Cindy McCain Pays Back Taxes on San Diego Condo | Newsweek Scope

FACTCHECK.ORG
Going Out of Business?
Justin Bank 10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM
A government report the ad refers to says the trust fund for one part of Medicare – hospital insurance – won't have enough money to pay all benefits in 2017. Medicare's physician and drug benefits will "remain adequately financed," says the report.
Forsaking Florida
Linda Stern 9/25/2009 12:00:00 AM
With its beautiful beaches, low taxes, and great golf courses, Florida used to pull retirees in by the millions. Now real-estate prices have collapsed and unemployment has skyrocketed. Some retirees are returning to points north, and a new generation is not intent on repopulating the Sunshine State.
An Expensive Health-Care Agenda
Robert J. Samuelson 9/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
When he addresses Congress tonight, one of President Obama's central tasks will be to convince Americans that he’s serious about controlling health costs. Of course, the president already claims that he is. He's repeatedly emphasized the need to rein in runaway health spending, which he rightly portrays as increasing federal budget deficits and depressing workers' take-home pay. The trouble: many, if not most, experts don't believe him. Aside from rhetoric, they don't find much in Congress's various bills that would reduce the torrid pace of health spending.
Death, Republican Style
Jacob Weisberg 8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
The republicans charge that Democratic health care reform would, in Sen. Charles Grassley's words, "pull the plug on Grandma." According to Sen. Jon Kyl, the bills before Congress would ration medical treatment by age. Rep. John Boehner says they promote euthanasia. Sarah Palin has raised the specter of "death panels." Such fears are understandable. It's not preposterous to imagine laws that would try to save money by encouraging the inconvenient elderly to make an early exit. After all, that's been the Republican policy for years.
… And Hates Bambi
Steve Tuttle 8/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
What else are we to conclude? His election has been a boon for the hunting industry. Gun and ammo sales have gone through the roof, thanks to the fears of many U.S. gun fanciers that the government will soon be going after their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The good news for hunters is that the sales are yielding a federal windfall via the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, which levies an excise tax (about 11 percent) on the sale of firearms and ammunition. That money is handed back to the states each year for habitat and range projects—i.e., the protection of hunting areas, and the promotion of hunting. It can't be diverted to other uses. Ammunition and firearm makers paid about $110 million in excise taxes in the first quarter of 2009, a whopping 43 percent more than they paid during the same period in 2008, according to the Treasury Department's most recent Federal Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Collection Report. The deer don't stand a chance.
The Next Money Pits
8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
California's crippling deficit resulted from overspending, foreclosures, contradicting ballot initiatives, and a two thirds majority needed to pass a budget. But 48 states face deficits, and some are in real danger of falling into the same hole that the Golden State did.