Policy Documents

The Heartlander: June-July 2008

edited by Diane Carol Bast –
June 1, 2008

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

July 31: Friedman Legacy Luncheon

No economist in the twentieth century was more influential than Milton Friedman, who passed away in November 2006, and the impact of his ideas will extend far into the future.

To honor Friedman, and to recognize his influence and examine its full import, July 31, 2008 has been declared the second annual Milton Friedman Legacy Day -- a celebration of the economist’s positive impact on American life and business, and the spread of the benefits of free markets to nations around the globe.

On Thursday, July 31, Heartland will host a luncheon to honor Friedman’s legacy. Robert Chitester, a long-time confidant of Friedman and CEO of Free to Choose Media, which produced Friedman’s seminal PBS-TV series, “Free to Choose,” will be the featured speaker.

The event will take place at Lloyd’s restaurant, at the corner of Madison Street and Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago. Registration opens at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at 12:00 noon. Registration is $16 in advance for Heartland members; $20 in advance for non-members; and $25 at the door.

Seating is limited, so please register today by calling Tonya Houston at 312/377-4000. Or register online at http://friedmanlegacylunch.eventsbot.com/.

October 2: Fifth Annual Emerging Issues Forum and 24th Anniversary Benefit Dinner

Heartland will host its fifth annual Emerging Issues Forum, and celebrate its 24th anniversary, on Thursday, October 2 in downtown Chicago.

The Emerging Issues Forum will be held in Cathedral Hall of the University Club, 76 East Monroe Street, Chicago.

The 24th Anniversary Benefit Dinner will take place at the Hilton Chicago Hotel at 720 South Michigan Avenue. Peter Brimelow -- editor of VDare.com and a columnist for CBS MarketWatch -- and Jacob Hornberger -- founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation -- have agreed to face off in a debate over immigration policy.

Pricing and program details are still being worked out ... but mark your calendar today and watch this space, as well as Heartland’s Web site at http://www.heartland.org, for details.

NEW MEDIA

New Media Products from The Heartland Institute

Heartland produces an increasing number of educational products available online or on DVDs and CDs. Some of these products are available to Heartland members and donors for free in limited supplies. Call 312/377-4000 for more information.

Web Sites

Consumers for Health Care Choices -- http://www.chcchoices.org

Consumers for Health Care Choices (CHCC), directed by health policy expert Greg Scandlen, is now a project of The Heartland Institute. The CHCC Web site explains the CHCC’s mission -- “bringing freedom of choice in health care to all Americans and putting the consumer in the driver’s seat of the health care system” -- and introduces the group’s founders, members, and programs. During the coming months the site will be linked to Heartland’s main site and boosted by the addition of new research and commentary and links to resources currently available, but difficult to find, on Heartland’s Web site. Sign up for Scandlen’s weekly e-newsletter -- “Consumer Power Report” -- to stay current with the latest developments in this important policy arena.

Global Warming Facts -- http://www.globalwarmingheartland.org

Global Warming Facts is a leading portal for research and commentary on the global warming controversy. Find out about the many people Al Gore refuses to debate, get access to the latest research from experts around the world, and learn how to contact more than one hundred scientists who have courageously spoken out against global warming alarmism. Also on the site: links to videos and PowerPoint presentations available online.

Videos and PowerPoints

The Great Global Warming Swindle (DVD 2:00:21) -- $19.99

“The Great Global Warming Swindle,” produced by Martin Durkin and originally broadcast on British television, is the best documentary film yet produced in response to Al Gore’s inaccurate and misleading “An Inconvenient Truth.” The film features interviews with a “Who’s Who” of the world’s leading scientists and economists who dispute the notion that most or all of the modern warming is man-made or that the consequences would be catastrophic. If your child has been forced to watch “An Inconvenient Truth” in school, insist that “Swindle” be shown as well.

Unstoppable Solar Cycles (DVD 10:39) -- Free!

Is global warming natural and unstoppable? This video is short (10 minutes), fast-moving, educational, and yet scientifically accurate. It features two leading climate scientists -- Dr. David Legates and Dr. Willie Soon -- explaining why the current warming trend is probably natural -- the result of solar cycles -- and therefore is unstoppable. Produced by The Idea Channel, it’s perfect for children and classroom use.

