FREEDOMWORKS 09/08/2015

1. How the Cadillac tax will reduce your health care options - by Logan Albright via Watchdog
There’s a lot not to like about the Affordable Care Act – from the “if you like your plan you can keep it” lie, to rising premiums and deductibles, to the dysfunctional insurance exchanges collapsing all around the country, the law has been a great big mess from the start. But one of the most damaging features of the law has yet show its full effect. The high-cost plan tax, often referred to as the Cadillac Tax, is scheduled to hit employers in 2018, and it’s already affecting calculations as businesses plan for the future.
The Cadillac Tax is a 40 percent tax on health benefits provided by employers exceeding a certain value. For 2018, that value is set at $10,200, and it will increase in subsequent years along with the rate of inflation. The tax doesn’t apply to the whole benefit, but only the amount exceeding the threshold. Read more here...

2. Preserving the Fifth Amendment is the key to civil asset forfeiture reform in Oklahoma - by Jason Pye
On Tuesday, Oklahoma state Sen. Kyle Loveless (R-Oklahoma City) hosted a panel of national experts to discuss the Sooner State's civil asset forfeiture laws. State Sen. Loveless invited me to speak via Skype, and my prepared remarks can be read below. Other panelists included John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation and Adam Bates of the Cato Institute.
My name is Jason Pye. I’m the Director of Justice Reform at FreedomWorks. Before I jump into the discussion on civil asset forfeiture laws, if the Senator will indulge me for a moment, I’d like to make a comment about my background. I know that any discussion of policing is likely to bring passionate views, especially in light of recent events, and understandably so. Read more here...

3. Sen. Mike Lee on Civil Asset Forfeiture


4. Right-To-Work Laws: Facts and Fallacies - by Alex Bales
In recent years, the topic of unionization and right-to-work laws has been raised as a fairly contentious issue. As state legislatures sought to recoup the costs incurred due to lost revenue following the Great Recession, de-unionization policies, at least at the public sector level, were floated as cost-cutting measures. But nearly as often, right-to-work laws at the private sector level were also explored and implemented, perhaps most infamously in the case of the state of Wisconsin under Governor Scott Walker.
On Tuesday, September 1st, the Heritage Foundation hosted a luncheon and panel talk on the topic of right-to-work laws and their correlation with wage rates. Titled “Do Right-to-Work Laws Really Reduce Wages? Examining the Evidence,” the panel sought to address the common progressive misconception that right-to-work laws at the state level reduce wage rates relative to states with a forcibly unionized workforce. Panel members included a diversity of perspectives, including Wisconsin State Senator Chris Kapenga and Vincent Vernuccio, Director of Labor Policy at the Mackinac Center. The host was James Sherk, research fellow in labor economics at the Heritage Foundation. Read more here...
5. Over 2,000 Activists to Attend the 9.12 Grassroots Summit - by Iris Somberg

Over 2,000 activists from Florida and the surrounding states will be at the 9/12 Grassroots Summit. The summit in Orlando, Florida on September 12, 2015 for grassroots activists to engage with conservative leaders and members of the House Freedom Caucus, who are some of the most principled conservatives leading the charge for change in Washington. Over 60 local groups partnered with FreedomWorks to host this event.
Confirmed speakers include event host Andrew Wilkow, Glenn Beck, FreedomWorks Senior Economic Contributor Steve Moore, FreedomWorks Senior Fellow C.L. Bryant, and Member of the House Freedom Caucus to include Reps. Ron DeSantis, John Fleming, Tim Huelskamp, Thomas Massie, Mark Meadows, and Ted Yoho. Read more here...

Iris Somberg

Press Secretary, FreedomWorks