Setting priorities for 2006
January 3, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward
It’s a new year and a new session of Congress. I know you just made some resolutions for yourself, but Congress certainly hasn’t made any resolutions at all. So, based in part on our recent member survey and a reader poll on MyHeritage.org, here are some new year’s resolutions for Congress.
1. Control federal spending
- Federal spending is spiraling out of control, reaching $22,000 per person last year for the first time since World War Two. Congress must decide what its priorities are and make cuts to unnecessary programs.
- Entitlement spending is growing precipitously, promising either massive deficits, crippling tax hikes—or both. At a minimum, Congress should re-think the unaffordable Medicare drug benefit and insist on Social Security reform.
- Pork-barrel spending reached new highs (or depths, really) in 2005, with literally thousands of earmarks in single bills. Congress should enact measures to make earmarking more difficult, and the President should veto any bills with these special-interest handouts.
2. Reform health care
- Millions of Americans lack health coverage. Congress should create a tax credit system so working Americans can afford care.
- The Medicare drug benefit is bloated, inefficient and confusing. Congress should roll it back and instead give seniors a choice of competing private plans.
- Congress should encourage states to innovate in health policy as they did with welfare, where states served as models for ultimate reforms on a national level
3. Enhance national security
- The current immigration and border security program is broken and must be fixed. Congress should develop a strategy to address immediate vulnerabilities and enact a long-term and comprehensive border security and immigration reform.
- America has taken many steps since September 11, 2001, to promote homeland security. But more can be done, including fostering greater cooperation with state and local governments and promoting increased flexibility and responsiveness.
- America needs a strong military if it is to defend itself against current and future threats. Congress should increase the budget for the armed forces, including the Coast Guard and nuclear forces, and reorganize the National Guard to meet its new homeland security mission.
4. Reduce and reform taxes
- President Bush has promised to reform the tax code. This reform should be made along conservative principles, with flatter tax rates and an overall tax burden of less than 18 percent of GDP.
- The President’s tax cuts are set to expire, raising taxes on both personal income and investment. Congress should make these cuts permanent.
- The death tax will soon return to force. Congress should make its repeal permanent.
- More and more Americans are subjected to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Congress should seek a solution to the AMT problem that does not involve tax increases elsewhere.
- International organizations are pushing for “tax harmonization” that would fix tax rates between countries. Congress should not allow other countries to determine America’s tax policies.
5. Increase international competitiveness
- American companies who operate abroad are at a disadvantage since they are taxed by the American government for overseas income. Congress should support reforms to decrease this burden.
- Subsidies to agriculture and tariffs on imports are driving up costs for American consumers and impoverishing millions overseas. Congress should significantly reduce or eliminate these market-distorting artificial barriers.
- New negotiations promise to make America wealthier and open new markets for American business. Congress and the administration should push for free-market reforms overseas and enact treaties with other countries to open their markets to American business.
The herd of independent minds
Have you ever noticed that the “independent minds” in the media all tend to act in concert, writing the same stories and believing the same things?
Well here’s another story the liberal media never told you: buried in statistics gathered by anti-war group Iraq Body Count is the fact that civilian casualties seem to have declined in Iraq. Blogger Gateway Pundit crunched the group’s numbers and discovered that casualties were lower in 2005, perhaps reflecting increased stability and security in Iraq.
If you have another example of this phenomenon of independent minds herding together, please let us know, and be sure to send us a link.
In other news
- The new Medicare prescription drug benefit went into effect on Sunday. The program is expected to cost up to $40 billion this year alone.
- Lobbyist Jack Abramoff said today he will plead guilty to federal charges in exchange for his cooperation in an investigation of influence-peddling in Washington, DC.
The tide seems to be turning in the war against the culture of corruption in our nation’s capital, and your voice can help bring an end to wasteful practices like pork-barrel spending. - Russia briefly cut natural gas supplies to Western Europe as part of a dispute with Ukraine over the price of the fuel. Ukrainian officials say Russian price hikes were not market-driven but politically-motivated.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
