Radio America Online News Bureau

Archives for April 2019

How Should We Pay for Roads and Bridges?

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The Trump administration wants to find common ground with Democrats to get moving on badly needed transportation projects and suggests that higher gas taxes are on the table.  Fiscal conservatives recoil at such an idea but these projects need to get done, so how should they be paid for?

National Taxpayers Union President Pete Sepp says there are many ways for government to address the costs of road and bridge projects before ever reaching for taxpayers’ wallets.  He says the first step is actually allocating all revenues from existing gas taxes for those projects because that’s not happening now.

“Most people don’t know that under apportionment formulas that are figured out at the federal level, a large portion – even 25 percent – of gas tax revenues aren’t actually put into building or maintaining roads.  They go to things like scenic beautification projects, bike paths, mass transit,” said Sepp.

Sepp says there are other bureaucratic headaches that could be addressed as well.

“Another thing that can be fixed is more efficient project building.  There needs to be things like life cycle cost analysis.  They have to get rid of these labor laws that raise project costs through the roof.  They need to do things like streamlining permitting processes.  Those permits add to the overhead cost of building roads and fixing up bridges,” said Sepp.

He also says there should be a greater emphasis on public-private partnerships to address infrastructure needs, which would also ease the burden of taxpayers.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Sepp explain why gas taxes are a bigger, more immediate burden on middle class families than other taxes are and what would be more appropriate than gas taxes if government has to take more money from its people.

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‘The Whole Situation Changes:’ Iranian Resistance Cheers Terrorist Designation

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The U.S. designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization Monday, and a leading Iranian resistance group says this action will starve the Iranian regime of funds and lead to a more peaceful region.

“From the moment it was founded, the IRGC’s mandate was to defend and export the regime’s mission by whatever means possible.  The IRGC institutionalized terrorism shortly after its inception, directing horrific attacks against the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the U.S. embassy annex in 1984,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has pleaded with the U.S. to make this designation for years and says this decision could be a real game-changer.

“The Iranian regime has benefited from its terrorism, from its hostage-taking.  It has used terrorism as a tool to leverage, to gain concessions from western countries over the past four decades,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI’s Washington office.

“Today, with this (foreign terrorist organization) designation, the whole situation changes.  It puts the Iranian regime in the defensive position.  It demoralizes the revolutionary guard and their proxies and the groups that they are supporting and sponsoring in the region.

“It actually helps dry up the resources for the militia groups that are funded by the revolutionary guard,” said Jafarzadeh.

The Iranian government is furious at the IRGC being labeled a foreign terrorist organization.  More than 250 members of the Iranian parliament signed a letter vowing to “answer any action taken against this force with reciprocal action.”

But Jafarzadeh says not to worry about the howls of protest.

“Honestly, the mullahs only understand the language of force.  They back down when confronted with firmness,” he said.

Listen to the full podcast to learn how this terrorist designation will clamp down on American and European investment in Iran and why Jafarzadeh says that will lead to a more peaceful Middle East.

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Pompeo Punishes Iran, Nielsen Leaves DHS, Can Alabama Vote for An Auburn Guy?

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the Trump Administration for finally designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a “foreign terrorist organization” after the group has for years sponsored and participated in terrorism throughout the Middle East. They also worry that the revolving door of cabinet officials in the Trump administration is causing too much instability as Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as secretary of the Department Homeland Security. And they wonder if former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville has a chance to overcome one of the nation’s fiercest college football rivalries and win the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate race in Alabama.

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Norquist: Higher Gas Taxes Won’t Mean Better Roads

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The Trump administration says higher gas taxes are on the table when figuring out how to pay for infrastructure projects and Republicans in one battleground state just hiked gas taxes there, arguing that it had to be done.  But one of the nation’s fiercest opponents of tax increases says Americans should not fall for the argument that higher taxes means better roads and bridges.

“Year after year, politicians say they are going to prioritize fixing the roads, widening roads, widening bridges and so on and then they don’t.  And so people believe that maybe if they raise taxes they would do that.

