What to Cut: Striking Subsidies Could Save Billions

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Photo Credit: Moyan_Brenn

Joe Dutra has defied the trend of American confectioners and candy makers who’ve moved abroad to escape the U.S. government’s regime of sugar subsidies.

After moving his Kimmie Candy Company back to the United States from South Korea, he’s now operating a $4 million-$5 million business in Reno, Nev.

But, he said, “when coming back to the United States, I found out that I was paying up to 90 percent more for sugar in the last few years.”

Sugar is just one commodity whose price is hugely inflated in the United States because of what critics call an outdated system of subsidies and price supports. The subsidies take the form of direct payments to farmers that cost taxpayers billions — as well as restrictions on imports and how much can be grown, and other regulations that raise prices.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a frequent critic of subsidies. “We’re losing candy manufacturers in America because the price of sugar is four to six times higher here than it is anywhere else in the world.” Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, called it “an old Soviet-style command and control process.”

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Ben Carson Takes On MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell On The Definition Of ‘Marriage’

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On Sean Hannity’s Fox News program earlier this week, Dr. Ben Carson, the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, offered his view on the hot-button issue of the week, same-sex marriage.

According to Carson, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman, what he called a “well-established, fundamental pillar of society.” And Carson said this institution could not be redefined by any group, including proponents of bestiality and pedophilia.

Invoking those groups drew the ire of many, but Carson went on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” to clarify his remarks, which he apologized to those who took offense.

“Well, first of all, they are my views, that should be mentioned. They are not the views of the institution,” Carson said. “If someone goes back and examines what I’ve been talking about and writing about over the last couple of decades, it’s the same things that I’m talking about now. It’s just that now more people are paying attention to them. And you know, I think in terms of what was said on Sean Hannity’s show — that was taken completely out of context and completely misunderstood in terms of what I was trying to say. You know, as a Christian, you know I have a duty to love all people, and that includes people who have other sexual orientations, and I certainly do. And never had any intention of offending anyone. What I was basically saying and if anybody was offended, I apologize to you. But what I was basically saying is that there is no group — I wasn’t equating those things, I don’t think they’re equal.”

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Outrage: Obama Withholds Mineral Royalties to States, Citing Sequester

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The Obama administration sparked outrage when it announced on Monday that it was withholding $110 million mineral royalty payments that are owed to states and counties due to the sequestration.

“The Budget Control Act of 2011, passed by Congress, mandates across-the-board, automatic 5.1 percent sequester reductions,” said Office of Natural Resources Revenue spokesman Patrick Etchart. “By law, revenue payments to states are not exempt from the sequester. Cumulatively, approximately $110 million will be withheld from states and counties where energy production occurs on federal lands during the remainder of the current fiscal year.”

Western states will feel the brunt of the cuts in royalty payments — 99.3 percent of it, according to the Congressional Western Caucus. This is money that goes towards financing projects such as K-12 education, highways, community colleges, and flood protection.

The Federal government is trying to bow out of their commitments to states after failing to cut wasteful spending within the government,” said New Mexico Republican Rep. Steve Pearce. “Instead of cutting these critical payments to the state, why aren’t we cutting the President’s golf outings or luxurious government conferences? American families carry the responsibility of living within their means and honoring their commitments- the federal government should too.”

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EPA Taking Aim at Auto Emissions, Sulfur In Gas

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Reducing sulfur in gasoline and tightening emissions standards on cars beginning in 2017, as the Obama administration is proposing, would come with costs as well as rewards. The cost at the pump for cleaner air across the country could be less than a penny or as high as 9 cents a gallon, depending on who is providing the estimate.

An oil industry study says the proposed rule being unveiled Friday by the administration could increase gasoline prices by 6 cents to 9 cents a gallon. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates an increase of less than a penny and an additional $130 to the cost of a vehicle in 2025.

The EPA is quick to add that the change aimed at cleaning up gasoline and automobile emissions would yield billions of dollars in health benefits by 2030 by slashing smog- and soot-forming pollution. Still, the oil industry, Republicans and some Democrats have pressed the EPA to delay the rule, citing higher costs.

Environmentalists hailed the proposal as potentially the most significant in President Barack Obama’s second term. The so-called Tier 3 standards would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent and reduce nitrogen oxides by 80 percent, by expanding across the country a standard already in place in California. For states, the regulation would make it easier to comply with health-based standards for the main ingredient in smog and soot. For automakers, the regulation allows them to sell the same autos in all 50 states.

The Obama administration already has moved to clean up motor vehicles by adopting rules that will double fuel efficiency and putting in place the first standards to reduce the pollution from cars and trucks blamed for global warming.

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Mark Levin: Bill O’Reilly Reminds Me of Barack Obama

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On his radio show this week, conservative talker Mark Levin said that Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who on Tuesday claimed that opponents of same-sex marriage do nothing but “thump the Bible,” should stop degrading his audience…

“Thump the Bible?” Levin asked. “Have I thumped the Bible once in an hour and a half on the air today? … Why are you putting down your audience? I thought you stood for the folks. And you sound like [President Barack] Obama, with the ‘clinging to their guns and religion’ line. You should show respect to your audience.”

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Will Rand Paul Do What’s Right and Help Primary McConnell?

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Rand Paul really struck a chord with many conservatives when he declared at CPAC that “the GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered,——I don’t think we need to name any names here, do we?” But will he adhere to his own admonishment?

The imagery of stale air and moss-covered vegetation serves as the superlative metaphor for the way so many of us view the current crop of GOP leaders. Many of them are not necessarily liberal Republicans-in-name-only at heart; they just fail to inspire a following and fail to articulate conservative principles in a way that provides voters with a bold and exciting contrast. They are content to grow old in office, cutting backroom deals with Democrats to grow government, so long as their seat of power is protected.

