What makes America an economically ingenious place is the competitive federalism model set forth by our Founding Fathers. They established our nation as the world’s largest ever free trade zone in which 50 states competing for jobs and people with varying economic and fiscal policies.
And boy have liberals come to hate that model. Why? Because it puts their policies of tax, spend, regulate and restrict on trial every day. We can see with our two eyes the stampede out of liberal blue states to conservative red states. Read more here...
2. Justice Reform Could Save Almost $800M if Congress Acts - via Hot Air
I wrote last week how justice reform is fiscally conservative, specifically looking at a Texas Public Policy Foundation study on incarceration vs. treatment. The potential savings are even more massive on a federal level where the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 could whack hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget.
$769M is nothing to sneeze at, especially when the government debt is $19.5T and counting. If the government can save money by changing sentencing of non-violent offenders, then it should be studied and implemented. Those debt markers are going to be called in at some point, and when it happens the U.S. is going to have to pay up. The less the government spends, the more it can make sure the debt goes down. Read more here...
In Our Lost Constitution, Senator Mike Lee tells the dramatic,
little-known stories behind six of the Constitution’s most indispensable
provisions. He shows their rise. He shows their fall. And he makes
vividly clear how nearly every abuse of federal power today is rooted in
neglect of this Lost Constitution. Get your copy here...
3. Large Bailout for ObamaCare Insurers May Be Coming - via Forbes
Average premium increases above 25%, roughly one-third of U.S. counties projected to lack any competition in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges next year, and enrollment less than half of initial expectations provide strong evidence that the law’s exchange program is failing. Moreover, the failure is occurring despite massive government subsidies, including nearly $15 billion of unlawful payments, for participating insurers. As bad news pours in and with a potentially very rough 2017 open enrollment period ahead, the Obama administration signaled on Friday that it may defy Congress and bail out insurers through the risk corridor program. Congress should take all steps at its disposal to prevent the administration from doing so.
Administration Has Already Delivered Nearly $15 Billion in Unlawful Funds to Insurers
In May, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer sided with the U.S. House of Representatives in a suit brought against the Obama administration for making payments to insurers through the cost sharing reduction (CSR) program without a congressional appropriation. According to Judge Collyer, “Paying out [cost-sharing subsidies] without an appropriation violates the Constitution. Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one.” CSR payments are sent to insurers to enable them to reduce cost sharing amounts, such as deductibles, for certain exchange plan enrollees. Insurers received about $7 billion in CSR payments through 2015 and have likely received nearly $11 billion in such payments to date. Read More Here...
4. Last Year the Federal Government Said This Species Did Not Need to Be Regulated, But Now They Are Going to Regulate It Anyway - by Kenny Stein
Last year the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the greater sage grouse did not qualify for coverage under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),perhaps because the observed numbers of male grouse had increased by 63% from 2013-2015. This decision was met with relief across the western United States, where livelihoods were threatened with destruction by draconian ESA regulations. But regulators can never be content with not regulating, so last week the Department of Interior (DOI) announced new guidelines to restrict economic activity in the name of protecting the grouse.
Evidence abounds that the grouse continues to do well, with counts increasing for the third year, indicating that state-based efforts to help the grouse are succeeding. But the federal government cannot leave well-enough alone. It is insisting on imposing new regulations on land across the western United States, regulations that could end up actually hindering state conservation. If the grouse is recovering and state efforts succeeding, one might wonder why the federal government is still insisting on meddling. Two answers: power and radical ideology. Read more here...
5. US Taxpayers Have Been Forced to Pay Over $3.2 Billion on Sports Stadiums - via Reason
Regulators are taking action against the work preferences and aspirations of people in 21st Century America, according to a new Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) report released today, Punching the Clock on a Smartphone App? The Changing Nature of Work in America and Regulatory Barriers to Success.
“Instead of a 9-to-5 job and punching the clock, people have a new American dream of work that offers greater flexibility, autonomy, and opportunity than ever before,” said Lain Murray, CEI vice president for strategy. “But government labor regulators are imposing rules that make modern forms of work and business - like contracting, franchising, and freelancing - more difficult.
“Regulators and labor unions want to see a return to large, corporate business institutions, making it easier to regulate and impose wage and benefit mandates,” Murray explained. “But regulators should not be permitted to shove aside the work opportunities Americans want and strive for.” Read more here...
Jason Pye
Communications Director, FreedomWorks
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