What Are Appropriate Next Steps for a Strategy for a Free Iran?
Iran is considered the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, and has a long history of providing arms, training, and financial support to terrorist groups. With Iran’s consistent support for terrorism and recent nuclear experiments and ballistic missile tests, a new strategy is needed to bring liberty to the people of Iran.
Member Questions of the Week of March 8, 2010
Terrell Kennedy from Birmingham, AL asks, “Can you give me the breakdown of the income groups, and the portion of federal taxes they pay?” OUR ANSWER: The Heritage Foundation’s 2009 Federal Revenue and Book of Charts includes a graph detailing just how progressive and lopsided our tax system is. As the graph indicates, higher earners pay an enormous amount in federal tax dollars when compared to the diminishing and relatively miniscule amount that lower income earners pay. In 2006, the top 1% of tax earners paid 40% of federal income taxes, the top 5% paid 60% of federal income taxes, and the top 20% of taxpayers paid over 86% of all federal income taxes. Comparatively, the bottom half of the income scale only pays 3% of federal income taxes. Any conversation discussing the supposed income gap in the U.S. should begin with the premise that higher income earners pay an inordinately large share of federal taxes. According to Heritage tax expert Curtis Dubay, President Obama’s tax policies are widening the income tax gap by pushing more of the tax burden onto small businesses and higher income earners. Further, as Dubay points out, the President’s 2011 budget directly contradicts his stated mission of job creation by raising taxes on job creators.
What is Heritage’s Reaction to President Obama’s Announcement on Health Care?
Flanked, again, by doctors in lab coats, President Barack Obama gave yet another speech Wednesday afternoon urging Congress to pass his health care reform plan. Here’s a fact check:
What Should the Government Do to Create Jobs?
Last week, the Senate passed yet another “stimulus” bill that was loaded with government spending, and held a summit to discuss health care proposals that will add trillions of new government spending to the federal budget. Like the $862 billion stimulus bill passed last year, neither will create jobs because government spending only shifts spending in the economy: It neither increases overall demand nor gives private businesses a reason to invest in new projects.