowitz, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. Richard Neal, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, joe DiGenova, Green New Deal, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Mitch McConnell , Medicare for all, For the People Act, voter ID, early voting, absentee ballots, same day voting, border security , government shutdown, Declaraton of national emergency, Resolution of disapproval
10/22/18
If our political leaders lack the judgment (energy policy), diligence (fiscal problem), or integrity (immigration laws) to do their jobs, call them out for practicing politics without a license. Read More...Tags: occupational licensing, Huricene Michael, Sen. Chuck Schumer, manmade global warming theory, Richard Lindzen, Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Gale of 1878, Rep. Francis Rooney, sea level rise, budget deficits, Sen. Kamala Harris, debt ceiling, Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. Mitch McConnell , entitlement programs, President Donald Trump, Sen. William Proxmire, caravan of illegal immigrants, George Soros, Rep. Nancy Pelosi
09/24/18
What to hope for this fall: acknowledgement that the fiscal problem is serious and advocacy of credible solutions versus the usual finger pointing. Read More...Tags: Hillary Clinton, President Donald Trump, Tax Reform 2.0, trade war with China, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer , Joint Select Committe re budget process, Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Tom Schatz, Michael Tanner, Mick Mulvaney, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Bob Corker, Rep. Roger Aderholt, Rep. Hal Rogers, Leon Panetta, David Obey, Rep. Steve Womack, President' s budget proposal, A Brighter American Future, Prime Cuts
09/03/18
The 2018 tax cut will be a minor plus for Republican candidates on the campaign trail this fall, but real tax reform could be a big help in solving the fiscal problem longer term. Read More...Tags: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act , Speaker Paul Ryan, Bipartisan Budget Act, Rep. Kevin Brady, special interest tax breaks, economic growth rate, Chad Moutray, Sen. Chuck Schumer , Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Congressional Budget Office, tax revenues, Tax Reform 2.0, Indexing capital gains for inflation, Tax Reform Act of 1986, SimpleTax, grand bargain, balkanizatiion of government's fiscal equation, Afordable Care Act, Social Security, carbon tax, Market Choice Act, national park maintenance