After ten years of flatline economic growth and years of one party rule ( Democrats ) The Sons Of Liberty are looking at even more disastrous times.
From The Heritage Foundation
August 21, 2009 By Amanda Reinecker
How will cap-and-tax affect your state?
A new study released by The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis reveals the tremendous costs and energy price spikes that Massachusetts residents will incur should Congress enact the Waxman-Markey climate change legislation.
"Inevitably the bill will affect each state differently," explains Heritage's energy and economic policy team. "Some states are more energy-intensive than others, and some rely a great deal on manufacturing to fuel their economies. Regardless, the costs in every state are significant."
» Find out how the legislation will affect Massachusetts residents
Waxman-Markey's financial burden will eventually trickle down to individual families. Heritage experts predict annual energy costs for a family of four to grow by $1,241 -- $4,609 if you include the new taxes -- forcing families to reduce consumption of goods and services by $3,000 each year as incomes and savings fall. This forced cutback will hurt job growth and ultimately weaken the economy, leaving America approximately $9.4 trillion poorer by 2035.
And all of these costs will get us "no more than a 0.2 degree (Celsius) moderation in world temperature increases by 2100 and no more than a 0.05 degree reduction by 2050." That's certainly not much of an environmental benefit, especially considering the adverse impact the bill imposes on American families.
Left pushes Obamacare 'by any legislative means necessary'
The more Americans learn about the Left's big-government health care takeover, the less they like it. According to the latest NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll, 42 percent of Americans disapprove of the proposal altogether, and 47 percent reject the creation of a government-run health insurance "option."
» Why the "public option" is bad, no matter what its form
"Facing this cratering of public support, the left in Congress is now considering abandoning moderates and independents to pass their narrow partisan ideal of health reform," Heritage's Conn Carroll writes in Thursday's Morning Bell.
» Sign-up to receive your daily Morning Bell updates.
Why the rush? Andy Stern, a Big Labor ally of President Obama's, warns that the failure to pass this health care reform legislation may hurt the Left in the next congressional election cycle. "I think we're talking losing control of Congress… [The failure of health-care reform] would totally empower Republicans to kill all change."
Since there appears to be little chance of bipartisan support for the liberal proposal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has promised to pursue "any legislative means necessary" to pass the bill. This could involve the use of reconciliation, a legislative tactic that allows the Senate to pass legislation with a bare majority.
However, the process of reconciliation is designated for budget-related measures, which is why the Democrats now propose splitting the health care bill into two parts: one for new taxes and spending and one for new rules and regulations. And the Left argues that the big-government insurance "option" is a budget item and thus eligible for reconciliation.
This "public option" may be a deal-breaker. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that "there's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option."
In the meantime, "some congressmen and senators will say whatever it takes to calm things down," writes Heritage Distinguished Fellow and former congressman Ernest Istook. "Even if it's misleading."
"Don't believe it," warns Istook. These members need a serious "dose of reality." Get your dose of reality from The Heritage Foundation's FixHealthCarePolicy.com.
> Other Heritage work of note
As the war in Afghanistan intensifies, President Obama faces many challenges that will test his ability to lead the United States into victory. These "tests" include: how he responds to the recent Afghan elections; whether he deploys the resources and tools needed to win; and whether he can work with national security conservatives who support victory. Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes explains that "Mr. Obama can pass these tests only by devising a workable strategy on Afghanistan and sticking to it…for as long as necessary and no matter the political fallout."
"Washington will spend $33,880 per household in 2009 – the highest level in American history (adjusted for inflation), and nearly $8,000 per household more than last year," writes Heritage budget policy expert Brian Riedl. In his nationally-syndicated article, Riedl details the various government programs the taxpayer is and will be funding, and he tasks "taxpayers – and the next generation that will be paying nearly half of the bill – [to] decide for themselves if they're getting their money's worth."
"It may be time for the State Department to declare Venezuela a terrorist-sponsoring state," argue Heritage experts Ariel Cohen and Owen Graham in The Washington Times. Venezuela is set to purchase Russian weaponry, while strongman president Hugo Chavez is aggressively fueling the trend of anti-Americanism in South America. "The Russian-Venezuelan axis bodes ill for hemispheric security, energy access and for the cause of liberty in the Western Hemisphere."
Join Heritage at the Family Research Council Action's Values Voter Summit 2009 in Washington, DC, from September 18-20. The event will feature prominent conservatives including Bill O'Reilly, former Govs. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Mike Huckabee (R-AR), Govs. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Rick Perry (R-TX), Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Mike Pence (R-IN), former Attorney general Edwin Meese, a special tribute to conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly, and much more. See the full program and register at ValuesVoterSummit.org.
The Obama administration is seeking public input on a proposal that would allow drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of several U.S. states. This policy would: help decrease our dependence on foreign oil, which often comes from unstable or hostile nations; create jobs; and lower prices for American families filling up their tanks and heating their homes. To express your support for this plan, visit FreeOurEnergy.com.
Writing on National Review Online, Heritage legal scholar Hans von Spakovsky summarizes a new report on the movement to abolish sentences of life without parole for juvenile killers. The Heritage report, authored by Cully Stimson and Andrew Grossman, exposes the anti-incarceration movement's "manufactured statistics" and "duplicitous" information. Stimson and Grossman defend the life-without-parole sentence for juveniles as constitutional and appropriately rare. This "landmark study" comes at a critical time as the Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases on the subject this fall.
> In other news
The Scottish government has ordered release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on humanitarian grounds. Al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer, took part in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people over Scotland. The Obama administration rightly expressed strong disagreement with the decision.
Cash for Clunkers, the misguided government program that pays Americans to buy new cars and turn in their used cars to be destroyed, will end on Monday after spending $3 billion of taxpayer funds.
Home sales surged 7.2 percent in July, signaling a rebound for the ailing real estate market. This is the largest monthly increase in 10 years.
Since the recession began, U.S. state and local governments have expanded their payrolls even while small businesses and private enterprises have had to make drastic personnel cuts. Of course, to pay for these new government jobs, they have to levy taxes on these same private enterprises.
Despite the growing dominance of drug cartels and rampant drug-related violence, Mexico has decided to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin.
While many proponents of big-government health care look abroad for their model, those who actually live under such systems are coming to America for quality care. Canadians who can afford it, for example, come the U.S. for health care instead of trusting their country's government-run system
> Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
On Thursday, August 27 at noon, a panel of experts will explore the implications of the Afghan elections.
On Tuesday, September 1 at noon, former Israeli diplomat Dore Gold will discuss his new book on the rise of Iranian nuclear power.
Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report.
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