Free Republic

From the folks who brought you “Cut, Cap and Balance” comes a plan to create jobs by growing the economy — not the government. The Republican Study Committee this morning unveiled the Jobs Through Growth Act, a bill that incorporates tax reform, regulatory rollback and boosts to energy production. The legislation builds upon the past work of House Republicans, packaging “the best of the best” into one neat program.Among other things, the bill creates a new optional tax system, in which taxpayers pay just two rates: 25 percent on the first $50,000 of income for single filers or the first...

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi confirmed that they would be moving toward a balance budget amendment on Friday, after rampant speculation that the European Central Bank would intervene bond markets and purchase Italian and Spanish debt in exchange for structural reforms.

Following the president’s veto threat this morning, senior White House officials launched a full-on assault against the Republican “Cut, Cap and Balance Act” this afternoon, describing it as “extreme, radical, and unprecedented.” On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said the legislation “essentially enshrines into the constitution the Ryan plan on steroids.” “Unless House Republicans are willing to raise revenues, significant revenues, something they have refused to do, it would require much deeper spending cuts than in the Ryan plan. This would result in even more devastating cuts to clean energy, education and...

CNN’s Candy Crowley interviewed Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on the debt-ceiling increase and the issues of government spending, and got perhaps a mild surprise for an answer. Yes, Paul will vote to raise the debt ceiling — but only in exchange for a balanced-budget amendment that ends deficit spending in Washington. Furthermore, Paul rejects the notion that a compromise on the budget involves raising taxes. A compromise means that conservatives will have to give up some defense spending as liberals give up some social-policy spending. Under no circumstances should Washington be trusted with even more money: CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR...