Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Emergency Spending: $333 Billion Tab Busted the Budget in 2008

Congress and President Bush enacted at least $333 billion in "emergency" spending in the just-completed 2008 fiscal year. While some of this spending may have been for worthy programs, many were routine expenditures given the emergency designation simply to evade spending caps and Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules.

How to Successfully Stimulate the Economy

Serious work by the Congress in tax, energy, and spending policy will create greater predictability for investors and business owners and assure workers that they will have a better chance of improving their wages through increased productivity.

Why an Independent Financial Markets Commission Is Needed Now

An Independent Commission on Financial Markets—similar to the 1987 Brady Commission, but chartered by Congress—could provide Congress and the next Administration with the information necessary to make informed decisions about financial regulatory and market restructuring.

Treasury's Bank Capital Purchase Program: Avoiding a Dangerous Legacy

Last week, the Treasury Department announced the direct purchase of equity stakes in U.S. banks in order to increase the capital levels of those institutions. While it is a potentially effective step, the action is also a dangerous one.

SEC Makes Mark-to-Market Accounting Markedly Better

The SEC and FASB clarifications on mark-to-market accounting rules both address shortcomings in the application of the existing rule and will help to ensure that investors, regulators, and the public have a more accurate picture of a firm’s financial position.

The Bailout Package: Vital and Acceptable

Financial markets in the United States and around the world face a dire emergency requiring urgent and decisive action. The package of emergency steps now before Congress is intended to address that problem and restore America’s credit markets while protecting the taxpayer as much as possible from the cost of dealing with the crisis. Certain provisions are far more troubling, however, and raise serious constitutional concerns.

House Tax Extenders Bill Is Bad for Business and the Economy

The tax extenders legislation that passed the House 257–166 on September 26 has significant problems. The tax cuts and increased spending in the bill are being offset by tax increases on businesses. There are also hidden costs in the bill that will likely increase deficits in future years. Elements of the bill that raise taxes, increase the deficit, or complicate the tax code should be eliminated.

Don't Bail Out the States: Spendthrifts Made Own Mess

New York's Gov. Paterson was in Washington yesterday, testifying before Congress on why Washington should send him some help. Indeed, state governments from New York to California are begging Washington to bail them out of a combined $48 billion budget shortfall estimated for 2009. And the Democratic leaders of Congress are reportedly considering including a state bailout in the $300 billion economic–stimulus package now scheduled for debate after Election Day.

Middle-Class Tax Cuts Could Disappear.  Again.

Campaign promises often wilt after the election. Tax-cut promises are a frequent casualty.

The Best Red Tape Your Tax Money Can Buy

As the financial turmoil has worsened, many politicians have resorted to mutual recrimination in a “blame your opponent” exercise over who was responsible for the debacle. As the process drags on, the recrimination of choice has become whether you ever were, or ever have been, in favor of deregulation, and Republicans seem to be getting much of the blame.

Help ACORN Mess with Votes Act

In 2002, the federal government enacted the Help America Vote Act. The law, designed to prevent election fraud, set standards for voter eligibility, and its importance is obvious given the recent ACORN vote-fraud scandal. But thanks to a Supreme Court order issued Friday, Ohio’s Democratic secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, doesn’t have to follow it.

Plumbing the Candidates' Tax Plans

Joe the plumber is on to something: If a President McCain had his way, Americans could expect to keep their tax cuts. They'd also see their household income grow more, along with jobs and the economy, than would be the case under a President Obama.

Deflate balloon of entitlements

The Wall Street meltdown has sent shock waves through the economy. But it's nothing compared to what's coming if Washington fails to address - properly and soon - its unfunded obligations for Medicare, Social Security and other federal entitlement programs.

False Alarm: What's really behind the drop in welfare office voter registrations

Some people just refuse to accept good news.

Global perspectives

It has been no secret that the diplomatic and financial institutions of the 20th century are ill-suited for the needs of the 21st century. The world of Bretton Woods, and of post-World War II dominance by the West, is changing - only no one could have suspected that it would change as precipitously as the current financial-markets crisis indicates. The question before us is whether this change is permanent and inevitable. If it is the entire global landscape will be affected.