THE FOUNDATION
"Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state." --George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
White House Amnesty 2.0
Immigration is a hot topic, says Gallup: "With thousands of undocumented immigrant minors crossing the nation's southern border in recent months, the percentage of Americans citing immigration as the top problem has surged to 17% this month, up from 5% in June, and the highest seen since 2006." So what's the White House plan? To move forward with more executive actions that grant amnesty to more illegals, of course. Never let a crisis go to waste. More...Comment | Share
Pelosi Turns on Immigration Bill
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) signaled Democrats won't play nice when it comes to fixing a 2008 law regarding immigration. That law is being abused to allow for the current flood of illegal alien minors, and there is a bipartisan proposal to fix it. Yet Pelosi announced, "I do think the bill that was introduced is exactly the wrong way to go. Is the only immigration bill we're going to have one that hurts children?" Always the irrational emotional appeal with her. What hurts these children is opening the door wide with a welcome sign that encourages them to brave the dangers of getting here. But doesn't Nancy care about the ones who drown in the Rio Grande? Pelosi says, "This crisis is an opportunity to demonstrate who we are as a country." Indeed -- one ruled by law or by men.Comment | Share
VA ShamWow
Veterans Affairs can be fixed, acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson told Congress Wednesday. And if you call now, it can be done in two years for the low price of ... $17.6 billion. In the spirit of a TV infomercial, Sloan declared, "We must, all of us, seize this opportunity. We can turn these challenges into the greatest opportunity for improvement in the history of this department." Sloans plan is to hire 10,000 more employees, including 1,500 doctors. The VA's problems are huge, including overpaying its employees for scandalous "service." Is more money really the only thing that can keep bureaucrats from abusing our veterans? More...Comment | Share
House Cuts IRS Budget
House Republicans voted Tuesday night to slash the IRS's budget by 13%, leaving the delinquent agency a mere $9.8 billion for the next fiscal year. According to the Associated Press, the cut can perhaps be considered retribution for IRS targeting of conservative political groups. The AP quotes Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), "author of an amendment to cut the IRS tax enforcement budget by $353 million," as saying, "The use of a government agency to harass, target, intimidate and threaten lawful, honest citizens was the worst form of authoritarianism." Furthermore, the AP notes, "Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., followed up with an amendment to cut $788 million more." Reining in the abuse of power at the IRS begins with the power of the purse. More...Comment | Share
Obama's $1.2 Trillion Lie
The cost of Barack Obama's more infamous lie is enough to give just about anyone a heart attack. "[W]e're going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year," Obama repeatedly declared during his first presidential election bid. Years later, reality is hitting our wallets hard. "How would you feel if someone promised to give you a car, and then reneged on that pledge?" asks Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. "That's how all Americans should feel when it comes to ObamaCare -- because Barack Obama's failed and discredited campaign promise to lower health insurance premiums has cost the average American family an amount equal to the price of many new cars." Jindal says, "Americans have faced a cumulative $6,388 per individual, and $18,610 per family, in higher costs because President Obama's health plan has failed to achieve its promised premium reductions. Overall, that amounts to $1.2 trillion in higher premium costs due to ObamaCare's failure to deliver." This is what fundamental transformation looks like, masqueraded with the art of the "Big Lie." More...Comment | Share
For more, visit Right Hooks.
Don't Miss Alexander's Column
Read The Imperial President, on the threat to Liberty posed by Obama's style of executive rule.If you'd like to receive Alexander's Column by email, update your subscription here.
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
Social Security Insolvent, Voters Say 'Do Nothing'
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Social Security already runs an annual deficit -- about $200 billion this year -- which will only grow worse as fewer workers support more retirees. From the start, politicians have raided the Social Security "trust fund" and spent the money on other general fund projects, leaving the program as a wealth transfer one instead of an investment as it's billed. Economist Walter Williams explains, "What the Treasury Department does is give the Social Security Trust Fund non-marketable 'special issue government securities' that are simply bookkeeping entries that are IOUs."
Now that benefits paid exceed taxes collected, the problem has become acute. According to the Social Security board of trustees, in 1945, there were 42 workers for every retiree; the current ratio of three workers to every retiree is unsustainable. Strictly speaking, Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme, in part because it's not against the law. Indeed, it is the law. (Try not paying payroll taxes -- a.k.a., "investing" in the system.) But it is structured exactly like a Ponzi scheme, and it will eventually fail for the same reasons.