“In point of fact, when you do raise the gas tax in various states, the politicians siphon off much of that money into things that have nothing to do with roads,” said Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist.

Norquist says a fraction of the extra revenue – or sometimes none – actually gets spent on roads and that leads to calls for even more taxes.

“Politicians love to use their failure to focus on roads as an excuse for you to give them more money.  It’s a bad idea.  Nobody should fall for it,” said Norquist.

According to Norquist, just the fact that politicians want to raise your taxes while portraying themselves as passionate about upgrading infrastructure, puts the lie to their argument.

“Keep in mind, a politician who says to you, ‘I care so much about…roads, prisons, education that I’m willing to raise taxes to support it.’  That politician did not tell you how much he likes roads, prisons, education.  He just told you that everything that’s presently in the multi-billion dollar budget of our state is more important than roads because I wouldn’t stop doing any of that and put it into roads,” said Norquist.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Norquist explain how increasing gas taxes raises your expenses far beyond the gas pump.

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Tough Love Boosts NATO, Jobs Bounce Back, Manchin Eyes the Exits

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are happy to see Vice President Pence laud our NATO partners for contributing more to the common defense and building greater cohesion while also calling out Turkey for its troubling embrace of Russia and a more Islamist outlook on the world.  They also welcome the March jobs report, which shows greater gains than expected and is a major improvement from February.  And they discuss West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin openly longing to run for governor in 2020.

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What Can Trump Do about the Border?

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President Trump is backing away from threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border but a former federal immigration official says Trump certainly has that authority but other steps might make more sense.

Trump made the threat in response to the tide of illegal immigration and illicit drugs pouring into the U.S.  But after pleas from both Texas senators and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep the border open or risk massive economic repercussions, Trump says he will revisit the issue in a year and see if Mexico is living up to its responsibilities to interdict migrants and drugs.

But a former immigration official says Trump does have the authority to close the border.

“The president does seem to have extensive powers and other presidents have actually used those powers on various occasions to close the border,” said Temple University School of Law Prof. Jan C. Ting, who served as assistant commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the George H.W. Bush administration.

He says other presidents have closed the border, most recently George W. Bush for a brief time in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

But while Trump could close the border, Ting says whether that’s a good idea is another question.

“I don’t think anyone has seriously questioned the ability of the president to exercise that power.  The only objection questions have been raised about the advisability of doing so and the economic consequences of doing so.

“Some of those arguments have been found persuasive by the administration, at least to the point of holding off immediate action,” said Ting.

Ting says it’s not clear if closing the border would achieve Trump’s goals, although he believes it would put a lot more pressure on the Mexican government to cooperate with American efforts rather than playing a two-faced game of cooperating in certain situations while also facilitating the passage of Central American caravans to the U.S. border.

So what would be more effective?  Ting says Congress could make a huge difference by mandating all employers use -E-Verify to check the validity of the Social Security numbers used by prospective employees.  The practice is mandatory in Arizona but not nationwide.

He also says Trump’s prized goal of a border wall would be effective.

“It’s a force multiplier.  You can only afford to put so many border patrol agents on the border.  Having fencing up or a wall makes those agents more useful,” said Ting.

Listen to the full podcast to hear more of Ting’s analysis on closing the border and alternative methods of achieving greater control over the influx of people and drugs into the U.S.  Ting also explains why he believes President Obama greatly exacerbated the crisis at the border, and he details the remarkably swift evolution of Democrats from border hawks in the 1990’s to most presidential candidates in the party today recoiling at the idea of stopping virtually anyone from coming into the U.S.

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Dems’ 2020 Clown Car, Biden’s Apology, Anonymous Sources Dispute Barr

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America try to keep up as 21 Democrats are now either running for president or seriously thinking about it.  They also break down Joe Biden’s apology for making several women feel uncomfortable over the years and discuss how both Republicans and Democrats are approaching this controversy with respect to 2020.  And they get a kick out of anonymous sources breathlessly telling the New York Times and Washington Post that Attorney General Bill Barr badly distorted the findings of the Mueller report.

