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Americans spent more on taxes in 2020 than they did on food, clothing, healthcare and entertainment combined, according to newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. American “consumer units,” as BLS calls them, spent a net total of $17,211.12 on taxes last year while spending only $16,839.89 on food, clothing, healthcare and entertainment combined, according to Table R-1 of the BLS Consumer Expenditures Survey. “Consumer units,” BLS explains, “include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share major expenses.”

The plastic tax could mirror a proposal from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, which would implement a 20-cent fee per pound on sale of new plastics ________________________________________________________________________________ Senate Democrats are "looking at" and "seriously" discussing a national plastic tax as part of their $3.5 trillion filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday. "On the carbon and methane and plastic that you talked about, all those things are being looked at and seriously discussed," Schumer, of New York, told reporters on a press call. Schumer said Democrats are attempting to meet President Biden's "bold goal" of making 80% of...

Following weeks of intense talks involving diplomats from more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, Washington has succeeded in winning international backing for a new global minimum corporate tax framework that, if implemented, would constitute the biggest shakeup in international tax rules in a century.The world took a critical step toward implementing the deal, which involves implementing an international minimum corporate tax rate in exchange for the US sharing the tax spoils from hundreds of the biggest American multinationals. The plan is a critical piece of Biden’s “Build Back Better” strategy, which involves passing trillions of dollars in “infrastructure” spending that...

Just last week Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg floated a funding idea for President Biden’s upcoming multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that would hit poor and middle-class Americans that hardest. Buttigieg suggested a mileage tax, which is based on what he called the “user pays principle—the idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive.” Drivers would thus be hit with this tax in addition to facing steadily climbing gas prices since President Biden took office. Now, however, he’s walking back that suggestion. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, the former...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that to fund President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, a tax on mileage traveled looks promising. When asked about a mileage tax, Buttigieg said, “I think that shows a lot of promise. If we believe in that so-called user-pays principle, the idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive. The gas tax used to be the obvious way to do it; it’s not anymore. So, a so-called vehicle miles traveled tax or a mileage tax, whatever you want to...

On September 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rammed through HR 4447, the Clean Economy, Jobs, and Innovation Act, without any hearings or real debate. No congressmen had time to read the entire 900-page monstrosity before a final vote was taken. Like Obamacare, Pelosi thought it better to “pass the bill in order to find out what’s in it.” A statement of policy offered by the White House Office of Management and Budget said it would recommend President Donald Trump veto the bill, because the bill “would implement a top-down approach that would … empower the government to select favored...

"California will become the first state in the U.S. to prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores unless the animals are from a rescue organization. The new law, titled AB 485, is an effort to crack down on puppy mills. Starting on Jan 1. 2019, California pet shops will only be allowed to sell dogs, cats, and rabbits from shelters and rescues."

President-elect Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is lobbying Congress ahead of her father's inauguration next month to start working on reforms to childcare policies — an issue she championed while on the campaign trail. The 35-year-old mother of three and business owner has been calling House and Senate lawmakers encouraging them to get moving on legislation, the CEO of Main Street Republican Partnership told IJR on Thursday. "She's calling some to talk about the child care provisions," Sarah Chamberlain said. "It's gonna be a big issue for her ... I think she's hoping to [play a large role in the administration]."

At the DNC, Michelle Obama put on her victimhood hat one more time and declared, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.” It’s not a new line, but an ongoing mantra. Back in 2009, Michelle whined that, “Many slaves who couldn’t enter the building worked to create the building.” But that’s too past tense. Michelle’s house continues to be built and maintained by slaves. Her lavish lifestyle of endless vacations, parties and public appearances is funded by millions and millions of slaves. Michelle Obama lives a life that is more lavish and luxurious than...

Regulations: The economy might be tepid under President Obama, but there is one part that has been thriving. Since Obama took office, the federal regulatory economy has never been better, with solid growth in spending and employment.

The tide of red tape that threatens to drown U.S. consumers and businesses surged yet again in 2015, according to a Heritage Foundation study we released on Monday. More than $22 billion per year in new regulatory costs were imposed on Americans last year, pushing the total burden for the Obama years to exceed $100 billion annually.