Of the gap between Social Security taxes collected and benefits paid out, The Wall Street Journal's William Galston writes, "To close that gap while maintaining scheduled benefits, we would need to enact an immediate increase in the payroll tax rate from 12.4% to 15.9%. For workers earning $50,000 a year, that would mean a tax increase of $900, nearly 2% of gross income. And employers would have to match it. For workers making the maximum now subject to payroll taxes (a bit under $120,000), taxes would rise by $2,100."
If the income cap were lifted, workers at higher incomes would face an even more staggering tax increase. And yet as it stands, the payroll tax is regressive in that it hits lower income families disproportionately. If the income cap were doubled, it still wouldn't fix the problem. Galston notes, "One might imagine that such a sizable increase in covered earnings would be enough to stabilize the system for the long term. In fact, the CBO calculates, it would reduce the imbalance by only 30%. Indeed, eliminating the cap and taxing all earnings would solve just 45% of the problem."
Meanwhile, the expected return on the 12.4% in Social Security withholding from our income is practically criminal. Consider the potential return of investing 12.4% of a typical middle class income in indexed mutual funds, where decent investments would yield perhaps multiple millions of dollars over 30 years. Over a retirement span of 20 years or so, annual withdrawals could be six figures while still leaving a good chunk of change making money.
Compared to that, Social Security looks like the poorest investment ever concocted. In fact, from that perspective, Social Security is stealing our money by mandating that it do something for us in a worse way than we can ourselves.
Or put it another way. Financial advisers often recommend putting 10% to 15% of your income toward "retirement" (whatever that means to you). The potential return on that 15% over 30 years is fantastic. Unfortunately, Social Security is already taking over 12%, while giving us miserable returns. So for savers, Social Security is costing us significant returns that we could have realized but won't. What a "safety net."
In spite of the facts, Social Security has always been one of the most popular programs the federal government runs, and the overwhelming choice of voters is to do nothing to fix it -- let alone returning to the constitutional norm of the federal government staying out of your retirement. So we understand politicians desperate for votes not wanting to touch this beloved system. But Social Security is built on a half-truth at best, and it's unsustainable.
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Highway Fund Robbery
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Read the rest here.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
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TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Joe Bastardi: Two Simple Questions for Al Gore
- Victor Davis Hanson: The Turbulent Summer of 2014
- Cal Thomas: Are Black Voters Turning Against Obama?
- Tony Perkins: Blum-enthralled With Pro-Abortion Sham
- Michael Reagan: Honoring Our Fathers
OPINION IN BRIEF
Economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006): "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state."FRC's Tony Perkins: "Senate Democrats have certainly proven there's a 'war on women' -- a war on women's intelligence! While America sinks under the weight of the Left's failed policies, Harry Reid and company are busy insulting the female voters they claim to speak for. Instead of serious discussions about the crises of immigration, the economy, the IRS or Middle East, the Left is taking up valuable legislative time with gratuitous debates over abortion and birth control. If liberals are such devoted feminists, why do they insist on reducing women voters to the sum of their reproductive organs? Having two X chromosomes doesn't mean women are incapable of caring about the issues Senate Democrats are ignoring. Yet that's exactly what this Majority Leader is banking on with feisty hearings over political show bills that have zero chance of passing both chambers and little significance if they did. It's an offensive -- if not risky -- strategy for the party desperate to keep its grip on the Senate."
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Columnist Michael Reagan: "The murderous violence in our cities is never going to end until someone stands up and wakes up America with a 'Put the father back in the family' speech. Bill Cosby tried it -- and caught hell. Others have caught hell for talking about the importance to children and society of intact families. ... We have a nation today where 20 to 30 million children go to bed each night without a father in the home. We have a pop culture that constantly disrespects and mocks fathers. Try to find a popular TV show -- or a Disney movie -- where the father is not laughed at or depicted as a bumbling fool. It's not easy. Dishonoring our fathers and denying their importance to strong families has to end. If we want America to survive, we need to put fathers back in the home where they belong."
Fred Thompson: "Speaking in Colorado, President Obama said 'my favorite President is a Republican.' So... Obama's not a fan of the Obama presidency either?"
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform -- Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- standing in harm's way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.
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