At its core, the lack of fresh leaders and ideas is born out of the lack of choice and competition in primaries. The bedrock belief of conservatism is that choice and competition lead to better outcomes in the marketplace. The GOP – the party that is supposed to promote that belief – has been run like a country club for years. Our presidential nominees have always been the “next in line;” our congressional nominees have always been the ones with the most money and name recognition. Once elected to office, nobody has dared to challenge 95% of these individuals. Such a lack of rivalry would leave even the boldest conservative a bit complacent and moss-covered after several decades of free rides with Republican voters. Someone who was never a bold conservative to begin with is certainly rendered irredeemable after decades with no competition.

Hence, if we want to clean out the mildew within the GOP tent, we must open the door with some fresh air of healthy primary competition.

If you want a dictionary definition of the GOP establishment, it is Mitch McConnell and those who surround him. If you want to know the paradigm of stale, moss-covered leadership, it’s Mitch McConnell. Nobody could assert with a straight face – even those who personally admire him – that Mitch McConnell is an inspiring leader who has provided bold leadership against the big government establishment in Washington. He has voted for all of the things Rand Paul has inveighed against for years. He has cut backroom deals with Biden to raise taxes and the debt ceiling. He has been running around ridiculing Obamacare while doing nothing do defund it through the budget process until Ted Cruz forced his hand – and even then, he voted for the CR which ultimately contained that funding.

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Obama Unveils Yet Another Measure to Jack Gasoline Prices and Kill The Economy

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The White House is planning to unveil a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to clean up gasoline and automobile emissions, a plan officials say will lead to cleaner air but also higher gas prices.

The so-called Tier 3 standards would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent and reduce nitrogen oxides by 80 percent, by expanding across the country a standard already in place in California. It would go into effect in 2017.

The oil industry, Republicans and some Democrats have pressed the EPA to delay the rule, saying it would be unwise to impose such a standard while many are still struggling in a bad economy. An oil industry study says the rule could increase gasoline prices by 6 to 9 cents per gallon.

The EPA says the potential increase in gas prices would be slight, estimating the rules could increase gas prices by less than a penny per gallon and add $130 to the cost of a vehicle in 2025. Additionally, the agency argues the plan will yield billions of dollars in health benefits by slashing smog- and soot-forming pollution come 2030.

For states, the regulation will make it easier to comply with health-based standards for the main ingredient in smog and soot. For auto makers, the regulation allows them to sell the same autos in all 50 states.

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Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill to Allow Arming School Employees

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Public and private school principals could designate teachers and other school employees who would carry concealed weapons on campus at all times in an effort to make schools safer, under legislation that won approval Wednesday from a Florida House committee.

It gives principals the option to designate one or several school employees to carry concealed weapons. The designee would be required to complete the same training that bank and courthouse security guards complete in addition to the statewide firearms training. Principals could also decline the concealed weapons option altogether.

Proponents of the bill argued that since the state can’t afford to put a school resource officer on every campus, the gun legislation is a commonsense alternative.

“I want my children safe and in our overwhelming desire to protect our children with gun free zones we have inadvertently made them the ideal sterile target for a madman and the unwillingness of people to confront that reality is unacceptable,” said the bill’s co-sponsor Rep. Dennis Baxley. But several lawmakers expressed reservations about placing more guns on school campuses.

The bill would allow no one to carry a gun on campus, except the principal’s designee who has completed the proper training. That person would be required to carry the firearm on them at all times. The principal will determine whether to tell parents who that person is. Several lawmakers expressed concern that local school boards should not be kept in the dark about whether schools in their districts are armed.

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Pew: Majority of Americans Oppose Citizenship For Illegal Immigrants

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According to a new Pew Research poll, a majority of Americans, 55 percent, oppose granting citizenship to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. An even bigger majority, however, 71 percent, believe illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country legally…

Perhaps most surprisingly, no demographic is more supportive of granting citizenship to illegal immigrants than blacks. In fact, at 52 percent, blacks are the only demographic of which a majority supports granting illegal immigrants citizenship. Only 49 percent of Hispanics, 48 percent of Democrats, and 47 percent of college graduates back citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Republican, 38 percent, and whites without a college degree, also 38 percent, are the least supportive of citizenship benefits for illegal immigrants.

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Senators: ‘Far-Left’ Group Pushes EPA To Implement Cap-And-Trade Without Congressional Approval

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Republican senators urged the Environmental Protection Agency not to participate in a “sue-and-settle” arrangement with a law school policy institute that is trying to require the agency to develop rules implementing cap-and-trade, even though Congress refused to pass the law.

“In a recent rulemaking petition, the Institute for Policy Integrity (the Institute) seeks to compel EPA rules under three separate sections of the Clean Air Act,” Marten Law’s Dustin Till explains in a post. “The Institute first argues that Section 115 of the Clean Air Act, a never-before-used provision addressing international air pollution, requires EPA to order all 50 states to modify their state-level implementation plans to address greenhouse gas emissions.”

Four senators attacked the idea today in a letter to EPA assistant administrator Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee to lead the agency.

“The potential negative impact in this case is that it threatens to expand environmental regulation beyond original intent of the law and could have detrimental effects on the livelihoods of our fellow Americans that are not always understood by academia,” wrote Sen. David Vitter, R-La., Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Wyo., and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., in a letter today.

“When the price of transportation fuels increases for any reason, it is those with limited resources and fixed incomes whose livelihoods are most impacted by this added financial burden,” they added. “In recent years, we have consistently heard the term “environmental justice” as a reason for promulgating certain agency actions. We believe there also needs to be a measure of “economic justice” to ensure that Agency actions are not overly regressive and lack consideration for economic harm visited upon the very citizens these environmental laws are intended to protect.”

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