Legislation

Despite a Senate vote in favor of repealing the medical device tax, don't bet on manufacturers escaping the new tax. On Thursday, the Senate approved an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn., that expressed support for repeal of the tax, part of the Affordable Care Act. However, the amendment, passed in a 79-20 vote, is non-binding. Observers say the vote gave many senators political cover to support manufacturers in their states without actually voting to repeal the tax....More

Hedrick Smith is a capitalist, he reminds me midway through our conversation about his new book, “Who Stole the American Dream?” (557 pages, Random House, $30.00). He spent time as a correspondent for The New York Times in Moscow and saw up close the evils of Russian communism. And for 20 years, he has run his own production company, which has produced more than 20 award-winning PBS prime time specials and miniseries. “I have had to meet payrolls,” notes the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was part of the Pentagon Papers reporting team....More