During remarks Thursday on the Senate floor, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) cited Heritage Foundation research on the effects of the liberal Senate budget proposal.

The Heritage Foundation has looked at this budget and they’ve done an analysis of it in terms of its impact on jobs, on the economy. They have said the budget will result in losing 800,000 jobs in our country. In my state of Ohio they said we’ll lose 40,000 jobs. We cannot afford to lose 40,000 more jobs.

Read the full Heritage analysis of Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) budget plan.

Today’s jobs report, the last before next Tuesday’s election, shows that the economy is growing too slowly to reduce unemployment. The unemployment rate rose from September’s 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent, and 171,000 jobs were added to the economy.

The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne explains how the administration is playing games with the economy:

The October report partly reversed the mysterious drop in the unemployment rate in the September jobs report… With the jump back up in the unemployment rate in October to nearly 8 percent, we have at least the beginnings of an answer to the mystery.

In addition to possible quirks in the way the government collects information on unemployment, the Administration is playing some more overt games with the economy, holding new regulations and even layoff notices until later in the year.

Continue Reading »

The Coles family has lived and worked on its family farm in Virginia since 1785. Their farm, Coles Hill, rests 1,600 feet above what is believed to be 119 million tons of uranium, the largest uranium deposit in the country. The deposit is valued at $6 billion, and contains enough fuel to power all of America’s 104 nuclear reactors for two years.

But the Virginia government believes the risks of mining uranium outweigh the benefits and has blocked the Coles from developing this resource.

The Heritage Foundation’s Jack Spencer and Katie Tubb explain the issue at the heart of this debate:

At issue is whether the Virginia General Assembly will produce regulations that allow uranium mining. Uranium mining would create jobs and wealth in a region that badly needs it, and would provide an important energy source. Those factors are significant, but even more is at stake: the underlying issue over private property rights. May people safely develop their own property as they see fit?

Continue Reading »

This morning’s September job report once again showed very little improvement in the job market.

Even though the unemployment rate dropped by three tenths of a percentage point, from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 in September, the fact is that 12.1 million Americans remain unemployed and the economy only created 114,000 new jobs last month.

Are our elected officials going to change anything to allow for more job growth? Are they going to limit economic uncertainty by stopping the $494 billion tax increase coming January 1?

The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne explains we may have to wait a while: Continue Reading »

Heritage Foundation policy experts have been busy analyzing last night’s presidential candidates’ debate and exposing liberal myths.

The President argued, for instance, that “over the last 30 months we’ve seen 5 million jobs created.” Heritage’s Lachlan Markay clarifies this claim:

Continue Reading »

The latest poverty numbers fail to take into account the government transfer payments made to low-income families, Heritage Foundation welfare expert Robert Rector said Friday on Fox Business.

These payments, which average $9,000 per recipient, aren’t included in the Census Bureau’s poverty calculations, he told host Stuart Varney.

Watch the video:

Do you think the census should count welfare payments and other subsidies when calculating poverty data?

There is a common misperception that imports from overseas cost jobs here at home. However, recent Heritage Foundation research shows that the process of importing goods actually contributes to a large number of jobs, when taking into account long-term effects.

For example, jobs created in the process of transporting imported goods from point of entry to their final destination stimulate various fields such as wholesale, transportation, sales, and retail. Heritage experts Derek Scissors, Charlotte Espinoza and Terry Miller explain that “Over half a million American jobs are supported by imports of Chinese-made clothes and toys alone.” Continue Reading »

The liberal attempt to convince Americans that President Obama’s policies have created jobs has hit another snag. This morning the Labor Department released August’s jobs report– and the numbers were dismal. Unemployment remains above eight percent.

The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne asks, “Have 4.5 million new jobs been created under President Obama, as several speakers in Charlotte have claimed this week?”

The answer is no:

A fact check shows that under President Obama, the U.S. economy has created a net 415,000 private-sector jobs—less than 0.2 percent of the 155 million-member American workforce. But even that statistic does not tell the full story, since the workforce itself has shrunk dramatically in size since Obama took office. Labor force participation is at 63.5 percent, its lowest level since 1981. In other words, a large chunk of Americans have simply given up looking for work. A significant number are collecting disability insurance instead, according to new research from Heritage’s James Sherk.

Earlier this year, Heritage’s David Addington outlined five steps conservatives can take to boost job growth.

Do you think President Obama’s policies, including the $1 trillion “stimulus” legislation, have led to job-creation?

High energy costs have only compounded our country’s economic struggles. Fortunately, an alternative to costly foreign energy has emerged: Hydraulic fracturing, a.k.a. fracking, is a promising technique that can provide both cheaper energy production and job creation.

Heritage Foundation expert Nick Loris dispels four common myths concerning fracking: Continue Reading »

The U.S. faces the prospect of a new recession and millions of lost jobs unless lawmakers act to stop the $494 billion Taxmageddon tax increases coming January 1, a Heritage Foundation expert warns.

“1.6 million more Americans will be out of work—on top of the 12.8 million who already want to work but can’t find jobs,” Heritage economist J.D. Foster explains, citing new government projections.

This chart makes clear the cost of Congressional inaction:

Do you think Congress and President Obama will act in time to stop Taxmageddon from going into effect on January 1?