Hon. Vaclav Klaus Address to the United Nations (DVD 8:00) -- Free!

The Hon. Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, was invited by the Secretary General of the United Nations to comment on proposals for greater national efforts to address the possible threat of global warming. Klaus delivered a stirring eight-minute speech rebutting global warming alarmism, calling into question the competence of government agencies to reliably identify and address environmental problems, and recommending the creation of an independent agency to fact-check the controversial reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Understanding Visual Exhibits in the Global Warming Debate (CD, narrated PowerPoint) -- Free!

Because the science of climate change is complex and always changing, the most persuasive ideas and theories are those that have been captured in compelling graphs and images. Graphs showing temperature changes over the past century and rising carbon dioxide concentrations, and images of polar bears on melting icebergs, have been offered as substitutes for more detailed understanding. How reliable are these graphs and images? Ronald Rychlak, a law professor and author of the leading textbook on the use of visual exhibits in the courtroom, explains how global warming alarmists often manipulate graphs and other images to mislead, rather than inform, the public.

Stupid in America: How We Cheat Our Kids (DVD 38:30) -- $12.99

In 2006, ABC News correspondent John Stossel shocked millions of parents by offering proof that public schools in the U.S. are lagging far behind their counterparts in other developed countries. Using on-site meetings with teachers, students, and parents, Stossel directly confronts the widespread attitudes and outright myths that are cheating our kids out of the quality educations they deserve. Heartland distributed more than 75,000 copies of this DVD in 2007.

ENVIRONMENT

“I wanted to let you know how some of Heartland’s work has helped me in San Diego.

“A local high school student approached Chris Horner [of the Competitive Enterprise Institute] requesting a presentation to balance the Al Gore “Inconvenient Truth” line they are getting. Chris referred it to me since I live here and made a GW presentation to the SD World Affairs Council.

“The high school basically stonewalled me and indicated they were not interested. They did an about-face when I pointed out [the] California State Board of Education’s position on teaching scientific ethics. I learned that from this article from you: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23074

“They plan to schedule my presentation this fall. I’m hoping to use this as a springboard to present to lots of San Diego high schools.”

San Diego, California

 

Environment & Climate News

The May 2008 issue of Environment & Climate News exposes the efforts of California middle-school teacher Michael Steria to brainwash his sixth-grade students with unfounded global warming alarmism. It also reports on the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, a government land grab in Utah, plastic bags, recycling, carbon taxes, pest control, nuclear power, the Clean Water Act, Grand Canyon flooding, and more.

Unstoppable Solar Cycles

Heartland has been working closely with allies at The Idea Channel to distribute copies of the powerful 10-minute DVD, Unstoppable Solar Cycles: The Real Story of Greenland. Nearly 475,000 copies have been distributed.

Of those, some 200,000 were distributed with the April 21 issue of National Review magazine. Another 140,000 were polybagged with copies of Environment & Climate News and School Reform News, and tens of thousands more are being distributed with copies of Unstoppable Global Warming. We also distributed some 36,000 copies to lists of “influentials” in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, accompanied by copies of our Scientific Consensus on Global Warming booklet.

We also advertised the DVD’s availability in the June issue of Analog: Science Fiction & Fact -- the longest-running (almost)-continuously published science fiction magazine in the world -- from which we have received more than two dozen requests.

The DVD is attracting significant, positive attention, as evidenced by some of the comments received by The Idea Channel:

 

  • I have taken the same stand, that these are natural cycles, and I hate to see the world get so upset about global warming. This DVD hits the nail on the head.

 

 

  • Congratulations on a very important message presented extremely well.

 

 

  • I have been against the global warming fraud and the IPCC for a couple years now and have been on my own “global cooling” soapbox. Your DVD legitimizes much of what I’ve been saying to family and friends for a long time. I hope to be able to get equal time in local schools and other venues.

 

 

  • It’s about time somebody took a scientific approach to the question of global climate changes instead of jumping on the hysterical bandwagon that is all the vogue today. I am so infuriated at the continual stream of political nonsense that my students are being bombarded by and being sold as “science.” It is refreshing to see an intelligent discussion on the subject.