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Turner: Trump Ready to Move on Our Health Plan

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President Trump now says he will wait until after the 2020 election to pursue repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act again, but Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner says Trump is champing at the bit to get health reform done and he wants to do it with the plan she and other policy experts are championing.

Turner and her health policy consensus group have been urging lawmakers to take up the Health Care Choices Act.  Two weeks ago, while playing golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham detailed the proposal and Trump immediately embraced it.

“The president got excited, saying, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s another plan out there.  This is my plan to make America great again.’  And so he kind of said let’s go do this,” said Turner.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately dumped cold water on the idea, saying the Senate did not have time to take up the issue in this Congress.  With Democrats controlling the House of Representatives, there is virtually no chance of a GOP bill making it to Trump’s desk.  Many on the right also see another fierce debate damaging their prospects in 2020.

Trump now says he will move forward on health care as soon as the next presidential race is over.  Turner thinks the future of health care policy will be a huge issue in this campaign.

“This is a huge decision for the American people.  What direction do you want your health care system to go in for the next generation?  Do you want to go toward even more government control of the system with a Medicare for all, which is really mandatory Medicaid with no choices or do you want to finally have a properly-functioning market so that you the consumer are in the driver’s seat,” said Turner.

Turner says the crux of the Health Care Choices Act is moving power out of Washington.

“The reason this plan is different is that it realizes the federal government is completely out of its element in regulating, overseeing, managing, micromanaging something as regional and personal as health care.

“We believe the states, which by the way have decades of experience in overseeing health insurance markets, can spend this money more wisely and will have incentives to give their citizens more choices,” said Turner.

In addition, Turner says this approach will protect Americans with pre-existing conditions while lowering premiums due to a provision in the existing law, known as Section 1332.

“It gives states the ability to say, ‘Let me take some of this money that is currently going to insurance companies, and instead re-purpose it to give additional support for people who have high health care costs, who have expensive chronic conditions, and use some of that money to separately subsidize them so that the people in the general pool don’t have to pay such high premiums to cross-subsidize them,” said Turner.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Turner’s extended explanation of the legislation, what the results have been in states where some of the main concepts have been tried, and why there will still need to be federal “guardrails” if the bill passes.

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Bernie Rakes in Cash, Castro Calls for Open Borders, Left vs. Free Speech

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America worry that Republicans and Democrats are underestimating Sen. Bernie Sanders’ chances in 2020 after the 77-year-old socialist from Vermont blew his competition out of the water by raising $18 million in his first six weeks. They also remember that Julian Castro is running after the former DNC darling from Texas called for decriminalizing illegal border crossings. And they unload on CNN’s Christiane Amanpour after she asks former FBI Director James Comey whether the federal government should have clamped down on chants of “lock her up” against Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

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House GOP Tries to Force Vote on Infanticide Ban

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House Republicans are now trying to force a vote on legislation requiring medical care for babies who are born following attempted abortions, after Democrats rejected numerous GOP efforts to get a vote on the infanticide ban.

On Tuesday, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise brought a discharge petition to the House floor so members could sign it.  If a majority of House members sign on, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be required to call for a vote.

“Let the members vote to end, frankly, infanticide in America,” said Americans United for Life Chief Legal Officer Steven Aden, who was in the chamber for the signings and at a press conference later in the day.

So far the discharge petition has 190 signatures, meaning Republicans are at least a couple dozen signatures short of a majority.  But the petition stays open for the remainder of the current Congress, which runs through the end of 2020.  Aden is not giving up and thinks more Democrats will join the effort if they feel the heat from their constituents.

“We’re hopeful, but they need to hear from the American people,” said Aden.

Democrats offer a series of objections to the legislation, the most common being that infanticide is already banned through the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which was passed in the early days of the George W. Bush administration.

Aden says that law is good but there’s a major problem with it.

“Unfortunately, that bill was a paper tiger.  It simply states that infants that are born alive after an abortion are persons and ought to receive medical attention but there’s no teeth to it,” said Aden.

Listen to the full podcast top hear Aden explain why he believes organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America are so ardently opposed to saving the lives of babies living outside their mothers.

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