Why The Unions Don't Like PFI

Labour's Hidden Debt -- And How Not to Fix It, Contentions, June 30, 2009. "If the government wants to spend money on a program — presuming it’s unwilling to simply roll the printing presses — it must choose between two ways of acquiring the needed funds. It can borrow the money, or it can raise it through taxation. Neither source is ideal. The disadvantage of raising taxes is obvious. The disadvantage of borrowing stems from markets taking notice, and — if you do it often and irresponsibly enough — punishing you for it. In Britain, Labour found a third way: i.e., writing very long-term contracts to private firms responsible for building and maintaining capital assets, in return for annual payments."

In Britain, Defense Cuts Impend (Again)

How Not to Cut Spending: More Defense Cuts in Britain Loom, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 30, 2009. "Not so quietly, a new conventional wisdom has taken hold in Britain: defense spending must be cut. Last month, the Economist, in writing about “the end of the New Labour orthodoxy on public spending” – the orthodoxy being that the public sector “should consume an ever-increasing share of national wealth” – stated in passing that only the Liberal Democrats had grasped the need to axe major programs, like Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent. This month, David Halpern, former Chief Analyst in Tony Blair’s Strategy Unit, writes in Prospect magazine that, instead of spending less on 'obesity, climate change or social exclusion,' British ministers should 'use tough decisions as a way of expressing their values—by switching cash out of fighter planes into stimulating our fledgling electric car industry, for example.'"

Cutbacks at Harvard

Harvard Cuts Back, Contentions, June 30, 2009. "Last year at about this time, Harvard’s endowment was $35 billion. In the first four months of the fiscal year, through October 2008, it lost $8 billion. Observers believe the losses may actually total $18 billion. Harvard relies on income from its endowment to cover about 35% of its budget. Late last week, a memo from Harvard President Drew G. Faust put two and two together. The result: 275 layoffs. Harvard had already skipped raises for 9,000 faculty and non-union staff and shed 500 employees through a voluntary early retirement program. It wasn’t enough. The reaction from union organizers at Harvard was predictable. . . ."

Financial Myopia from Finland

Why Europe Fears 'Tax Competition,' Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 29, 2009. "Back in April, after the G20 Summit, we at Heritage warned that the Summit’s attack on tax havens was, at best, an irrelevancy. At worst, it was “the start of a broader campaign to find new sources of money to tax and stigmatize as international wrongdoers states that, as an expression of their national sovereignty, have chosen to have lower taxes.” The idea that states that have lower taxes are committing a crime could not be more wrong. These states are using their political freedom to promote economic freedom. They are benefactors, not malefactors."

Engagement, That Magic Word

Morning Bell: Hot Dog Engagement, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 29, 2009. "If one word can sum up the Obama Administration’s foreign policy, it’s “engagement.” From Cuba, to Iran and the Middle East, to Russia, engagement is the White House’s magic word, an incantation that it uses to justify everything it does. Engagement’s the improved, touchy-feely way of announcing that you plan to rely on diplomacy, and it’s all the more attractive to liberals as a result."

What's An Ambassadorial Post Worth?

Ambassadorial Posts to Covet – And One to Avoid, Contentions, June 26, 2009.

Koh Denies -- And It Works

At the President’s Suggestion – And Now, At His Command, Contentions, June 25, 2009.

Britain's Role in Spreading Islamism

Britain's Islamist Pipeline, Contentions, June 25, 2009.

Harold Koh on Feminist Justice

A ‘Distinctly “Feminist Procedure” ’, Contentions, June 23, 2009.

Public Sector Productivity in Britain

Spend More, Waste More, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 23, 2009.

Bipartisan Support for Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties

Senatorial Backing for U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 23, 2009.

Britain, Europe, and Obama

An Especially Fraught Relationship as Obama Backs Europe's Federal Future, Yorkshire Post, June 15, 2009.

The Obama-Berlusconi Summit

The Obama-Berlusconi White House Meeting: Advancing U.S.-Italian Cooperation, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #2483, June 12, 2009.

Encouraging News on US-UK Defense Ties

The Obama Administration Supports the U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 10, 2009.

Better Than I Expected

The Obama Administration's Treaty Priorities, Contentions, June 10, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (More After)

Labour's Loss: Britain's New Conservative Moment, New Ledger, June 10, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (After)

The Labour Party and the EU Take a Beating in Britain's Elections, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 8, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (During)

Britain Polls, Brown Sinks, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 5, 2009.

UKIP, the Expenses Scandal, and the Elections

Two Surprises in Britain's Elections, Contentions, June 5, 2009.