 

 

  • Thank you so much for including this wonderful rebuttal to the enviro-crazies. I am a 6th grade teacher in upstate NY. I am a lone conservative voice in my 6-12 high school. My daughter also attends this school and has seen Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” twice in one year! ... I am showing this tomorrow in my 6th grade class with a lesson designed to coincide with Earth Day.

 

 

  • We were delighted to receive our copy along with “National Review.” As a credible and concise explanation of solar cycles and natural climate cycles, it is a wonderful rebuttal when someone starts lamenting abut “global warming” -- the political version.

 

 

  • I received and enjoyed a copy of Unstoppable Solar Cycles: The Real Story of Greenland in my last issue of National Review. I found the program informative and entertaining and I am going to share it with my child’s high school as a counterpoint to some of the global warming issues they are presented. The school is Valley Lutheran High School, in Saginaw Michigan. The DVD will be played in a science and/or global issues classroom.

 

 

  • Your video, “Unstoppable Solar Cycles,” is excellent and very easy to understand for the average citizen who may be a victim of the global warming hysteria, which could destroy our economy.

 

 

  • I am in middle school and we have a science project. Guess what it is? A “public service announcement” telling about global warming. Instead of doing what most of my classmates will do, rant on and on about how global warming is ruining the earth, I plan to use parts of your DVD to tell my classmates and teachers that global warming is a hoax! The DVD was very well put together and it made the most sense of any global warming theory I’ve ever heard!

 

Polar Bears

On May 14, the U.S. Department of the Interior decided to list polar bears as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act. The decision was based on predictions that future global warming will negatively affect polar bear populations.

Heartland has been actively engaged in that debate. On April 2, we distributed a news release reporting the findings of an audit of the government’s forecasting techniques, conducted by three scientists who spoke at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. One of the scientists, J. Scott Armstrong of the University of Pennsylvania, noted, “the government forecasters followed fewer than one-sixth of the relevant principles of scientific forecasting. The bottom line is that the government studies are irrelevant to the question whether polar bears are endangered or threatened.”

Within minutes of the Interior Department’s announcement, Heartland distributed a media advisory with comments on the decision from Armstrong, Heartland Senior Fellow James M. Taylor, and Robert Ferguson, president of the Science and Public Policy Institute.

On May 15, Heartland Executive Vice President Dan Miller appeared on WTTW television’s “Chicago Tonight” program as one of three panelists discussing the decision. Miller dismissed the decision as being based more on politics than science.

In the News

On March 26, the Baltimore Sun (circ. 232,138) published a letter to the editor by Heartland Senior Fellow James M. Taylor, who writes, “Global warming is a scientific issue, not a religious issue. Either human action is causing a climate catastrophe or it is not. If humans are causing a climate catastrophe, you don’t have to be religious to seek solutions.”

Also on March 26, Investor’s Business Daily (circ. 172,618) quoted Heartland President Joseph Bast in a column on “Enviro-Harassment.” Bast noted, “The environmental movement has been taken over by anti-capitalist radicals who are using it to wage war against capitalism and campaign for liberal Democrats. Protecting the environment is now number three, or lower, on their list of priorities.”

On April 9, Heartland distributed a statement by Taylor to coincide with Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearings on the Clean Water Restoration Act. Taylor warned, “There would be no limit to the reach of federal power under the new bill.”

On April 12, The Wall Street Journal (circ. 2,011,882) published a letter to the editor by Taylor concerning new energy technologies. He writes, “If [Fred] Krupp [president of Environmental Defense] truly believed what he is peddling, he would invest the Environmental Defense Fund’s substantial financial resources in these new technologies, and go make a financial killing, rather than lobbying government to intervene and restrict market choices.”

On April 14, Heartland released a media advisory addressing the conclusions of a Budapest, Hungary meeting on climate change, where speakers warned that future global warming will cause floods and droughts, putting world water and food supplies at risk. Dr. Madhav L. Khandekar, an expert reviewer for the IPCC’s 2007 climate change report, and Dr. Craig Idso, chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, were quoted in Heartland’s statement as disagreeing with that assessment.

