DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
HHS SECRETARY: PRES WAS NOT WARNED OF HEALTHCARE.GOV GLITCHES BEFORE LAUNCH
CHARLES PAYNE: With something as important as the President's signature achievement, you have to get your hands dirty. You start to wonder, how come he doesn't know anything? What do you know? Are your people afraid of you? Something is not right.
DAGEN MCDOWELL: It looks like he's in the dark on purpose. He's abdicated responsibility for the implementation of this law. HHS clearly knew there were problems ahead of time and they didn't do anything about it. The only conclusion I can come up with is it lets him deflect the blame.
CHARLIE GASPARINO: You want your CEO at the top and you want your minions to carry out the orders. I agree with both of you guys. This is a recurring theme with this President.
BEN STEIN: He doesn't like to do work. He's a talker, he's a preacher, he's a guy that can get people worked up, and he is an excellent campaigner. He's a guy that likes to talk; he's not much of a doer. I think he loves the idea of plausible deniability, because it ties in with his basic laziness.
ADAM LASHINSKY: The President of the United States does not write code for a website. The budget showed up during this and that was a national calamity. He was paying attention to that.
NEW PLAN FOR MILEAGE TAX MAY HIT DRIVERS WITH HIGHER COSTS
CHARLES PAYNE: This is going to crush the people that can least afford it. Someone that lives 20 miles away from their job at Walmart is going to get hammered. In NYC the richest people live closest to their jobs. It's stupid. It curbs commerce and initiative.
DAGEN MCDOWELL: It is much fairer though. As we move towards more electric vehicles, you're not using any gas tax at all. Roads get damaged because of use, and you have to pay to repair them.
CHARLIE GASPARINO: It's a regressive tax because it hits poor people. It's fiscally stupid. States will budget for this, and people will drive less. They'll get fewer taxes.
BEN STEIN: I think it's a bad idea. I'm not aware that they aren't going to tax people twice. That seems to be deeply unfair. Not everyone has an electric car. That's very regressive. The intrusion on people's privacy is what worries me.
ADAM LASHINSKY: The gas tax has been a very effective usage tax for many years. This is just reasonable public policy.
WALMART ADDING STORES IN CHINA AS U.S. JOB MARKET STALS
CHARLES PAYNE: It's not about the Fed. It's about a growing global economy. The rest of the world is accepting capitalism while we are rejecting it.
DAGEN MCDOWELL: The US is saturated; Walmart has failed in India, South Korea, Russia, and Germany. In Germany it failed because the men there didn't like the clerks smiling at them. They thought it was flirting.
BEN STEIN: It's a big wide world. Walmart has failed in a few places, but they're the greatest retailer of all time; they'll do great in China. I love Walmart.
ADAM LASHINSKY: Nothing. They've done pretty well in the United States. China will be a new market for them, but that doesn't mean that the US is inhospitable.
"RETIREMENT" STOCKS
CHARLES PAYNE: Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG)
ADAM LASHINSKY: Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA)
BEN STEIN: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B)
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