FREEDOMWORKS 10/25/2015

Winning the Fight Over Raising the Debt Limit - by Senior Economic Contributor Stephen Moore via The Orange County Register I and David Malpass, the respected New York-based economist at Encima Global, have drafted a plan that would provide reasonable restraints this time around. Currently the ratio of publicly held debt to gross domestic product stands at 74 percent. It is expected to drift up to closer to 100 percent of GDP over the next 24 years. That's a danger zone for sure. The Malpass/Moore plan would move the debt in the opposite direction. It would require Congress to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio by 1 percentage point per year for the next 24 years to get our debt burden down to 50 percent - a safe zone. This would reduce deficit spending by trillions of dollars over decades. Read more here... Here's Why the U.S. Can't Default - by Logan Albright Tick-tock, the debt ceiling deadline is fast approaching, leading, as ever, to the fevered warnings of default from the advocates of endless spending in and around the Beltway. It can't be said often enough: default on the national debt isn't going to happen. In fact, it's all but impossible. To see why, first take a look at this table from last month's report of the United States Treasury. Read more here... Don't Worry About Default - by Adam Brandon via The Blaze As the nation once again nears its borrowing limit, we are starting to see all the old talking points intended to bully representatives into unconditional support of incurring more debt. The latest estimate puts the debt ceiling deadline at November 3, just in time for John Boehner to hammer out a deal before his semi-forced retirement from Congress. The national debt now exceeds $18 trillion, and Congress' inability to pass a balanced budget ensures that the problem is only going to get worse. Within 10 years, interest on the debt alone will exceed our country's total spending on national defense. One would hope that such statistics would inspire political leaders to get serious about reining in spending, before the debt crisis becomes insurmountable. Yet every time anyone breathes so much as a whisper about the need for spending reforms to go along with a debt ceiling increase, the Democrats scream that Republicans are playing politics with the full faith and credit of the United States. Read more here... FreedomWorks Responds to Eric Cantor Following Eric Cantor's derogatory remarks about pro-freedom members of the House of Representatives, FreedomWorks National Director of Grassroots Noah Wall commented: "Remember when Eric Cantor was the next in line for the speakership? Cantor's criticism of House conservatives rings hollow. Protecting vocal minorities is what America is all about, and Thomas Jefferson wrote the House rules to reflect that." "The House Freedom Caucus and other conservative members believe Republicans should govern by their campaign pledges to limit government and cut spending. If Cantor had followed through on those pledges and paid attention to his constituents rather than his pals on K Street, he wouldn't have been defeated last year." Read more here... Toward a More Rational Justice System Sentencing decisions have traditionally been made by judges, but since the 1980s, the use of federal mandatory minimum sentences has been increasingly common. This policy inserts big government into the courtroom, contributes to prison overcrowding, and misallocates resources away from society's worst criminals. Read more here... The House's ObamaCare Reconciliation Fail -by Josh Withrow Thanks to a newly minted Republican Senate majority and the budgetary tactic called reconciliation, it appeared that getting a full repeal of at least most of ObamaCare to the president's desk was inevitable this year. With ObamaCare's insurance exchanges and co-ops failing around the country, premiums still going up, and people being forced to buy plans they can't even afford to use, the case for forcing President Obama to defend his unsustainable, malfunctioning law was perhaps the strongest it has ever been. Instead, it appears that the House is set to commit yet another major blunder, using reconciliation on a timid partial repeal that both fails to address the core functions of the law and may not even be able to get past the Senate. Read more here... FreedomWorks Responds to Comments by Boehner's Chief of Staff to Liberal Republican Group Speaking to the liberal Republican Main Street Partnership last week, Speaker John Boehner's chief of staff, Mike Sommers, named the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank as one of the main priorities for the House of Representatives in October. Sommers also praised the liberal GOP group, while making a subtle dig at principled conservatives who believe Republicans should govern by the limited government values on which they campaign. Following news of Sommers' remarks, FreedomWorks commented: "Seeing the writing on the wall, Speaker John Boehner knew that he could only hold onto his gavel with the help of the Democrats. Now, Boehner's chief of staff is praising a liberal Republican outfit, which is funded by major Democratic donors and liberal labor unions, for their ability to advocate for progressive policies and attacking conservative Republicans who believe in the principles of less government, lower taxes, and more freedom." Read more here... Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association Could Be a Big Win for First Amendments Rights - by Marc Dupont On October 4th, the Supreme Court began a new term, and with it comes a number of fresh cases for the justices to deliberate on. As the Court has begun to hear the first arguments, though, one case in particular stands out not only because of its potential impact on public-employee unions across the country, but also because of the repercussions it may have for freedom of speech and First Amendment rights. To provide some background, the Supreme Court made a ruling in 1977 prohibiting public unions from collecting non-member dues used for political activities or purposes. However, this did not bar them from collecting fees from non-members entirely. In fact, if the funds were to be directed towards collective bargaining efforts, unions were essentially granted the authority to levy these costs on non-members since collective bargaining was viewed as beneficial to all workers. Read more here... Conservatives Should Support Fair Sentencing Act Retroactively - by Jason Pye Earlier this year, FreedomWorks released a letter of support for the Smarter Sentencing Act. The bill was introduced by unlikely pair of senators, Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and would lower but not eliminate federal mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, nonviolent offenders and expand the "safety valve" to these sentences to reduce big government's role in the courtroom. A version of the bill introduced in the previous Congress showed substantial cost savings. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the would save $3 billion over ten years. A separate estimate from the Department of Justice projected nearly $24 billion in savings over 20 years. Read more here... George Soros is Trying to Influence Local Politics in Caddo Parish, Louisiana - by Rev. C.L. Bryant Have you ever heard of Shreveport, Louisiana? George Soros has and is evidently concerned enough about the outcome of a District Attorney's race in Caddo Parish to give $256,000 to a PAC in order to effect the outcome of this local election. The question for all of us across the nation is, why? Read more here... FreedomWorks in Action Sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update If you want an update like this newsletter twice a week, be sure to sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update! The Morning Update is your tool to keep up-to-date with all the threats to your freedom. Sign up here. Make freedom work, Adam Brandon President and CEO, FreedomWorks