On April 16, Heartland released a media advisory with expert comments on President George W. Bush’s proposed initiative on global warming and the curtailment of greenhouse gases. The statement quoted Sterling Burnett of the National Center for Policy Analysis, Robert Ferguson of the Science and Public Policy Institute, S. Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project, and Heartland Senior Fellow James M. Taylor.

Also on April 16, Heartland issued a news release with Taylor’s comments on a new study, published in the March 2008 issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, that finds global warming can’t be blamed for an increase in the number of hurricanes over the past 27 years.

On April 18, Heartland issued a news release responding to a Yale University-hosted meeting of state governors calling for restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. Taylor notes, “Yale University is blessed with such outstanding scholars as Professors Robert Mendelsohn and William Nordhaus, both of whom have concluded that the rash action advocated by these governors is unwise. Curiously, the promoters of this political event appear to have overlooked the contributions of such prestigious scholars.”

On May 6, Heartland issued a media advisory commenting on the U.S. Senate’s introduction of the Domestic Energy Production Act. Taylor, Kenneth Green of the American Enterprise Institute, and Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute contend the proposed legislation would significantly reduce energy prices.

On the Air

On March 18, Heartland Science Director Jay Lehr appeared on Florida’s Jerry Hughes Show to discuss the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.

On March 31, Lehr appeared on the Chuck Harder Show, nationally broadcast through TalkStar® Radio, to discuss the future of nuclear energy in U.S.

In March and April, Heartland Senior Fellow Maureen Martin appeared three times on two radio programs -- Paul Malloy of Freedom Works, and The Mike Rosen Show -- to discuss letters sent by 6th graders in California, denouncing Heartland’s position on global warming.

On April 1, Heartland President Joseph Bast appeared on CNN’s Glenn Beck Program to discuss global warming and a recent interview of Al Gore on “60 Minutes.”

On April 18, Lehr appeared on The Rutherford Show, a talk radio program in Canada, to discuss the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.

On April 22, Taylor appeared on Mitch Albom’s talk radio show, syndicated from Detroit, to discuss global warming and Earth Day.

On the Road

On April 11, Heartland Vice President Sandy Bourne discussed global warming and climate change policy in a speech delivered at a Washington, DC event of the Conservative Women’s Network, a monthly luncheon meeting hosted at The Heritage Foundation with the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Her presentation was covered by C-SPAN.

On April 14-15, Taylor staffed a table at the annual meeting and expo of the Radio and Television News Directors Association in Las Vegas. He displayed 15 charts from Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Planet and distributed 200 copies of the “Unstoppable Solar Cycles” DVD.

On April 21, Heartland was among several organizations represented at the launch of Americans for Prosperity’s Hot Air Tour (http://www.hotairtour.org/), a nationwide hot air balloon tour that will expose the unaffordable costs of climate change legislation.

On April 24, Taylor spoke on energy topics to roughly 100 people attending a meeting of the Upper Peninsula Power Company at Northern Michigan University.

On April 25, Bourne served on a global warming panel at The Heritage Foundation’s 31st Annual Resource Bank Meeting in Atlanta.

On April 28, Taylor delivered a presentation on global warming to some 250 people at Kennett High School in North Conway, New Hampshire.

On May 1, Taylor delivered a presentation on global warming at the annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists. Two hundred people attended.

Between May 6 and May 8, Heartland Director Jim Johnston attended and spoke at the annual meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education in Las Vegas. He reports “it was a grand gathering of the policy wonk clan.” This year’s event focused on free-market environmentalism. Johnston presented a paper that looked at the trading of sulfur dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. He also staffed a table for Heartland material, from which he distributed copies of Environment & Climate News, Energy Policy for America, Unstoppable Global Warming, “Understanding Visual Exhibits in the Global Warming Debate,” Heartland bumper stickers, and several DVDs.

On May 17, Taylor testified before a committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives on nuclear power.

Also on May 17, Taylor presented “An Inconvenient Truth” and “The Great Global Warming Swindle” to 150 students at Elk River, Minnesota, Senior High School.

On May 21-23, Taylor spoke at the 2008 Western Interstate Region Conference of the National Association of Counties in St. George, Utah. He distributed 400 copies of Environment & Climate News along with a free subscription form.

