Bush Adminis News Today

If Social Security personal retirement accounts had been availableto baby boomers, they would have substantially increased the babyboomers' net worth, especially among low-wealth families.Additionally, the gain in retirement security would be between$41,000 and $214,000 at age 65, in inflation-adjusted 2001 dollars.

A united transatlantic commitment to what is currently anindeterminable timetable for victory is essential if Europe andAmerica are to confront the domestic and global network ofextremists intent on annihilating the West and its allies, but theEU is not a replacement for the valuable relationships andbilateral alliances that the United States has carefully craftedover decades.

Despite the ongoing war against Islamic terrorists and the need tomeet enduring national security requirements, the defense budget isnot large. By itself, it poses no threat to the overall economy.With the future of free peoples at stake, spending 4 percent of thenational economy for defense is well worth the cost.

The debate over missile defense has shifted from whether missile defense should be pursued as a matter of principle to whether deploying such a defense will be effective in practice. Victory inthe debate over the principle of fielding a missile defense must befollowed by victory in the debate over fielding a truly effectivedefense for the American people.

State officials must decide whether to use existing governmenthealth care funding to help individuals and families buy healthinsurance or continue funneling taxpayer dollars into existinghealth care institutions to defray the costs of emergency-room carefor the uninsured. Transferring Medicaid dollars to help poorerindividuals and families access solid private coverage can begin tochange the broader health care system.

America's space platforms are the strategic center of its defensearchitecture, and China wants them eliminated. China's newanti-satellite weapons programs are targeted exclusively on theUnited States: a capability that constitutes unmistakable evidenceof intent.

(Archived document, may contain errors)

The Index of Dependency plots the growth of federal programs thatsubstitute for similar initiatives at lower levels of governmentand civil society.  It increased during the 60s and 70s due tothe federal government's proliferation, and also since 1980 becauseof administrations' reluctance to reduce the federal government'ssize.

The debate over missile defense has shifted from whether missiledefense should be pursued as a matter of principle to whetherdeploying such a defense will be effective in practice. Victory inthe debate over the principle of fielding a missile defense must befollowed by victory in the debate over fielding a truly effectivedefense for the American people.

The United States needs a disaster response system that is built onthe principle of federalism. FEMA should focus its efforts onpreparing to respond to catastrophic disasters like HurricaneKatrina, and Congress should establish a higher threshold fortriggering federal disaster declarations and encourage states andlocal communities to implement responsible public safety andemergency response programs.