The Heritage Insider: Iran keeps its nuke infrastructure, taxes still progressive, Ex-Im Bank loves foreign fossil fuel, and more

Updated daily, InsiderOnline (insideronline.org) is a compilation of publication abstracts, how-to essays, events, news, and analysis from around the conservative movement. The current edition of The INSIDER quarterly magazine is also on the site.

April 18, 2015

Latest Studies
39 new items, including a report from the National Center for Policy Analysis on what’s wrong with the “Doc Fix,” and a Freedom Foundation assessment of Washington state’s minimum wage law

Notes on the Week
Iran keeps its nuke infrastructure, taxes still progressive, Ex-Im Bank loves foreign fossil fuel, and more

To Do
Find out whether Iran deal makes the world safer or more dangerous

Latest Studies

Budget & Taxation
• Entrepreneurship, Demographics, and Capital Gains Tax Reform – Fraser Institute
• Two New Departments? A Closer Look at the State’s IT and Veterans Programs and the Governor’s Proposal for a New Department for Each – John Locke Foundation
• Can Public Pensions Fulfill Their Promises? An Examination of Pennsylvania’s Two Largest Public Pensions – Mercatus Center
• Public-Sector Pension Reform in Pennsylvania and the Role of Transition Costs – Mercatus Center
• The Export-Import Bank’s Top Foreign Buyers – Mercatus Center
• America’s Fiscal Constitution: It’s Triumph and Collapse – PublicAffairs

Economic and Political Thought
• A Republic No More: Big Government and the Rise of American Political Corruption – Encounter Books
• By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission – Random House

Education
• Senate Action: What to Know About the Every Child Achieves Act – American Action Forum
• Employer Perspectives on Competency-Based Education – American Enterprise Institute
• Measuring Mastery: Best Practices for Assessment in Competency-Based Education – American Enterprise Institute

Elections, Transparency, & Accountability
• Revisiting the Lessons from the Voter ID Experience in Kansas: 2014 – The Heritage Foundation
• The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency – Texas A&M University Press

Family, Culture & Community
• Admirable Evasions: How Psychology Undermines Morality – Encounter Books

Foreign Policy/International Affairs
• North Korea Should Be Held Accountable for Persecuting Christians – The Heritage Foundation
• Russia’s “Weaponiztion” of Information – The Heritage Foundation

Health Care
• Global Experience Shows that Physician-Assisted Suicide Threatens the Weak and Marginalized – The Heritage Foundation
• Expansion of Medicaid at the Expense of Our Future: Proposed Reforms Critical to Improve Long-Term Access to Affordable, Quality Care – James Madison Institute
• Fix the Flawed Medicare Doc Fix – National Center for Policy Analysis

Immigration
• Countering Executive Amnesty, Part 2: Foundations of a Counter Strategy – Center for Immigration Studies

Information Technology
• FCC Should Adopt the Deregulatory Proposal for Local Cable Rates – Free State Foundation

International Trade/Finance
• What Big Labor Gets Wrong on Trade – The Heritage Foundation

Labor
• Promises Made, Promises Broken: The Failure of Washington State’s Minimum Wage Law – Freedom Foundation
• Tax on Low-Wage Jobs: Fewer Jobs, Higher Prices – Yankee Institute for Public Policy

Monetary Policy/Financial Regulation
• Competition and Bank Opacity – Cato Institute

National Security
• Surviving the End – Freedom Academy Books
• House Cyber Information Sharing Bills: Right Approach but Requires Fixes – The Heritage Foundation
• Senate Cyber Information Sharing Bill: Good Start but Can Be Improved – The Heritage Foundation
• Senate’s Iran Nuclear Bill Misses the Point – The Heritage Foundation
• Three Terrorist Plots Disrupted in Three Weeks: 66th Islamist Plot Reconfirms Scope of Threat – The Heritage Foundation
• Time to Reform the U.S. Counterterrorism Enterprise—Now – The Heritage Foundation

Natural Resources, Energy, Environment, & Science
• CERCLA Liability for Air Emissions? Federal Court Ruling Could Supersize Superfund – Washington Legal Foundation
• High Court’s Spill Act Statute of Limitations Ruling Alters New Jersey’s Cleanup Landscape – Washington Legal Foundation
• Ohio Court Embraces Use of Federal Solid Waste Disposal Law to Regulate Air Emissions – Washington Legal Foundation

Philanthropy
• Growing Giving: American Philanthropy and the Potential of Donor-Advised Funds – Manhattan Institute

Regulation & Deregulation
• Voluntary Certification: An Economically Robust, Freedom-Minded Reform of Occupational Licensing – John Locke Foundation
• Confronting the Problem of Stealth Regulation – Mercatus Center

The Constitution/Civil Liberties
• In Defense of Private Civic Engagement: Why the Assault on “Dark Money” Threatens Free Speech – And How to Stop the Assault – Heartland Institute
• The Good of Corporations – The Heritage Foundation

 

 

