Free Republic

Policymakers want to unleash economic growth in America by fixing our broken tax system. Or so they say. Now that the conversation has moved beyond just lowering tax rates, pro-growth tax reform is in danger of losing the stuff that actually makes it pro-growth. That’s because policymakers are caving to big-government advocates and other special interests. Here are the top five worst ideas that would surely dampen pro-growth tax reform. 1. Failing to enact full expensing. Full expensing—allowing businesses to deduct the full cost of their investments when they incur those costs, instead of spreading them out over many years—is...

The Trump administration is developing principles that will guide future highway funding. At a recent White House meeting with state transportation officials, the administration announced it was considering shifting greater funding responsibilities to the states. Along with expanding the private sector’s role and loosening tolling restrictions, these reforms will result in better decisions and management of the transportation system. It makes sense for Congress to support these transportation policy reforms. Ted Mann of the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the administration is thinking about reducing the share of federal dollars that fund highway construction. Rather than receiving the usual...

States with liberal one-party control have average liability of $22,214 per taxpayer vs. $1,814 in red states! The nation’s Democratic-controlled states have unfunded debt that is 12 times greater than the burden on taxpayers in states under total Republican control, according to a study released Tuesday. The nonprofit group Truth in Accounting published “Financial State of the States,” which analyzes the public finances of all 50 states. The group found that state governments have accumulated $1.5 trillion in long-term debt nationwide, mostly due to unfunded employee pension and retiree health benefits. In general, the fiscal picture is far worse in...

On Friday, September 15, the Associated Press reported on a fascinating new wrinkle in the centuries-old face of unconstitutional federal activity, and the details might surprise many who are concerned about the sticky issue of “immigration”. According to the report, Federal District Judge Harry Leinenweber just ruled that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department cannot withhold federal “public safety” grants to so-called “Sanctuary Cities” if the politicians in those cities did not conform to federal immigration policies. This, in effect, temporarily removes a powerful tool in the Trump Administration’s work shed as the President attempts to wrangle with...

Americans spent more money on taxes than they did on food and clothing last year, according to data released earlier this week. In an assessment of “Consumer Expenditures” for 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the average bill for federal, state and local taxes was $10,489. By comparison, Americans spent $9,006 on food and clothes, with most of that going toward food. CNSNews.com first pointed out the findings. While it may not come as a surprise that American households are shelling out to Uncle Sam, the data showed that bill has risen sharply in recent years -- the average...

DENVER­–The Left views The American Legislative Exchange Council as a pawn of corporate influence. There were some protests at the organizations annual meeting in Denver, Colorado in July. They were mild. No fires were started, and no vandalism occurred. They came, they chanted, and then they dispersed. That was it. While progressives chanted the usual liberal talking points outside of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver, a significant number of state legislators were figuring out a way to knock out what seems to be an unstoppable killer: opioids. Around 1,700 people attended the event held in July, where the topic...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Friday called for the repeal of the 17th Amendment and the return to senators selected by state legislatures after the Senate GOP's effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare died in a late-night vote. The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and established the popular election of senators. Previously, senators were elected by state legislatures. @GovMikeHuckabee Time to repeal 17th Amendment. Founders had it right-Senators chosen by state legislatures. Will work for their states and respect 10th amid The Senate's "skinny repeal" of ObamaCare failed late Thursday night by a vote of 51-49. The...

As the Trump administration looks to clamp down on widespread reports of voter fraud and abuse, some mainly liberal states are pushing back — fearing that Trump is launching a “voter suppression” commission. Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has asked the states to hand over data from their voter rolls. According to Axios, that includes voter information regarding felony convictions, military status, and voter history. They have set a deadline for the middle of July. However, the outlet reports that the commission is getting pushback from mainly liberal states such as California, Virginia, Connecticut, and Vermont — with...

alifornia has issued a ban on state-funded and state-sponsored travel to four more states that it says have laws discriminating against LGBTQ people. The travel ban was first put into effect January 1 when state measure AB 1887 became law. The law says California is "a leader in protecting civil rights and preventing discrimination" and should not support or finance "discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people." The travel ban list also includes states that California believes don't protect religious freedoms and states that it says use religious freedom as a basis of discrimination. "Our country has made great...

Throughout the 2016 campaign and into the early stages of his presidency, Donald Trump vowed to make infrastructure improvements around the country. The promise was all part of his brand of populism — spend more money domestically and less abroad. America first. “We need members of both parties to join hands and work with us to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure plan to build new roads and bridges and airports and tunnels and highways and railways all across our great nation,” Trump pledged at a campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida, earlier this year. Given Trump’s Russia investigation toxicity, it will...

