Conservatism and the People
From Burke to Buckley to Trump, the Right has always had a populist current.
by Edward Paul Lazear via PolicyEdAmerica’s immigration system needs to be reformed in order to handle modern challenges of immigration. Long lines to get in exist alongside millions of undocumented immigrants already in the country. To deal with both of these problems, Congress should rebalance our system to encourage more work-based visas for those wanting to work in the US, and it should bring illegal immigrants back into the system through a special visa that puts them at the back of the line for permanent residency.
via Budget Matters via America Off BalanceDeficits are projected to permanently top one trillion dollars by 2021. And while the drivers of long-term spending growth come overwhelmingly from Medicare, Social Security, and net interest on the debt, a common claim is that defense spending is a bigger fiscal problem than entitlements because defense doesn’t have any dedicated revenue that helps offset its cost.
by Joshua D. Rauh via PolicyEdState and local governments all around the country have failed to set aside enough money to pay for the pensions they have promised to workers in the public sector. They’re also making unrealistic assumptions about their future investment returns, further risking their budgets and the ability to pay for promised pension benefits. Confronting the true cost of future pension payments would force state and local governments to save more now and prevent budget problems in the future.
Steven Malanga, City Journal
State and local governments have piled up trillions of dollars in retirement debt for pension and health-care promises that they’ve never bothered to fund adequately. Yet, even as they strain to pay these obligations, some keep handing out other expensive perks, rarely bestowed in the private sector. The most striking example: governments are accumulating billions of dollars in future debt by letting employees store up unused sick days and vacation days, which they can then “cash out” when they retire. Read more here....