Notes on the Week

The deal with Iran would preserve Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon. The framework for an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium—i.e. the stuff that’s used to make nuclear weapons. That raises two questions: What is the point of such an agreement? And: If Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium, what country won’t be allowed to enrich uranium? On Thursday, a panel at The Heritage Foundation discussed those and other problems with the negotiations with Iran: 

 

The framework doesn’t require Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons infrastructure. Seems the administration has made a few concessions in negotiating with Iran: 

[American Enterprise Institute, April 15]

 

Will the Senate turn “advise and consent” into “say nothing and consent”? The original Corker/Menendez bill was supposed to ensure that any agreement that President Obama made with Iran concerning its nuclear program was reviewed and approved by Congress before taking effect. In the end it may end up letting the President do what he could not have done with either a formal treaty (which requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate) or an executive agreement (which is merely a political agreement between heads of state and does not have the force of law). As the Wall Street Journal explains, the amended version of the bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, creates a process in which an executive agreement is presumed to have congressional approval unless Congress says otherwise: 

A majority could offer a resolution of disapproval, but that could be filibustered by Democrats and vetoed by the President. As few as 41 Senate Democrats could thus vote to prevent it from ever getting to President Obama’s desk—and 34 could sustain a veto. Mr. Obama could then declare that Congress had its say and “approved” the Iran deal even if a majority in the House and Senate voted to oppose it. […]

After 52 days Mr. Obama could unilaterally ease sanctions without Congressional approval. Mr. Obama has said that under the “framework” accord sanctions relief is intended to be gradual. But don’t be surprised if his final concession to Ayatollah Khamenei is to lift sanctions after 52 days. [Wall Street Journal, April 15]

 

Subsidizing big oil—abroad: While the Obama administration stands the in the way of the Keystone pipeline and resource development on public lands, it is subsidizing foreign fossil fuel companies through the Export-Import Bank. Here are the top 10 foreign buyers of U.S. exports that are subsidized by the Export-Import Bank. 

These are all big companies that are being subsidized by the American taxpayer, and five of these top 10 are engaged in fossil fuel activities—Pemex, Esso Highlands, Australia Pacific, and Reliance Industries. Veronique de Rugy and Diane Katz write:

Ranking highest is Pemex Exploración y Producción (Pemex), which garnered more than $7.2 billion in bank financing from 2007 through 2013. Pemex is a Mexican state-owned producer of crude oil and natural gas with a market capitalization (total dollar market value of the shares outstanding of a publicly traded company) of $416 billion. Ex-Im Bank financing has included $1.9 billion for Pemex to purchase oil and gas field machinery from Solar Turbines Inc., a subsidiary of Caterpillar (market cap. $47.7 billion); $1.4 billion for Pemex to purchase drilling services from Noble Drilling Corp. (market cap. $3.3 billion); and $800 million for Pemex to buy machinery from Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., a division of Halliburton Company (market cap. $34 billion). [“The Export-Import Bank’s Top Foreign Buyers,” Mercatus Center, April 2015]

 

However you slice it, taxes are progressive. A couple charts showing tax burdens by income levels. First, the distribution of federal income tax burdens: 

[2015 Federal Budget in Pictures, The Heritage Foundation]

Second, the distribution of all federal tax burdens:

[Daily Signal, April 15]

 

Parents still have the right to parent. If the Meitiv family decides to sue because their 6-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were detained by police in Montgomery County, Md., merely for walking home alone from a local park, they’ll certainly win, says Ilya Somin: 

The Supreme Court has always indicated that parental rights are not absolute. The state can intervene to protect children against serious threats to their health and safety, and to ensure that all children get at least a basic education. But, as Troxel makes clear, the state can’t infringe on parental control over child-raising unless they have real evidence showing that there is a genuinely significant threat to the children’s safety and well-being. Otherwise, as Justice O’Connor’s opinion makes clear, the authorities must respect the “presumption that fit parents act in the best interests of their children.”

Forcibly detaining elementary school-aged kids for walking by themselves in a safe, middle-class neighborhood doesn’t even come close to meeting the necessary standard. Statistically, such walking is extremely safe, and probably less dangerous than police officers’ actions in forcibly detaining the children and driving them to a CPS office. According to the Center for Disease Control, car accidents are a leading cause of death among small children; riding in a car as a passenger is far more dangerous for kids than walking in most neighborhoods. Far from “protecting” the two children, the police and the CPS probably put them at greater risk than they were exposed to before (though the risk was still very low in an absolute sense). The Meitivs’ parenting practices are also much safer than numerous typical childhood activities, such as participating in contact sports like basketball and hockey, or going downhill skiing. If the CPS can force parents to stop letting their children walk home from the park, it can similarly target every other comparably risky activity, including numerous sports, and even driving the children in a car.