Want proof taxes can actually go down? In the last three years, nine states have eliminated or lowered their estate taxes, mostly by raising exemptions. And more reductions are coming. Minnesota lawmakers recently raised the state’s estate-tax exemption to $2.1 million retroactive to January, and the exemption will rise to $2.4 million next year. Maryland will raise its $3 million exemption to $4 million next year. New Jersey’s exemption, which used to rank last at $675,000 per person, rose to $2 million per person this year. Next year New Jersey is scheduled to eliminate its estate tax altogether, joining about...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s grand plan to spend $1 trillion over the next 10 years on highways and other infrastructure improvements faces a formidable roadblock in Congress and state legislatures. There’s agreement the investment is badly needed to improve the nation’s sagging infrastructure but how to cover the huge expense is the point of tension. Trump would use $200 billion in public funds to generate $800 billion in private money under a partnership program that would finance government bonds and also return a profit to private companies through interstate tolls and other user fees. To do that, Congress would...

In the wake of yet another vicious terror attack London and Melbourne just these last few days), the talk from politicians has just gotten much tougher. As the public calls for something to be done to lessen the threat to themselves and their families, the politicians have come up with a new and ingenious way of preventing madmen with cars and knives hurting you…increase web regulation. British Prime Minister began her bold speech with the words “Enough is enough” and went on to say that that there has been “far too much tolerance of extremism”. But her answer is unlikely...

Greater reliance on user fees, federal loans rather than grants, and corporatization are three keys to the Trump administration’s infrastructure initiative released as a part of its 2018 budget. The plan will “seek long-term reforms on how infrastructure projects are regulated, funded, delivered, and maintained,” says the six-page document. More federal funding “is not the solution,” the document says; instead, it is to “fix underlying incentives, procedures, and policies.”In building the Interstate Highway System, the fact sheet observes, “the Federal Government played a key role” in collecting and distributing monies to “fund a project with a Federal purpose.” Since then,...

The tenth edition of the Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index has just been released, and once again, Utah was found to have the best economic outlook of any state in the nation. The rankings are based on 15 equally-weighted economic policy variables, including tax rates, labor policy, and regulatory climate. They continue to show that states valuing economic freedom and competitiveness outperform states adhering to the tax-and-spend model, with state economic policies having a substantial effect on where businesses and individuals choose to set up shop. Taxes matter for economic competitiveness. People and businesses often...

Representatives from 13 states including 12 state attorneys general and one governor filed a motion in support of President Trump’s temporary travel ban. From the Dallas Morning News: Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday led a coalition of 13 states in filing a brief with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals defending President Donald Trump’s revised immigration order.In the brief, Paxton and representatives from 12 other states argue that the Trump administration’s new order is legal and falls under the president’s power over foreign affairs and national security. Those joining the brief included Paxton plus AG’s in the...

Consider fedgov allows rogue state and local governments to publicly ignore and deliberately break fedral laws concerning illegal drugs, illegal aliens, the second amendment, and discrimination based on sex and race. Why cannot then states and local govenrments ignore fedgov court imposed gay marriage, obamacare, abortion, and god back in schools? Why is the left the only one who can say no to federal laws at state and local levels? We must start doing the same. They have no problem doing it when they want to. Either we are all equal and can do the exact same things or none...

Since Donald Trump's election, some leftists have been trotting out analyses showing that many states that voted for Trump are also states where federal spending plays a disproportionately large role in the statewide economy. In other words, many of those states that talk a lot about states rights and less federal government - it is pointed out - also receive an especially large amount of federal spending in that state. In many cases, this claim is correct. As this mises.org analysis shows, many states within the Trump heartland are what many might call "moocher states" because the residents there - taken...

The Texas Senate, by a 20-11 vote, agreed Tuesday to a call for a Convention of States to consider amendments to the U.S. Constitution to rein in federal power and set federal term limits. The Senate also agreed to impose a state jail penalty on a legislator who violates his or her oath as a delegate to a potential national Convention of States, a measure intended to allay concerns about a runaway convention that might seek to amend the Constitution in ways not intended by the Legislature. Under Article V of the Constitution, two-thirds of the states can call for...

President Donald Trump promised a large crowd of American governors that he would work to redirect power from the federal government to the states. “We’re going to give you back a lot of the powers that have been taken away from states and great people and great governors, and you can control it better than the federal government because you’re right on top of it,” Trump said. The president delivered a speech at the National Governors Association meeting on Monday. He explained that more states needed to compete for the best solutions around the country, citing the importance of citizens...