This week the House and Senate will likely vote on their budget plans, along with a few conservative alternative budgets. To help you see where each plan stands in terms of spending restraint and economic growth, we have put together our second annual "Budget Report Card", which rates each of the major plans according to various economic criteria.This year even Paul Ryan's House plan balances in 10 years, while Rand Paul and the Republican Study Committee plans balance in 5 and 4 years, respectively. The Senate Democrats' plan, unfortunately, never reaches balance.

Lessons For Republican Politicians and Political Operatives

You never want to think that when economic trouble strikes, it's going to hit you. In fact, often times it doesn’t affect you directly because your business is not necessarily in the market segment currently under fire. This has been my family's experience for the majority of my life, at least until the last couple of years. 

A flat tax rate on all income regardless of source will shift the discussion to spending and end the politics of envyThere is a legend that after being knocked around early in his career, Hall of Famer Bill Russell was advised by storied basketball coach Red Auerbach to throw an elbow in a nationally televised game to send a message to his adversaries.

On today’s podcast Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama joins me to talk about the nomination of Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary. Why he’s the wrong man for the job, what you can do to stop his confirmation and hey, why do we even need a treasury secretary - we have no money?

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) has been playing a bad messaging strategy, one that raises tactics above principle, conflating the fortunes of the Speaker with that of his party and his party with the broader conservative movement. The Speaker asked House conservatives to vote for an unpassable bill they didn't want in order to show President Obama's intransigence. Whether it had passed or not, that message would not have been received, but another would have: conservatives would have voted for a tax increase after having campaigned against doing so. Had it gotten to President Obama's desk, he would have vetoed it, but the blame would still have been put on Republicans.

President Obama (D-IL) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), are determined to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans, as part of their class warfare agenda. Speaker Boehner should stand strong and restrain government by insisting that the existing tax rates be extended and the level already-agreed cuts remain. Holding taxes the same, and dealing with the budget in an orderly process is a step toward economic fairness.

On Sunday several Republican would-be darlings of the liberal media signalled their willingness to raise taxes, despite longstanding unified opposition in their party and despite indications that Democrats would treat Obama's narrow election win as a major mandate and refuse spending cuts except to defense. 

During the upcoming negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff, the President and leaders of Congress will each try to leverage the crisis they created to their advantage.

The Wind Industry is a universal model for efficiency… not in energy production, but in marketing its product. Only the best and brightest marketing team, like our friends at the American Wind Energy Alliance (AWEA) could convince so many Americans and their lawmakers that the federal government should continue to subsidize and industry that is the model of inefficiency in the energy sector.