Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.
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Biden’s Hypocritical Efforts to Stem the Wave of Violent Crime Fall Far Short – Biden’s policy to combat violent crime doesn’t even mention the place he has allowed violent crime to fester—the southern border. The chaos at the border is causing a crisis that is allowing drug smuggling, human trafficking, and gang activity to flourish there—and to spread elsewhere, too. And unfortunately, when it has sprung up or spread elsewhere, police officers—who have been demonized and demoralized for much of the past year—and rogue prosecutors backed by left-leaning liberal billionaires like George Soros, who have refused to do their jobs and enforce the laws on the books, are the ones confronting it. Rather than proposing harmful gun control measures such as banning assault weapons and banning high-capacity magazines, both of which are nothing more than political moves designed to please his base, Biden should proactively empower police to do their jobs and encourage local district attorneys to do theirs too by prosecuting crimes. Heritage expert: Zack Smith

Florida Makes Sure Schools Teach Evils of Communism, Totalitarianism – DeSantis is right. One can’t understand the nature of the United States without having some understanding of the regimes that have stood in opposition to us. One of the new Florida laws will create a library including information and biographies of the many people who escaped totalitarian regimes and made it to the free shores of our country. The sad reality is that many young Americans have learned little about the evils of communist dictatorship. A 2016 poll commissioned by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, for instance, found that about a third of millennials surveyed thought that former President George W. Bush had killed more people than Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. For all of America’s faults, it undeniably has been a bastion and a land of hope for free people. Those who have fled communism understand this all too well, but it’s essential that young Americans who never have experienced it—and God willing, never will—gain an understanding of what it is, too. Today, the rise of Communist China—a regime that ruthlessly represses its citizens and systematically suppresses the truth—is a reminder that the threat of totalitarianism remains in this world. Totalitarianism could come to our shores, too. Let us hope that future generations can recognize its evil as well. Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman

Biden tries to turn domestic security into partisan witch hunt – Biden wants Americans to pay attention to one threat above all others, and he wants to tie that threat to his political opponents. Further, by harping on particular fringe groups that aren’t actually affiliated with any mainstream political movement — and largely ignoring organized political violence by progressive groups like Black Lives Matter and antifa that has resulted in widespread rioting, arson, looting, and the injury of thousands of law enforcement officers — the White House leaves the impression that politics, not public safety, tops its agenda. white supremacists and militias appear to be the only threats the strategy focuses on. There is no mention of what happened in Portland or Seattle. Meanwhile, the prosecutions of the Jan. 6 protesters continue, while the prosecutions of those in Portland and elsewhere from last summer continue to diminish (and, in most cases, are getting dismissed). Biden is putting a heavy hand on scales of justice, one that seeks to demonize conservatives, politicize homeland security, and distract law enforcement and public safety officials from their primary task of keeping the homeland safe. Is this the "unity" Americans were promised? Heritage expert: Jim Carafano

Biden’s Medicare Expansion Proposal: Less Private Health Coverage, Higher Taxpayer Costs – The Biden Medicare expansion proposal would worsen the program’s already serious financial condition, which is characterized by an accelerating pace of spending and driven by rapid enrollment growth and rising per capita care costs. Under current law, future beneficiaries face potentially serious problems accessing quality care, while the program will impose ever greater financial burdens on taxpayers in the form of higher taxes, deficits, and debt. Separate payment or accounting arrangements, either through current Medicare trust funds or general revenue financing, does little or nothing to relieve that taxpayer burden. The expansion of government health care financing is the expansion of government power and control over Americans’ health care. That, finally, is the point of the Biden proposal. Heritage expert: Bob Moffit

Biden’s OK of global theft of America’s intellectual property is wrong, dangerous – Compulsory licensing legalizes the theft of intellectual property. Recognizing this, senators from both sides of the aisle have joined with other government officials and industry leaders to call on the administration to reverse this bad decision. The U.S. patent protection system has served the nation well since its founding. It is and has been a xxxxxx of American prosperity, but the strength of that protection has been weakening in the past few decades. Compulsory licensing contributes to the erosion of that protection. As the U.S. and the rest of the world emerge from the pandemic, it is clear that more innovative medicines and vaccines will be needed for future protection from viruses and other emerging biological threats. The best way to prevent and treat those new diseases is to ensure that private American pharmaceutical companies continue their innovative research and vaccine production. Heritage expert: James Roberts

Proposed Credit Reporting Requirement May Be a Precursor to Discriminatory Lending Quotas – No one should be denied credit because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ostensibly to deter such discrimination, a proposal in Congress (HR 1443) would require small-business lenders to furnish data to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau detailing the LGBTQ business-ownership status of credit applicants. That mirrors current law imposing similar reporting on female or minority business ownership. But regardless of the supposed intent of the bill’s proponents, reporting requirements serve as a next step in bringing quotas to the credit markets. Ironically, such quotas enshrine discrimination by making success in the marketplace partially contingent on membership in a politically favored category. That conflicts with the American ideal of equality under the law and equal protection of the law. Heritage expert: Joel Griffith