A recent report from the RAND Corporation on al-Qaeda’s future says that the terrorist organization remains extremely dangerous and will demand America’s continued attention for years to come, echoing points Heritage has been making for some time now. The report, “Al Qaeda in Its Third Decade,” by Brian Michael Jenkins, takes a step back from the political rhetoric surrounding ongoing U.S. counterterrorism efforts at home and abroad to critically assess al-Qaeda’s current status and future prospects. RAND’s report comes at a critical time, as last week saw the 45th attempted … More
With his corporate tax reform “framework,” President Obama today added another element to his ultimately harmful economic agenda. Previously announced anti-growth policies include massive budget deficits, a huge tax hike on individuals and small businesses in 2013, and his proposal to nearly triple the dividend tax rate. His new proposal starts strong by reducing the federal corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from the current 35 percent. This is a good and long-overdue policy change. Regrettably, he marries rate reduction to a net corporate tax hike based in part … More
In a recent speech to the Conference on Global Zero, Rose Gottemoeller, the Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, told the cheering masses, “New START was just the beginning. Going forward, we know that we are going to have to think bigger and bolder.” For those who don’t follow the play-by-play of nuclear arms control, “Global Zero” is a utopian plan embraced by President Obama: that if the U.S. gets rid of all of its nuclear weapons, the rest of the world will follow suit. Put aside, for now, … More
Iran’s decision to halt oil shipments to the U.K. and France last weekend is a weak retaliatory measure against European actors for tougher sanctions. Despite this largely symbolic measure, Iran did manage to surprise world markets and drive up the price of oil. The U.K. imposed its hardest-hitting sanctions to date on Iran last November, but its crude oil imports amount to less that 1 percent of Iranian sales. France accounts for only 2 percent of Iranian sales. Both countries are parties to last month’s European Union sanctions on Iran. … More
We keep hearing that the economy is in a “jobless recovery.” What’s holding American companies back? Why aren’t they hiring more people? High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our economy. And small businesses, which fuel so much economic growth and hire so many people, often wind up particularly hard-hit by them. You don’t have to be a doctrinaire conservative to realize this. The Economist, the London-based news weekly – and a supporter of President … More