Memos to the next President
December 5, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward
President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on several issues important to conservatives, but it remains to be seen if he will make good on those issues.
Seeking common ground, The Heritage Foundation is reaching out to President-elect Barack Obama with specially designed policy memos on subjects where his words line up with our vision of how to solve the most critical issues facing America.
Heritage experts published the first four memos in the "Change We Believe In" series earlier this week. They cover these important issues: missile defense, health care, Iran and tax cuts.
- Moving Forward with Ballistic Missile Defense
by Baker Spring, Peter Brookes and James Carafano
President-elect Obama said, "In a world with nuclear weapons, America must continue efforts to defend against the mass destruction of its citizens and our allies." To meet this pledge, Heritage experts argue that the President-elect should continue development and deployment of ballistic missile defenses and establish proper roles for American allies. "The requirements of today's world," write the experts, "demand a strategy to protect and defend the U.S. and its allies. The Cold War strategy of retaliation-based deterrence is insufficient."
» Read more about Heritage memos to President-elect Obama on MyHeritage.org
—David Talbot
Other Heritage work of note
- "Condemning corporate greed is smart politics when everyday Americans have financial struggles," Heritage distinguished fellow Ernest Istook writes on WorldNetDaily.com. But these attacks are "just part of a ploy to justify a business-unfriendly tax-and-regulate agenda that will be pushed next year. A $25 billion bailout is chump change compared to what that agenda will cost." But Istook points out that our country's leading business, political and entertainment figures reflect the American people. Solving corporate greed—and similar excesses in entertainment and politics—will require a change in our culture, he argues.
- The nation is officially in a recession, and employers shed more than 500,000 jobs last month, the highest job loss since 1974. Heritage Foundation expert Rea Hederman weighs in which recommendations for what to do—and what not to do. In order to ameliorate the situation, he urges the incoming administration not to "try to repeal the Bush tax cuts next year, which will only worsen the economy. Instead, he should extend the pro-growth elements of the Bush tax cuts and enact pro-growth tax cuts of his own. Furthermore, he should not encourage a massive stimulus bill that could crowd out private investment and spending."
- Writing in the Washington Times, Heritage national security expert James Carafano urges Congress to consolidate its oversight of homeland security. "Today, about 100 committees, subcommittees and other entities claim oversight of various aspects of the department's operations," he explains. Reforming the situation may be hard, he admits, since powerful committee chairman don't want to give up their authority.
In other news
- Gasoline prices could drop as low as $1 per gallon next year, according to a new estimate.
- Because it has spent more than it has received in revenues, California may run out of cash by February, according to the state budget director. The state has asked federal taxpayers to pick up the tab for its overspending.
- The military is preparing to beef up forces in Afghanistan next year by 20,000 troops.
- It remains unclear whether Congress will give automakers the $34 billion bailout they're asking for.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- Monday, December 8 at noon — a panel of experts will hold a discussion of the threat of electronic warfare.
- Monday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m. — a panel of experts will discuss Taiwan, democracy, and the rule of law.
- Monday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m. — the Ambassador of Lithuania, H.E. Audrius Bruzga, will give remarks before a screening of Red Terror on the Amber Coast, which documents the fifty-year-long struggle between Lithuania and the Soviet KGB to impose Soviet control on the Baltic republic.
- Tuesday, December 9 at noon — Jon Alterman, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will discuss his new book The Vital Triangle: China, The United States, and the Middle East.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. David Talbot contributed to this report.