On June 21, Taylor will speak on global warming at the annual meeting of the Outdoor Writers Association in Bismarck, North Dakota. One hundred people are expected to attend.

Editorial Cartoons

A group of 46 cartoonists teamed up for an Earth Day campaign to call for action on global warming. Brian Costin, Heartland’s assistant director of government relations, was quoted online in two publications, Bloomberg online and the Times Record News (circ. 37,984) in Wichita Falls, Texas, as saying, “It’s hard to get the details into an editorial cartoon. If they’re on the hyper-alarming side, it might be kind of entertaining, but it doesn’t give the kind of facts that are important to making policy.”

Research & Commentary

Costin sent a Research & Commentary addressing carbon cap-and-trade schemes to members of state legislatures, Congress, and the Heartland Legislative Forum. “As the scientific community becomes increasingly skeptical of claims that global warming is manmade and portends a crisis,” Costin writes, “government calls for carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade systems are premature at best and economically disastrous at worst.” The Research & Commentary is available online at http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23049.

On May 6, we sent a Research & Commentary on ethanol fuel to elected officials in nearly three dozen states with a specific interest in energy issues, as well as members of Congress and Heartland’s Legislative Forum, our think tank allies, and subscribers to Environment & Climate News. The Research & Commentary is available online at http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23208.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care News

The May 2008 issue of Health Care News reports on individual insurance mandates, regulation of pharmaceutical marketing, health savings accounts, online physician evaluation, and the failure of government health care reform.

The June issue highlights the failures of single-payer health care systems in Canada and Russia. It also reports on Cover the Uninsured Week; health care reform proposals in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire; and union organizing, patent protections, e-health, insurance regulation, and child abuse.

On the Road

On April 9, Brian Costin, Heartland’s assistant director of government relations, attended a Chamber of Commerce Health Care Reform Legislative Symposium in Springfield, Illinois. The symposium highlighted alternative approaches to reform successfully implemented in other states. A few dozen legislators from both sides of the aisle attended the event. The legislators and all in the audience received two Heartland publications, Health Care News and Ten Principles of Health Care Policy.

While in Springfield, Costin met with the staffs of nine Illinois members of Heartland’s Legislative Forum to discuss health care issues.

On April 18, Heartland Senior Fellow Dr. Richard Dolinar spoke on evidence-based medicine for the Colorado Ambulatory Surgery Center Association in Englewood, Colorado. Approximately 150 attended the event, where copies of Health Care News and forms offering free subscriptions to the newspaper were distributed.

On May 5-7, 500 copies of the March issue of Health Care News were distributed at the Consumer Health World Conference in Las Vegas.

On May 19-23, Heartland Vice President Latreece Vankinscott staffed the Heartland exhibit at the Medical Records Institute’s 24th annual Towards the Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. More than 2,000 people attended, hundreds of them stopping at the Heartland booth to pick up copies of Health Care News, Ten Principles of Health Care Policy, and other Heartland publications.

In the News

On May 8, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed landmark legislation pushing Georgia’s health care system in a market-based direction. Health policy experts contacted by The Heartland Institute were quick to praise the legislation. We issued a media advisory with comments from Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis, Jim Frogue of the Center for Health Transformation, Greg Scandlen of Consumers for Health Care Choices, Paul Guppy of the Washington Policy Center, Kevin Wrege of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, and Rep. Doug Cox, M.D., chairman of the Public Health Committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

EDUCATION

School Reform News

The May 2008 issue of School Reform News addresses from several angles a February California court decision that parents have no right to homeschool their own children. It also reports on school choice news from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming; the federal education budget; racial assignment to schools in Iowa; dropouts and a college awareness campaign; school finance; and more. Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute reviews Troublemaker: A Personal History of School Reform Since Sputnik, noting author “Chester E. Finn ultimate refuses to acknowledge what all his experience shows: The emperor has not clothes at all.”

The June issue reports on a Florida commission’s decision to give voters an opportunity to pave the constitutional way for vouchers in the state, plus No Child Left Behind, A Nation at Risk, choice in Idaho and Louisiana and charters in Tennessee, teacher tenure and alternative certification, First Amendment rights for school choice advocates, a possible state takeover of local school districts in Arizona, global warming indoctrination, and more.

