Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 75 basis points for third straight month <[link removed]> – The Federal Reserve is still laughably behind the curve. Their new interest rate is below 3.25% but the last time inflation was this high, that interest rate was in double digits. After creating inflation to fund prodigal federal spending, Powell is now engineering a recession to cool off the inflation. The average American gets crushed coming and going. Families have lost so much disposable income from inflation under Biden and now cannot afford the higher interest costs on their credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, etc. Default rates are already up and will continue climbing. Heritage Experts: Joel Griffith <[link removed]> and EJ Antoni <[link removed]>
Biden calls on U.N. to stand with Ukraine and unite against Russian aggression <[link removed]> – Providing military resources to the people of Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s brutal invasion advances U.S. interests. Advancing our interests and being fiscally responsible are not mutually exclusive. Helping Ukraine defend itself counters the malicious ambitions of both Russia and China, who would benefit from the disorganized, divided, and distracted Europe that would emerge after a successful Russian campaign against Ukraine. However, it is not in America’s interest to spend billions more dollars we don’t have—all while inflation continues to rise because of reckless spending. Unfortunately, most of the Washington establishment, including some on the right, have chosen to vilify those who have called for any aid to Ukraine to be paid for and to come with sufficient oversight and accountability measures. The U.S. should focus its efforts on the provision of military aid. Foreign assistance and reconstruction should largely be the responsibility of the Europeans. This aid must also not create a cycle of dependency or fuel corruption. Heritage Experts: Nile Gardiner <[link removed]>, Brent Sadler <[link removed]>,
and Victoria Coates <[link removed]>
9 Key Cases Supreme Court Will Hear in 2022-23 Session <[link removed]> – It will be tough—if not impossible—for the Supreme Court to top the 2021-22 term when it comes to both drama and results that pleased the conservative legal community (not to
mention conservatives in general). As I wrote <[link removed]> elsewhere in July at the end of the term, “[t]he three
words that best describe the Supreme Court’s decisions this term are text, history, and tradition. If that’s one word too many, try this: Originalism Rules! And that’s a good thing.”But for SCOTUS fans—and who isn’t one?—there will be plenty of excitement during the term that begins on Oct. 3. On Sept. 27, my Heritage Foundation colleague Zack Smith will host our Supreme Court preview of the 2022-23 term with former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement and former acting U.S. Solicitor General Jeff Wall. You can register for the event here <[link removed]>. Although the Supreme Court will no doubt agree to hear more cases following its “long conference” when it considers the certiorari petitions that were filed during the summer, there are already several big cases on its docket for what promises to be another
blockbuster term. Here’s a brief description of a few of them. Heritage Experts: John
Malcolm <[link removed]> and Zack Smith <[link removed]>
Why are so many residents fleeing California? <[link removed]> – Why is everyone leaving? In short, California’s misguided leadership has turned the state’s finances into a complete basket case. Because California’s lockdowns during the pandemic were so strict and lasted so long, its economy went into a tailspin and then only grew anemically compared to the national average. Unemployment and subsequent unemployment claims were abnormally high, and the state did not have the funds to pay unemployment benefits. The result is that the state owes the Treasury’s unemployment trust find almost $18 billion, which will have to be financed by increasing taxes on state businesses. The Golden State is already home to some of the highest tax rates in the country. The top marginal income tax rate is 13.3% and the state sales tax rate is 7.25%, both the highest in the nation. It has the fifth highest overall state and local tax burden in America. California also has one of the highest corporate tax rates and is ranked the third worst business tax climate. Additionally, it has the highest gasoline and diesel taxes in the nation, about 68 cents and 100 cents per gallon, respectively. Heritage Expert: EJ
Antoni <[link removed]>
Presidential foot in mouth? Biden may have killed his student debt cancellation plan, critics
argue <[link removed]>—Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Just the News that a close reading of the text of the HEROES Act shows Biden's latest comment on COVID doesn't technically undermine his legal argument. For example, the law says debt cancellation can be justified by financial hardship caused "in connection with" war or national emergency, which is a broad term open for interpretation. But Biden's COVID declaration is "besides the point," he said, arguing the real problem is the use of the HEROES Act in the first place to justify Biden's student loan plan — a legal rationale he described as "illegal," "political," "arbitrary," and "capricious" in how it determines who does and doesn't receive relief. Heritage Expert: Adam Kissel <[link removed]>
Judiciary Democrats just voted to support NON-CITIZENS voting in our elections <[link removed]> – The vote by House Democrats to allow aliens to vote in U.S. elections is a fundamental betrayal of the rights of citizens to participate in the democratic process and choose their elected representatives. Allowing aliens to vote effectively disenfranchises citizens by diluting their votes. Aliens who have not made the commitment to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, and our political and cultural heritage by becoming citizens should not be allowed to participate in elections that affect how Americans are governed. Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
Ukraine's China problem, and how to solve it <[link removed]> – Similar restrictions should be placed on assistance from the EU, the UK, Japan and others focused on rebuilding Ukraine. While Congress can control the disposition of American taxpayer dollars only, Washington can and should wield tremendous influence over how our allies apportion assistance to Ukraine. The administration should bend every effort to assure than free countries to not deploy their aid in ways that could advantage China <[link removed]>. President Zelenskyy has built a deep reservoir of international support for his people and their future. He should maintain that level of backing by understanding that China is not a friend—indeed the PRC has sided with the bad guys. They should not be allowed to profit from the destruction in which they are complicit. A Ukrainian parliamentarian recently sounded the alarm about the "strategic partnership" Ukraine formed with China 2011, given the PRC’s predatory role in the conflict with Russia. The U.S. Congress should heed the clarion call, and make sure that any reconstruction aid flowing to Ukraine does not wind up in the pockets of Xi and his cronies. Heritage Expert: Victoria Coates <[link removed]>
This Should Terrify Every American: DOJ Harasses
Citizens for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights <[link removed]> –The plaintiffs, including the Justice Department, are arguing that the statute as written violates the U.S. Constitution. So, what do the Eagle Forum’s polling data or social media posts have to do with that constitutional question? What do its internal records, its “policy goals, initiatives, and/or strategies,” or the communications of its members with state legislators have to do with that issue? The answer is: absolutely nothing. None of the documents or information sought by the Justice Department has any relevance to whether the text of a state law violates the Fourteenth Amendment. This subpoena, issued by Jason R. Cheeks, an attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama, has but one intent: to harass and intimidate a conservative organization for daring to engage in the democratic process by working on an issue that inflames the Left. Heritage
Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
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