Heritage Experts Today


Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today. Please reply to this email to arrange an interview. The Left’s “Jim Crow” Rhetoric Is Absurd, Insulting, and Dishonest – The idea that Georgia is somehow doing something nefarious by preventing gift-giving at the polls is bizarre, and ignores the unfortunate, long history we have of this type of corruption and undue influence being used in our elections. By the way, unmentioned in the hysterical criticisms is new language making it ok for poll officials to make “self-service water from an unattended receptacle” available to “an elector waiting in line.” The Georgia bill that was just signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp has many provisions intended to protect the security and integrity of the election process, not prevent eligible individuals from voting or from succumbing to thirst while waiting in line to vote. Heritage experts: Hans von Spakovsky and Heritage Action The Biden administration seeks to raise $2.5 trillion through corporate tax increases. – Tax increases on businesses are often transferred to consumers through higher costs, workers through lower wages, and shareholders of ALL wealth levels—through lower share prices and dividends. Following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, business tax rates in the US became far more competitive. We saw a surge of investment with median household income reaching an all-time high. Unemployment reached generational lows. These tax hikes would undo this progress. Tax increases would reverse the success of Trump's tax cuts – The recent $1.9 trillion stimulus bill will add more in debt by next year than the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was projected to reduce revenue by over a decade. Biden’s new $3 trillion spending proposal is twice the size of the tax cuts. Reversing the tax cuts would be a big mistake and would hinder the much-needed economic recovery process. Instead of higher spending and damaging tax hikes, Congress and Mr. Biden should prevent tax increases, continue making the tax code more competitive, and get spending under control. Heritage expert: Joel Griffith Biden vs. Iran – nuclear talks should worry US, allies. Here's how to get a real deal – Team Biden would be smart to just cut loose of the failed Iran deal before it does even more damage to American interests and the peace and stability in the region. Why waste time trying to placate the murderous, corrupt authoritarian regime in Tehran? There is, after all, so much more that the U.S. can and should be doing in the region. Washington could redouble efforts on Israel-Arab cooperation. It should also ramp up efforts to support a stable Jordan, recently rocked by a coup attempt. Meanwhile, the U.S. should escalate pressure to isolate and punish Iran. There should not even be a discussion of sanctions relief until Iran has stopped proxy attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and deescalated its uranium enrichment. Heritage expert: Jim Carafano Leftists’ Objections to Election Reform in West Virginia Seem Like a Parody of Themselves – By allowing voters to request absentee ballots only six days prior to Election Day, West Virginia was increasing the risk that voters will be disenfranchised because the absentee ballot they mail back might arrive too late. The deadline in West Virginia for election officials to receive a completed absentee ballot is five days after Election Day as long as the ballot envelope is postmarked by Election Day. But that is eleven days, less than the minimum 14 days recommended by the Postal Service. By changing the deadline for a voter to request an absentee ballot to 11 days before Election Day, West Virginia is accommodating the Postal Service’s delivery times and ensuring that fewer voters will have their absentee ballots rejected for being late. Contrary to the objections being raised, this change will actually help prevent voters from being disenfranchised. Heritage expert: Hans von Spakovsky Freeing Education From Housing – States and localities could remedy this broken system by eliminating attendance zone boundaries. That would effectively create open enrollment, allowing families to enroll their children in any public school within their school district. In the case of oversubscription at a particular school, a lottery would determine admission. Moreover, protectionist school districts should not be able to opt out of open-enrollment policies. This is a policy Florida has successfully implemented, and which allows children to attend any school in the state’s 67 school districts. These reforms, coupled with other options to expand private school choice (such as education savings accounts), would end the public school monopoly. Education dollars would follow students instead of institutions, enabling children to select into learning environments that are the right fit for them. It is time to decouple schooling from housing. Assigned, geographic attendance zones remain anachronistic barriers to opportunity and social capital. Heritage expert: Jude Schwalbach
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