Obama administration

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The national security implications of the IRS scandal

Marc Thiessen | June 13, 2013, 2:27 pm

A new Fox News poll is out today which finds: Two-thirds of American voters (66 percent) think the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups as part of a high-level operation to punish political opponents. Far fewer — 23 percent — … read more >

Image Credit: USDAgov (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Economics, U.S. Economy

Jason Furman would serve with distinction as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

Andrew Biggs, Alex Brill, Kevin Hassett, Glenn Hubbard, John Makin, Greg Mankiw, Kent Smetters, Michael Strain, Phillip Swagel, Stan Veuger and Alan Viard | June 10, 2013, 9:13 am

We are pleased that President Obama has nominated Jason Furman, currently the principal deputy director of the National Economic Council, for the position of Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Although we often disagree with the administration’s … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

President Obama’s White House counsel knew about the IRS targeting weeks before the president

Peter J. Wallison | May 20, 2013, 12:12 pm

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that President Obama’s White House counsel was told about the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups weeks before this policy was made public by the IRS. Purportedly, this information was not passed to President Obama. … read more >

Image Credit: G20Voice (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Economics, International economy

Obama’s selection of Michael Froman as US Trade Rep is an excellent choice

Claude Barfield | May 6, 2013, 11:53 am

No white smoke floated up from the White House when the president announced that he had chosen deputy security adviser Michael Froman as the new US Trade Representative; but there was a huge, collective sigh of relief from all elements … read more >

Economics, Taxes and Spending, U.S. Economy

President Obama’s budget: Dread on arrival

John Makin | April 10, 2013, 3:04 pm

For those hoping to avoid another debt ceiling fiasco like that witnessed in the summer of 2011, the president’s new budget is dread on arrival. It virtually guarantees a total impasse on budget negotiations that will end in a debt … read more >

Credit: White House Office of Management and Budget

Pethokoukis, Economics, Taxes and Spending

White House: We’ll balance the federal budget … in 2055!

James Pethokoukis | April 10, 2013, 12:01 pm

Republicans have mocked the Obama White House for talking about a “balanced approach” to debt reduction that doesn’t actually ever balance the budget. But in its 2014 budget report, Team Obama tries to create the impression that its plan does … read more >

Economics, Entitlements, Pethokoukis

Did the Obama administration just bail out a bunch of GOP governors on Medicaid expansion?

James Pethokoukis | February 28, 2013, 10:42 am

Health and Human Services has given Arkansas permission to take federal dollars for Medicaid expansion and use the money to buy private coverage through the new PPACA healthcare exchanges. Avik Roy thinks the decision “moves us one step closer to … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

A WARNing about the sequester

Tom Gies | February 22, 2013, 4:39 pm

The looming sequester is giving defense contractors major heartburn. Anxiety is exacerbated by uncertainties about application of the WARN Act, a federal labor law requiring employers to give 60 days advance notice before implementing a significant layoff or closing a … read more >

Economics, Regulation

A great idea for protecting small business from the regulatory state

Henrik Temp | February 7, 2013, 1:24 pm

America’s regulatory apparatus continues to grow, with one study estimating 106 new major federal regulations added in just the first three years of the Obama administration. Since 1994, we’ve added about 300 new regulations per year, as the chart from … read more >