In the News

On April 6, the Los Angeles Times (circ. 779,682) published a letter to the editor by Karla Dial, managing editor of School Reform News, who writes, “Thank you for the excellent article about the unprecedented step Muir High School is taking in its restructuring -- requiring all the people who work there to reapply for their jobs."

On April 16, Heartland Senior Fellow George Clowes appeared on the Dan Lavallo Show, airing on WDRC Radio, “The Talk of Connecticut,” to discuss the release of Heartland’s School Choice Report Card. Connecticut ranked poorly on the Report Card.

On April 23, The Wall Street Journal (circ. 2,011,882) published a letter to the editor by Clowes defending school choice.

In late April, a legislative commission in Florida agreed to give voters a chance to reverse a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision that voided a school voucher program. Heartland issued a media advisory responding to that decision, with comments from Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute, Vicki Murray of the Pacific Research Institute, and Richard Moss, a member of the Utah State Board of Education.

Events and Exhibiting

On April 25, Heartland cosponsored with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute a luncheon addressing the topic, “Who Will Save America’s Catholic Schools?” Roughly 40 people attended the luncheon, which featured Michael Petrilli, vice president of national programs and policy for the Fordham Institute, as the keynote speaker.

On June 22-25, Heartland Vice President Latreece Vankinscott will exhibit at the National Charter School Conference in New Orleans. This is Heartland’s third year as a media sponsor for the conference.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & TELECOM

InfoTech & Telecom News

The May 2008 issue of InfoTech & Telecom News offers several articles on the subject of network neutrality and how Internet service providers are voluntarily adopting technologies that make legislation on the matter increasingly unnecessary. It also covers municipal broadband, video games, immigration reform, satellite radio, Internet and wireless taxes, mobile computing, Bain-Huawei-3Com, and more.

The June issue highlights news from municipal wi-fi systems in Illinois, Colorado, and Florida ... on buses, in state parks, and at golf courses. It also reports on network neutrality, copyright law, Maryland’s “tech tax,” e-voting, online safety, Google Street View, music downloading, e-waste recycling, Yahoo, TiVo vs. Dish, the spectrum auction, and more.

In the News, On the Air

On April 16, Joshua Treviño, managing editor of InfoTech & Telecom News, appeared on the Jerry Hughes talk radio show to discuss network neutrality, municipal w-fi, and government control of the Internet.

On April 28, The Wall Street Journal Asia (circ.80,000) published an oped by Treviño. It is reprinted on page 2 of this Heartlander.

BUDGET & TAX

Budget & Tax News

The June 2008 issue of Budget & Tax News features a series of articles addressing unionization of public- and private-sector labor, prevailing-wage rules, and labor union finances. It also covers sales taxes in Chicago, a court ruling against new taxes levied in northern Virginia, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s plan to spend less in FY 2009 than in 2008; plus veto news from Minnesota and Wisconsin; Washington’s tax cap; climate change proposals in North Carolina; tobacco taxes, postal service reform, airport privatization, phone taxes and regulations; and more.

In the News

On March 26, the Chicago Sun-Times (circ. 496,030) published an oped by Heartland Research Fellow Steve Stanek, who comments on proposals for privatization of Chicago’s Midway Airport. He notes, “Daley’s proposal would barely raise an eyebrow in much of Europe or Asia, where scores of major airports are privately operated, including, since 1987, London’s three main airports and four Scottish ones.”

On March 28, the Sun-Times published a letter to the editor by Heartland Policy Advisor John Skorburg, an economist and former editor of Budget & Tax News, who applauded the newspaper for Stanek’s oped and noted, “For the past decade, Pittsburgh has contracted its Airmall shopping services privately, leading to a 2003 top five award for major airports by a national travel magazine. If Pittsburgh International Airport can thrive in this private field, certainly Midway Airport can, too, on an even larger scale of privatization.”

INSURANCE & FINANCE

Insurance Regulation

On April 1, Heartland Legislative Specialist Matthew Glans wrote and distributed a media advisory on the Bush administration’s proposed insurance regulatory changes. The release, available online at http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23026, was sent to legislators with a special interest in insurance issues and the media.

