Obama’s Hidden Taxes Crushing Economic Growth

Brian Darling / Townhall Columnist

 

When I came to Washington years ago, I had a revolutionary glimmer in my eye. I hated big government and I wanted to join a political movement to dismantle it.

That was a long time ago, yet sometimes that rage kicks in when I read about the creeping socialism that is slowly destroying America.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) put out a study today titled “Ten Thousand Commandments – An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.” The results will make you spitting mad.

The author Wayne Crews, Vice President for Policy at CEI, found that federal regulation cost $1.88 trillion in 2014 in lost economic productivity and high prices. This breaks down to about $14,976 per household and 29% of an average family budget.

Think about it this way. The U.S. economy is expected to produce about $17 trillion this year in output, yet it would be more if the government didn’t hammer the private sector with the hidden tax of regulations. Regulations are exporting jobs from America to countries with fewer regulations.

When left wing millionaire candidates like Hillary Clinton make believe they want to be a “champion” for the middle class, they never talk about taking action to spur economic growth. They dare not talk about reducing regulations and shrinking government. They always play the class warfare card and pit average America against the evil super rich.

Benghazi Committee Preliminary Report: ‘Greatest Impediment’ Is Obama White House

Matt Vespa / Townhall Tipsheet

 

On the one-year anniversary of the panel’s creation, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Chairman on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, has released his preliminary report on the investigation’s progress. In a press release, the committee noted that the biggest problem concerning wrapping this investigation up is the uncooperativeness of the Obama White House.

“I am proud of what a professional team of investigators, committed to uncovering all the facts has been able to accomplish since the committee was created,” said Gowdy, in the press release statement. “But while progress has been made, the greatest impediment to completing this investigation in a timely manner has been the level of cooperation by the executive branch. We look forward to completing our work in manner that is worthy of the sacrifice made by the four men who died and trust of our fellow Americans.”

Here are some of the highlights of the 15-page report [emphasis mine]:

• The Committee has reviewed a substantial volume of information previously produced to the House and has requested and received new information. More than 20,000 pages of emails and documents never before released to Congress have been produced by the State Department.” (pp. 1-2)
• “In addition, hundreds of pages of emails never before seen by Congress have been produced by the White House. The Department of Justice and the Intelligence Community have also produced documents. Further, the Committee has interviewed State Department and CIA personnel, including survivors of the Benghazi terrorist attacks who had never been interviewed by previous committees, as well as others who have been able to provide indispensable firsthand details of the U.S. presence in Benghazi, Libya.” (p. 2)

Michigan: Muslim publisher says Pamela Geller is “worse than ISIS”

By Robert Spencer / Jihad Watch

 

Watch for the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims to rise up and denounce Osama Siblani, the publisher of Arab American News, and affirm their disgust with the Islamic State (ISIS) and support for Pamela Geller’s freedom of speech. Watch for them to excoriate Siblani for his hateful and inflammatory rhetoric, especially at a time when […]

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