Downsizing Blog
The Jones Act Swamp
Last spring White House staffers presented President Trump with the opportunity to introduce a very interesting wrinkle to the Jones Act, the 1920 law that restricts domestic waterborne transportation to vessels that are U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built and mostly U.S.-owned and crewed.
Kill Two Birds with One Stone: Repeal Collective Bargaining
Congress is debating legislation meant to address police misconduct along with a further aid package for state and local governments struggling with budget deficits.
Federal Aid for State‐Local Police
Presidential candidate Joe Biden said that he does not favor defunding police but instead “conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.”
Police Spending Soars at the Federal Level
Some protestors are calling for defunding the police in the wake of George Floyd’s death and other incidents of police misconduct.
Spending on Police by State
Amid the outcry over George Floyd’s death and subsequent protests, some people are calling for defunding the police.
State Government Cuts and the Economy
A Wall Street Journal news article by David Harrison claims, “State and local government spending and employment levels didn’t fully recover from the 2007-09 recession until last fall, a decade after the downturn ended and only a few months before the coronavirus led to a new round of cuts.”
California’s Budget and Rainy Day Fund
Congress is considering passing additional financial aid for state and local governments.
Dem Plan for $3 Trillion in New Coronavirus Aid Is Too Costly – States Must Cut Spending
A proposal by House Democrats announced Tuesday to spend over $3 trillion more to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic would send the federal deficit skyrocketing and place an enormous burden on taxpayers to fund.
CDC Failures: Mission Sprawl Is One Problem
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it “has a unique mission—to save lives by deploying effective, proven strategies to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to disease outbreaks at their source.”
Minimum Wage Laws Will Weaken Recovery
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on American jobs. State shutdowns and social distancing have resulted in 26 million people being laid off and furloughed.