President Obama's massive spending plans would saddle America with huge budget deficits – far above the 45-year average. Heritage Foundation experts have put together a chart to illustrate how far in the red we could go:
Find more charts like this in Heritage's new 2009 Federal Spending and Revenue Book of Charts.
The REAL truth
Shortly after the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her Congressional colleagues to "keep the promise of the 9/11 families and honor the work of the 9/11 commission."
One of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission was the REAL ID Act, writes Heritage security expert James Carafano. Carafano outlines what the legislation does:
One provision requires states to assure that any identity cards used for a federal purpose (like passing through a Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint before boarding a plane) be issued only to individuals who are lawfully present in the United States. The law also prompts states to adopt best practices to provide better information protection and combat identity theft, fraud, and trafficking in counterfeit IDs.
But many on the Left -- particularly those who favor amnesty for illegal immigrants -- attack REAL ID. Carafano argues that "the criticisms have always been off-base," since they rely on misunderstandings and distortions.
» Get involved in the debate by posting your comments.
The REAL ID Act establishes no new identity credentials. States are free to opt out. REAL ID standards for protecting individual privacy are more rigorous than those in many states. And far from passing an unfunded mandate, the federal government has given states grants to implement the changes and extended the implementation deadlines.
New legislation would undermine REAL ID's important reforms, writes Carafano. It would eliminate many important security requirements pertaining to drivers' licenses. And it amounts to an "initiative designed to pave the way for granting general amnesty to illegal immigrants," he warns.
— Amanda Reinecker
Other Heritage work of note
- The Obama administration's proposal to raise taxes on investment will hurt millions of senior citizens who rely on retirement savings plans for supplemental income, writes Heritage senior tax policy analyst Curtis Dubay. Government policy should "not punish seniors," insists Dubay, who calls on the administration to leave dividends and capital gains tax rates at their current levels. Better yet, Dubay suggests lowering these taxes to increase seniors' incomes and create more incentives for business investment -- "a double bonus for the ailing economy."
- "A radical, government-mandated, expensive conversion to renewable resources will create many more problems than it pretends to solve," writes Heritage expert Dan Holler. Carbon-based fuels play an essential role in our economy, argues Holler, and attempting to eliminate them through economically-dangerous energy policies and severe government manipulation of the market will only hurt struggling American families and businesses and drag us further into recession.
- Heritage Ronald Reagan Fellow Ed Meese, who served as Reagan's Attorney General, has been honored by the Alliance Defense Fund. ADF has created the "Edwin H. Meese III Originalism and Religious Liberty Award" as a tribute to his "unswerving efforts to secure greater liberty and justice for the people of America."
- His soft approach toward "unsavory regimes" like Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Sudan demonstrates President Obama's unwillingness to actively confront despotism, argues Nile Gardiner, director of Heritage's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. America's perception in the world "depends not upon the degree to which he humiliatingly apologizes for his country's past policies," writes Gardiner, "but upon the United States' ability to project its power to advance freedom and liberty across the globe."
In other news
- The Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs will run out of cash sooner than expected, according to a new government report. Social Security will start running deficits in 2016, while Medicare is already spending more than it receives in tax revenue. It's high time we reformed these programs.
- The Obama administration has replaced the top general overseeing the conflict in Afghanistan.
- Revised White House figures reveal that the budget deficit for fiscal 2009 will surpass $1.8 trillion -- four times last year's record -- as a result of government overspending on programs like the Wall Street bailout and the "stimulus" package.
- New General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson -- whose predecessor was effectively fired by the White House -- announced that the manufacturing giant may relocate its headquarters from Detroit as part of its restructuring.
- President Obama has proposed slashing funding for abstinence-only education and re-directing the savings to a new teen pregnancy "reduction" program that would teach teens that sex is OK if protection is used.
- The Swedish government says doctors cannot refuse abortions in the first 18 weeks of pregnancy even if the mother's rationale is that she disapproves of her child's sex.
- A U.S. soldier stationed at a military base in Baghdad is in custody for killing five of his comrades and wounding three others.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expected visit to Washington could serve as the start of a new Middle East peace process.
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.
- On Wednesday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m., General Craig R. McKinley from the National Guard Bureau will discuss the role of the nearly 468,000 citizen soldiers and airmen in an era of persistent conflict.
- On Wednesday, May 13 at 11:30 a.m., a panel of experts will consider civil rights in the Obama era.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Amanda Reinecker contributed to this report.