Glans also distributed a Research & Commentary on property and casualty insurance to legislators in Florida and Pennsylvania, following up with individual telephone calls.

Payday Lending

In response to payday lending measures proposed in state legislatures, Glans distributed a Research & Commentary on payday lending to legislators in Colorado, Louisiana, and Ohio. Ohio is considering a 28 percent payday loan interest rate cap -- a move that would essentially kill the industry. Glans is currently tracking this legislation.

On May 5, a letter to the editor by Glans criticizing Ohio’s proposed payday loan interest cap was printed in the Akron Beacon Journal (circ. 122,388) and distributed to Ohio legislators. “By placing an interest rate cap on short-term or payday loans, the state is essentially dooming these businesses to failure,” Glans wrote. He received a positive response from several legislative offices on the issue.

A payday lending ban was recently enacted in New Hampshire, and proposed bans were pending at press time in South Carolina and Virginia.

Subprime Lending

Bills intended to help struggling homeowners with government mortgage bailouts have been proposed in several states. A Research & Commentary on subprime lending and the problems with bailouts was sent by Glans to elected officials in Connecticut and Mississippi.

On the Air, in the News

On March 28, Executive Vice President Dan Miller appeared on the Betsy Hart radio program, airing on WYLL-AM 1180 in Illinois, to discuss financial markets.

On April 4, Eli Lehrer, author of Heartland’s Property & Casualty Insurance Report Card, appeared on North Carolina’s Morning News with Jack Boston, airing on WPTF-AM, to discuss North Carolina’s “F” grade on the Report Card.

On April 21, The Wall Street Journal (circ. 2,011,882) published a letter to the editor by Legislative Specialist Matthew Glans about proposals for an optional federal charter (OFC) for insurance companies. He writes, “The OFC levels the playing field, modernizing the insurance industry and allowing it to be competitive both domestically and globally.”

On April 24, the Palm Beach Post (circ.175,495) published an editorial citing the Property & Casualty Report Card. Florida ranked among the worst states in the nation for its heavy-handed regulation of property and casualty insurers.

On April 25, a letter to the editor by Glans, responding to Florida’s precarious insurance environment, was printed in the St. Petersburg Times (circ. 288,807). “While the providers are not blameless, it is not fair to shift responsibility totally to insurers,” he writes. “Florida’s insurance environment is hampered by excessive regulation that discourages new providers from entering the market.” Glans followed up by distributing the letter by email to legislators in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

On the Road

On April 14-15, Glans attended a two-day research symposium on insurance regulations at the Searle Center at Northwestern University. The main topics discussed were the optional federal charter and the effectiveness of state versus federal insurance regulation.

URBAN AFFAIRS

Walker Honored

On May 3, Heartland Senior Fellow Lee H. Walker was one of three black leaders honored at the 11th Annual Awards Benefit of 100 Black Men of Chicago, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of life and enhancing educational opportunity for African-American males throughout the Greater Chicago area. Walker was honored for his extensive community service and mentoring of young men. Parts of the award ceremony were televised.

In the News, On the Air

On April 1, Walker appeared on the Santita Jackson Show to discuss presidential politics and the question, “Would you vote for Condoleezza Rice?”

On April 7, The Washington Times (circ. 100,258) cited Walker in an article on the cost of congestion. According to the article, Walker “criticized the New York City congestion-pricing proposal, calling it a form of economic discrimination.”

On April 10, the Chicago Tribune (circ. 559,404) published a letter to the editor by Walker, who wrote, “The country, the community, and folks in leadership positions must discuss the issue of race and it must be both ways.”

On April 14, the Chicago Sun-Times (circ. 496,030) published a letter to the editor by Walker about recent shootings of school-age youth in Chicago. He wrote, “Well, at last there seems to be community outrage about Chicago’s public school system, where black students in particular are killing each other. ... It seems as if change may be on the way.”

On May 21, Walker was quoted in USA Today (circ. 2,293,137) in an article about Benjamin Jealous's hiring as the new president of the NAACP. Walker encouraged the organization to start paying more attention to serious public policy issues affecting the black community.