The bottom line is that the CPS’ actions here seem to be the result of exactly the kind of “mere disagreement” with parental choices that the Supreme Court specifically barred as a basis for overriding parents’ constitutional right to direct their children’s upbringing. [Washington Post, April 16]

 

Work requirements work. Welfare reform in Maine: 

At the close of 2014 approximately 12,000 individuals were enrolled in the state assistance program. Keep in mind that these individuals are adults who aren’t disabled and who don’t have children at home and who are claiming the food-stamp benefits because of a lack of financial resources.

After forcing these individuals to either work part-time for twenty hours each week, enroll in a vocational program, or volunteer for a minimum of twenty-four hours per month, the numbers showed a significant drop from 12,000 enrollees to just over 2,500. [US Herald, April 4]

 

Toolkit: What’s the right size for your development team? It depends on how much money you need to raise. According to Amanda Robey, start-up organizations will probably need to rely on consultants or one staff person to manage fundraising operations while leaving donor meetings and asks to the CEO. Growing organizations should have about one full-time development person for every $1 million to $1.5 million of contributions revenue. Bigger organizations can hire staff to specialize in different kinds of fundraising, such as from corporations, online giving, direct mail, and events. For more benchmarks, see Robey’s article, “Building a Winning Fundraising Department,” [A.C. Fitzgerald, April 15] 

 

Your family is $603,000 in debt. The federal government’s official debt and deficit figures provide an incomplete account of how deep in the red the federal government really is. Those figures are based on cash accounting rather than the more accurate accrual accounting—which counts obligations as they are made, not merely when the bills come due. Accrual accounting, for example, tells us that current and past federal employees will eventually be paid $6.7 trillion in the form of pensions and other earned benefits. Those payments have not come due, but they are legal obligations that the government cannot avoid. That $6.7 trillion amounts to $54,000 per household, but it isn’t counted as part of the $18 trillion national debt. 

This information comes from the latest edition of The Financial Report of the U.S. Government, which anybody can look up to see what the government’s real financial condition is. According to that report, the real liabilities of the U.S. government are $74 trillion, or $603,000 per household. Those include the aforementioned $6.7 trillion in public employee benefits, $25.4 trillion in Social Security benefits, and $28.2 trillion in Medicare benefits. Also counted are the $18 trillion debt, environmental liabilities, and accounts payable. [“Financial Report of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014,” Department of the Treasury, February 26]

For a summary of the report, see James Agresti’s “Treasury Report: Federal Fiscal Shortfall Is $603,000 Per Household.” [Just Facts Daily, April 13]

 

To Do: Find out Whether the Iran Deal Will Make the World Safer or More Dangerous

• Discover what’s wrong with the proposed deal on Iran’s nuclear program. A panel at the Hudson Institute will evaluate the framework announced earlier this month. The discussion will begin at noon on April 24.

• Learn why state marriage laws are constitutional. Ryan Anderson and Gene Schaerr will give a brief demonstrating that states have the constitutional authority to make marriage laws. They will speak at The Heritage Foundation at noon on April 20.

• Find out why crony capitalism is the most dangerous threat to liberty. The Beacon Center of Tennessee will host a talk by Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney. Carney’s talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. on April 21 at Club LeConte in Knoxville.

• Assess the extent of overcriminalization in North Carolina. The Manhattan Institute’s James Copland will speak at the John Locke Foundation about the criminalization of ordinary behavior in North Carolina. Copland’s talk will begin at noon on April 20.

• Examine how greater transparency can help improve health care. Robert S. Kaplan of the Harvard Business School will give the Pioneer Institute’s 2015 Hewitt Health Lecture. The lecture will be held at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at the Harvard Medical School in Boston and will begin at 5:45 p.m. on April 22.

• Check out the agenda for The Heritage Foundation’s 2015 Resource Bank Meeting! Steve Forbes, Victor Davis Hanson, rising stars, policy entrepreneurs, creative marketers, and donors who have helped build the conservative movement will gather May 6 - 8 at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Bellevue, Wash. Topics include the latest victories and reforms underway in tax, education, and welfare policy, as well as strategies to move forward on health care, telecom, and environmental policy. And you can learn from some of the best fundraising and marketing executives in the breakouts. RSVP by Wednesday, April 29.

• Save the dates! Some big events coming up in the next few months: The National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit 2015, April 30 - May 2 in Washington, D.C; RightOnline, May 1 - 2 in Washington , D.C.; The Heritage Foundation’s Resource Bank, May 6 - 8 in Bellevue, Wash.; the Canterbury Medal Dinner, May 7 in New York City; the South Carolina Freedom Summit, May 9 in Greenville, S.C.; the America’s Future Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Conference and Gala, May 27 in Washington, D.C.; the Bradley Prizes, June 3 in Washington, D.C.; the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Annual Dinner, June 11 in Washington, D.C.; the International Conference on Climate Change, June 11 - 12 in Washington, D.C.; the Western Conservative Summit, June 26 - 28 in Denver; FreedomFest, July 8 - 11 in Las Vegas; ALEC Annual Meeting, July 22 - 24 in San Diego; Cato University, July 26 - 31 in Washington, D.C.

 

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