Former U.S. Comptroller General Says America Is a “Republic at Risk”

---

Former Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker delivered the keynote address at the Washington Policy Center’s Government Reform Conference in April, providing a sobering assessment of the fiscal state of the nation and the growing size and power of government. His speech is excerpted below.

---

I am here to tell you, our Republic is at risk. Washington is out of touch and out of control. I’ve had the good fortune of going to 26 states and 40 cities as part of the ‘Fiscal Wake-Up Tour’ during the last two years. I’ve been to a number of other states, and many more cities in my capacity as comptroller general of the United States, and now in my capacity as president and chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. …

Frankly, I’m not just concerned about the sustainability challenges we face. I’m concerned about how far this nation has strayed from the solid foundations that our Founding Fathers provided for us in 1789. And let me mention just a few examples.

Read Full Post »

Ready for a 150 Percent Income Tax Increase?

For years, taxpayer advocacy groups have been sounding the alarm about serious spending problems facing the nation and the lack of attention elected officials are paying to this growing fiscal disaster. Now come projections out of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on what further delay means to taxpayers and the economy.

According to a CBO report and letter dated May 19 to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI),

Read Full Post »

Congress Mulls Mortgage Guarantees; Critics See More Harm than Good Likely

Slow housing sales, falling property values, and rising mortgage defaults and foreclosures have prompted Congress to ready a bill to intervene in the housing market.

But the bill’s supporters face tough opposition from critics who believe it constitutes an unjustified bailout. The plan would grant taxpayer guarantees to refinance up to $300 billion in private mortgages across the nation.

Read Full Post »

“Patriot Tax” Surcharge Would Slap Small Businesses

Over much stronger opposition than usually accompanies such measures, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to increase funding for veterans’ education.

Such rewards for service to country are generally so uncontroversial they pass by voice vote or under expedited rules. But this one met stiff opposition, as it would pay for the benefits with revenues generated by a new surtax on high-income taxpayers. The bill passed the House on a 256-166 vote shortly before the Memorial Day break.

Read Full Post »

Gas Tax Holidays, Windfall Profit Taxes of Doubtful Value, Analysts Conclude

As gasoline prices continue to climb, several state and national political leaders, including the major-party presidential contenders, have presented plans they say would ease consumers’ pain. But many economists and public policy experts have their doubts.

The presumptive Republican Party nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), who sought the Democratic Party’s nomination, each proposed a federal gas tax “holiday” during the summer. Some state lawmakers have offered similar proposals.

Read Full Post »

Better for Politicians than Consumers

Tax holidays rarely confer the full value of the tax cut to consumers, says Jonathan Williams, an economist and director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan organization whose membership includes more than 2,000 state lawmakers.

Instead, said Williams, during tax holidays prices tend to remain the same, while the suppliers tend to increase their profits.

Read Full Post »

Report Card Exposes Big Labor’s Hold on State Governments across the Country

As the presidential campaign builds, one thing has become apparent–the political Left in this country is aligned with Big Labor in a big way. Union political contributions overwhelmingly favor Democrats over Republicans, with an average of 80 percent of all union contributions going toward the former.

At the same time, private-sector labor union membership is at a historic low of around 7 percent of the workforce. Public-sector union membership is skyrocketing, with membership rates over 36 percent nationally.

Read Full Post »