Daily Policy Digest
| The Case for Across-the-Board Spending Cuts Virtually every government program, from defense to Social Security, has grown by an average of 35 percent between 2008 and 2013... |
| Reforming Medicare's Cost-Sharing Requirements Reforming Medicare's cost-sharing requirements could reduce government spending by billions... |
| Republicans Must Provide Clear Economic Outlook Republicans need to provide a fresh outlook on the benefits of conservative economics while explaining the Great Recession in terms of the free market... |
| Why Differentiating between Taxes and Fees Is Important By labeling taxes as different things, such as a fee or surcharge, policymakers are avoiding legal protections for taxpayers that have been in place for many years... |
| Global Warming Slows to Crawl, Puzzles Scientists Research shows that temperature increases since 2005 are already at the low end of projections derived from 20 climate models... |
| Rare Earths Mining Potential in the United States States with rare earths resources could increase gross state product by almost $40 billion, add nearly 3,600 shovel-ready jobs and improve state revenues by $724 million... |
| Increased Farm Productivity Returns Farmland to Nature In the United States, corn production grew 17-fold between 1860 and 2010, yet more land was planted in corn in 1925 than in 2010... |
| Debt on the Rise for Seniors Between 2000 and 2011, the median amount of household debt for Americans older than age 65 more than doubled from $12,702 to about $26,000... |
| Food Stamp Use Swells as Unemployment Recedes The number of people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits rose 70 percent between 2008 and December 2012 to a record 47.8 million individuals... |
| Falling Fertility Rates The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the lifetime costs of medical care, primary education, clothing and food for a child are over $200,000 alone... |
