A few recent headlines have passed without much attention. The first story is our national debt has reached $30 trillion, while the second is the trade deficit for 2021 hit a record $859.1 billion. Both stories were virtually ignored because the American people have just become numb to the topics, though they may be missing some wider ramifications, especially when it comes to trade.
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation has been a consistent voice against the unnecessary and often harmful stimulus money that has flowed to state and local governments across the country and certainly here in Iowa. This isn’t a new topic (check out our related articles below); even prior to the pandemic we warned against the dangers of a growing federal deficit and […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is a leading conservative who is fighting for the America First agenda. Recently, Senator Hawley introduced the “Make in America to sell in America Act,” in an effort to address the supply chain crisis and the troubling dependency upon foreign countries for necessities. Americans are being confronted with increasing prices due to inflation and a clogged […]
Before President Biden left for a trip to Europe on Thursday, which will include climate talks and a meeting with Pope Francis, he was negotiating a new tax and spend plan with members of his own party in Washington. Apparently, Iowans weren’t the only ones opposed to his $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan, as the President was trying to […]
Our friends in Texas have published a new report entitled Reversing the Recovery, that details how the proposed Build Back Better spending plan could affect our national economy, including how it would impact each individual state. Their conclusion? Iowa would be responsible for shouldering $43 Billion in new debt and lose 51,000 jobs. From the report: “This plan includes heavy […]
Iowans are known for being plain-spoken and clear-thinking. Perhaps that’s why President Biden’s approval rating in Iowa has recently sunk to a dismal 31 percent. Afghanistan and COVID notwithstanding, another of the Biden Administration’s promises that seems to have failed the believability test is his insistence middle-class Iowans won’t be hurt in the pocketbook by his $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. […]
The national debt is rapidly nearing $29 trillion, which is 25% more than our entire economy, and is orders of magnitude higher if you consider unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. This threatens life as we know it and must be addressed now. Since the start of 2020, the debt has increased by $5.2 trillion. And President Joe Biden […]
“From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.” President Donald J. Trump, Inaugural Address, January 20, 2017 “Are the Republicans Switching Places […]
Photo by Keystone/Getty Images Andrew Mellon, who was considered the best Secretary of the Treasury since Alexander Hamilton, served in the presidential administrations of Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. Prior to his service as Secretary of the Treasury, Mellon was a successful financier and businessman. Mellon understood sound fiscal policy and he helped to advance policies […]
Out-of-control government spending is a dangerous problem that both political parties are failing to address. The United States’ national debt is $28 trillion and rising and the federal government continues to run massive deficits. The COVID-19 pandemic has only escalated government spending. The national debt represents a significant crisis for the nation. A recent review of the federal government’s finances by Truth in Accounting […]
President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are celebrating the recent passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), which is a $1.9 trillion package aimed at providing COVID-19 relief. The $1.9 trillion “stimulus” is in addition to $4 trillion in previous spending directed towards pandemic relief. The American Rescue Plan will not only add to the escalating $28 trillion […]
President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are pushing for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Congress has already approved $4 trillion in pandemic relief and stimulus measures and billions of that money has yet to be spent. Congress is also considering a $6.1 trillion budget and the $28 trillion national debt continues to escalate. Federal policymakers should avoid another […]
Congress continues to debate whether more stimulus is needed to aid state and local governments from the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, federal policymakers should avoid another bailout until states have been able to utilize all relief funds that have been appropriated by Congress. History has proven stimulus spending does not work to revitalize the economy […]
Can you think of any area of your life that is not directly impacted by government? Government, whether at the federal, state, or local level, has grown considerably overtime. The escalating $26 trillion national debt is the most symbolic description of the growth of government. As more demands are placed on all levels of government, it creates a problem. As […]
JONATHAN WILLIAMS, SKIP ESTES Most states close their books for fiscal year 2020 this week and continue to look at the uncertainty ahead. Every state but Vermont has some variety of a balanced budget requirement. Some are far more meaningful than others, but at least some thought goes into presenting a plan to balance revenue and expenditures. Moreover, states lack […]
Iowa, just as with other states, has become dependent on the federal government for support. Iowa’s $7.6 billion state budget is dependent on the equivalent in federal aid to help fund numerous programs. Through these funds, the federal government can impose both funded and unfunded mandates on the states. This growing dependency on Uncle Sam is dangerous not only because […]
Do you know that the income taxes you pay to the state of Iowa makes up the majority of the General Fund budget? Iowa’s General Fund is supported not just by income taxes, but also sales and a variety of other taxes, fees, and revenue sources. In addition, the budget is supported by taxes paid to the federal government. In […]
David Kennedy, prominent historian and Stanford University professor, in an interview with Governing discussed the COVID-19 (coronavirus) emergency in relation to the Great Depression. In that interview he stated, “[President] Calvin Coolidge said that if the federal government went out of business, the average person wouldn’t notice for six months, except for the post office. Now, the federal government is twice the size of the states all put together.” […]
Iowa needs to audit the Medicaid program to ensure that not only are the people who truly need the services are protected, but taxpayer dollars are not wasted. Amity Shlaes, an economic historian and author of the just-released Great Society: A New History, argues correctly that the “lesson of the 1960s is that political compromises with progressives can be […]
It has been almost 100 years since government has shown spending restraint. What can be done to slow down our $22,000,000,000,000 national debt? The $22 trillion national debt symbolizes not only the broken budget process of today’s federal government, but decades of overspending by both Republicans and Democrats. MarketWatch recently reported how much the national debt has grown under […]
A pander bear should be the official mascot of the Democratic presidential debates. Never have so many candidates proposed so much spending. They are clearly trying to bribe voters to support the one who offers the most “free” stuff. In 1935, Ohio’s Robert A. Taft described President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal as “one of those fabulous creatures of […]
Lobster tail, crab, booze, and a foosball table were purchased in the Federal Government’s use-it-or-lose-it spending spree. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) won election to the United States Senate for promising to make the federal government “squeal.” The reference is in response to the out-of-control spending that has plagued the federal government for decades. The current federal budget process is broken, […]
Addressing our massive national debt should be a top priority. Iowans must understand that the national debt crisis will not only impact them directly, but also state finances. The national debt has reached $22 trillion. Federal spending is now approaching $4.7 trillion as Congress currently debates President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. James Grant, editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, […]
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) wants Uncle Sam to spend $315 billion on teacher salaries. This is dangerous for states, school districts, and is not the role of the federal government. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), who is also a current Democrat presidential candidate, recently proposed a new federal program that would spend $315 billion over 10 years to increase teacher […]
“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt,” stated President Herbert Hoover. Once again, the nation hit a record as our national debt has risen to $21 trillion. This does not include the trillions in unfunded liabilities from entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This month also marked another unfortunate event when the federal […]
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