http://www.heritage.org/research/ The Heritage Foundation Papers Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:10:02 EST http://www.heritage.org/ui/icons/thflogo.gif http://www.heritage.org/ en-us heritage.org Copyright 2009 The Heritage Foundation Congress is proposing a surtax on high-income individuals to help pay for health care reform that would burden the economy and slow its recovery from the recession. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm2707.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. Taxes Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:07:13 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm2707.cfm Increasing transparency at the Federal Reserve is critical given the breadth of the Fed’s recent activities, but many of these activities involve private parties. Congress should consider that private firms will be disinclined to deal with the Fed if they lack adequate assurances that confidential information will remain confidential. Tasking the GAO to perform a comprehensive audit of the Fed would create new dangers, as the GAO, being a creature of Congress, could not provide the necessary assurances. It could also ultimately diminish the independence of the Fed and therefore degrade the Fed’s ability to fight inflation. A better approach is to rely on the Fed's Office of Inspector General to carry out the audit and to create a new entity in Congress to receive any confidential information associated with the audit. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/bg2342.cfm The Heritage Foundation - J.D. Foster, Ph.D. Economy Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:09:16 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/bg2342.cfm The U.S. Senate's proposal for a government-run hostile takeover of the entire U.S. health care system includes a barrage of higher taxes. http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/wm2706.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Curtis S. Dubay Health Care Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:10:10 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/wm2706.cfm Congress should repeal the estate tax once and for all to remove an unfair burden from the backs of American family-owned businesses and their workers. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm2703.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Curtis S. Dubay Taxes Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:11:30 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm2703.cfm Early indications are that the successor to the START treaty will limit U.S. options to field conventionally armed missiles -- something Congress warned the Administration not to do. http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/wm2704.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Baker Spring Defense Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:47:12 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/wm2704.cfm Even using the EPA results shows that the cost of cap-and-trade legislation would be $2,872 per year in 2050. Those are some very expensive postage stamps. http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/wm2705.cfm The Heritage Foundation - David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D. Energy and Environment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:54:26 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/wm2705.cfm In December, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Copenhagen to work on a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. U.S. negotiators should refuse to sign any climate change treaty that does not include meaningful participation by China, India, and other major developing nations or that would harm the U.S. economy or threaten U.S. sovereignty. http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/sr0071.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Ben Lieberman Energy and Environment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:43:54 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/sr0071.cfm A previous Heritage Foundation report found that declining welfare caseloads contributed substantially to the decline in public assistance voter registrations from 1996 to 2006. Despite recent criticisms by R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler, this finding still holds. Members of Congress, policymakers, and the media should not dismiss the major role that welfare reform and decreased welfare participation have played in reducing voter registrations at state public assistance offices. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/cda0907.cfm The Heritage Foundation - David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D. Welfare Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:36:12 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/cda0907.cfm The Copenhagen conference's proposed "Kyoto II" successor agreement poses a clear threat to American sovereignty. http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/sr0072.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Steven Groves Energy and Environment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:53:23 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/sr0072.cfm It is increasingly obvious that the Obama Administration is willing to sacrifice the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement on the altar of auto-sector protectionism. http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm2702.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Bruce Klingner Asia and the Pacific Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:20:03 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm2702.cfm