The Administration

The EPA's proposal to regulate carbon dioxide and other gases is a power grab orchestrated by radical environmentalists to help the President pass his reckless "cap and trade" energy tax that will raise energy and utility costs on every American family, and ship millions of American jobs overseas.

The President has acknowledged that his plan will lead to higher electricity prices by stating, “under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Read more...

No one likes to pay taxes, so April 15 typically attracts a range of right-wing Republicans, kooks, and demagogues, all of whom tell us how awful we have it. It did so again yesterday, with relish. Herewith a short citizen's guide (that is, a citizen's guide that's short rather than a guide for short citizens) responding to yesterday’s charges:

1. "Americans pay too much in taxes." Wrong: The United States has the lowest taxes of all developed nations.

2. "The rich pay too much! The top ten percent of income earners pay over 72 percent of all income taxes!" Misleading: The main reason the rich pay such a large percent is they've become so much richer than the bottom 90 percent in recent years. If you look at what they pay as individuals -- the percent of their incomes over and above the highest rate below them -- you'll see a steady decline over the years. When Republican Dwight Eisenhower was president, the marginal rate on the highest earners was 91 percent (after deductions and tax credits, closer to 50 percent); by 1980 it was still up there, at 70 percent (an effective rate of closer to 45 percent); under Bill Clinton, it was 38 percent (an effective rate closer to 28 percent).

Look at the after-tax earnings of families and you'll see what's really going on. Between 1980 and 2000, the after-tax earnings of famlies at the top rose more than 150 percent, while the after-tax earnings of families in the middle rose about 10 percent. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 raised the after-tax incomes of most Americans by a bit over 1 percent -- but raised the after-tax incomes of millionaires by 4.4 percent.

Read more...

It’s worth noting the fact that we are at a truly frightening tipping point with regard to federal spending, and the consequences it will have for every current –- and especially future -– taxpayer here in South Carolina. This year, government spending will account for more than a quarter of the entire economy, a level not seen since our country was fighting for its survival against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Federal debt is nearly the size of our yearly economy, and is about four times the size of the economy when you add in other government promises like Social Security and Medicare.

That’s why this stimulus debate we’re having in South Carolina is so important. Though today’s taxpayers are the ones who benefit from the so-called ‘stimulus,’ they’re not the ones paying for it –- it will be their children, their grandchildren, and likely their great-grandchildren. We continue to believe that in the midst of this spending, it’s important to leave a dividend for those future taxpayers in the form of debt repayment.

Enough is enough!

That is the message that the American people are sending to our elected officials today.  Whether they serve in Washington, a state capital or in local government, the people are fed up with the ongoing attempt to redistribute wealth and control our lives. Read more...

This April 15, Americans struggling to file their 1040s are surely frustrated about their high tax levels. Unfortunately, things may get worse before they get better.

From 2001 through 2008, inflation-adjusted federal spending rose from $20,848 per household to $25,560 – an increase of nearly $5,000 per household. Of course, if government expands by $5,000 per household, taxes must eventually rise by that same amount. Deficits have funded the new spending thus far, but that cannot go on forever. Read more...

What would you do with an extra $14 billion dollars? Members of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) want to find out.

Earlier this morning, the organization presented a mock check to the U.S Treasury Department in the sum of $14 billion dollars. The check total represents the combined savings and tax revenues that would be generated by regulating the sale and production of cannabis like alcohol

“We represent the millions of otherwise law-abiding cannabis consumers who are ready, willing, vocal and able to contribute needed tax revenue to America's struggling economy," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said at a press conference at the steps of the general post office in New York City. “All we ask in exchange for our $14 billion is that our government respects our decision to use marijuana privately and responsibly."



But it’s not just NORML that is calling on lawmakers to tax and regulate marijuana. In today’s economic climate, the question is: who isn’t?

Read more...

Yesterday, President Obama unilaterally lifted several sanctions on Cuba, removing significant pressures on the regime and instead rewarding a regime with a horrendous human rights record that has shown no signs of change.  Under the new policies, Cuban-Americans are allowed unlimited travel to visit relatives in Cuba and allowed to send unlimited remittances.  The changes also aim to expand telecommunications capabilities in Cuba and between Cuba and the United States.  Unfortunately, the Cuban regime would have to allow this increased access, and as we have seen with the treatment of the internet in China, access to telecommunications does not guarantee free access to information.  The Cuban regime has not shown any openness or offered anything in return for these concessions.  Under these policies, the United States gains nothing, and the Cuban people receive no reprieve from the oppressive regime.  As someone born in Cuba, I understand the strong emotional and familial ties to the country, but increasing travel and remittances to the island will only further support the undemocratic regime the has torn the Cuban people apart.  The Cuban regime has one of the worst human rights records in the world.  It currently holds hundreds of political activists behind bars and continually denies basic human rights to people throughout the island.  The United States is offering the regime concessions while the atrocious status quo carries on in Cuba.   I believe these new policies do not bring us any closer to a democratic Cuba.

I congratulate President Obama for his announcement last week to address comprehensive immigration reform this year, and I share his commitment to addressing this much needed issue. Having introduced with Senator Jon Kyl the Comprehensive Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2005, I have long believed this is an important national priority. I look forward to seeing the President’s proposal and stand ready to work with him and my Senate colleagues to produce legislation that represents the best interests and best aspects of America, including our national and economic security, and restoring respect for the law.

As the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Subcommittee and a border state senator, I know how complex immigration reform can be. The Chairman, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, I am advised, plans to hold hearings on this subject within the next few months. I look forward those hearings and working with all of my colleagues to pass legislation that will provide balanced, common-sense solutions that secure our border, and restores our broken immigration system to sound legal footing.

President Obama claims to be opposed to “discrimination” based on “sexual orientation.” But this year, for the first time ever, there was such discrimination in the distribution of tickets for the White House Easter Egg Roll—discrimination in favor of families headed by homosexuals, that is. Ordinary families have in the past had to wait in line outside the White House for tickets. This year, online ordering was introduced, but it was still first-come, first-serve. But some families—those headed by homosexual parents—got to jump the line, thanks to tickets distributed in advance to The Family Equality Council, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and others.

Is this a foreshadowing of what will happen in other areas of American life, if homosexual activists succeed in implementing their agenda? If the military is opened to homosexuals, will recruiters have to seek out “gay soldiers” to meet recruiting targets? Will passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) lead to affirmative action for homosexuals? If so, what will be the basis for the quota—the long-discredited myth that “ten percent of the population is gay?” Read more...

President Obama stated in his inaugural address, “to those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” The Cuban dictatorship has done nothing to unclench its fist.  In fact, it continues to repress peaceful pro-democracy activists, torture prisoners of conscience, and refuses to allow international human rights observers into the country.  Yet today’s announcement by the Administration will provide the Cuban dictatorship with hundreds of millions of dollars annually; the financial resources to further clench its totalitarian grip on the Cuban people.  These unilateral concessions are a serious mistake.

It is my hope that President Obama will not grant any further unilateral concessions to the Cuban dictatorship, and insist upon the three fundamental goals for Cuba enshrined in U.S. law which have long constituted a bipartisan U.S. policy of State:  The liberation of all political prisoners, the legalization of all political parties, independent labor unions and the press, and the scheduling of free internationally supervised elections.