Research and Commentaries
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Research & Commentary: The Effect of ObamaCare on Insurance Premiums
Publication -Research and Commentaries -According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans were expected to spend $2.5 trillion on health care in 2009, or $8,160 per person--17.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Projections for 2018 put U.S. health care spending at $4. -
Research & Commentary: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s Blank Check
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 2008 the Bush administration’s Treasury Department seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that stand behind a majority of the nation’s $12 trillion mortgage market. -
Research & Commentary: What Effect Would a Tobacco Tax Hike Have on Utah?
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tobacco tax hikes like the one being discussed in Utah should be recognized for what they are: unstable and regressive tax increases targeting a minority of citizens, fueling unsustainable government spending, all wrapped in one fiscally irresponsible -
Research & Commentary: Transaction Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In recent weeks the idea of a "transaction tax" that would impose an apparently small fee on all stock, future, swap, credit default swap, and option transactions has gained significant support among some members of Congress and left-of-center advocacy -
Research & Commentary: Innovation in Biopharmaceuticals Must Be Protected
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Amendments to the health reform legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate would impose a 75 percent discount on biologic drugs for patients in the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole," and would prohibit certain clinical trials for biosimilars. -
Research & Commentary: SunRail Will Produce Few Benefits and Cost Millions
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As Florida policymakers take up the SunRail passenger rail proposal, the performance of existing passenger rail systems across the country should be part of their deliberations. -
Research & Commentary: Property Mitigation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The term “property mitigation” can refer to almost any effort or incentive to make a given building or area of land safer against the forces of nature. -
Research & Commentary: Why the U.S. Should Cut its Corporate Tax Rate
Publication -Research and Commentaries -What the U.S. economy needs more than another pork-filled stimulus plan or massive new spending proposal is a cut in the corporate tax rate. -
Research & Commentary: Carbon Dioxide Restrictions Will Devastate Environmental Treasures
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Forcing nationwide cuts in carbon dioxide emissions offers only speculative environmental benefits, if any, as a switch to wind and solar power will certainly cause environmental degradation. -
Research & Commentary: Illinois’ Alcohol Tax Is Helping Neighbor States
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Illinois' alcohol tax increases, which the legislature pushed through to fund a $31 billion capital works plan, are beginning to have their troubling consequences. -
Research & Commentary: First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Federal legislators and many industry groups are calling for not only an extension, but a fourfold expansion, of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit program, at an estimated annual cost of $50 to $100 billion. -
Research & Commentary: President Barack Obama’s Cap-and-Trade Plan
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Obama administration, with support from the majority party in Congress, is promoting a carbon emissions cap-and-trade plan that could spell disaster for the nation—especially given the current delicate state of the U.S. economy. -
Research & Commentary: Illinois’ Pension Problem and How to Fix it
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported some very alarming facts about Illinois’ public pension system, among them:* Nearly 4,000 state retirees are receiving more than $100,000 per year in pension payouts; and* 14,280 retirees are making more than they -
Research & Commentary: Top Ten Reasons Not to Raise Tobacco Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Smokers have become a favorite target of many legislators across the country. Some policymakers seem to think taxing smokers is a win-win way to curb smoking and raise revenue, without hurting the economy. -
Research & Commentary: Longmont, CO Puts Telecommunications Services on Ballot
Publication -Research and Commentaries -If Longmont, Colorado’s city council had its way, failing in the telecommunications industry a decade ago wouldn’t get in the way of failing again, but this time on a grander scale. -
Research & Commentary: Reforming Texas’s Unemployment Fund
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As the economy remains in the doldrums, the unemployment compensation fund in Texas has become insolvent. The state's unemployment rate stood at 8 percent as of June. -
Research & Commentary: Drilling for Oil in Santa Barbara
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Even with one of the worst state economies in the nation, the California Assembly rejected a proposal to allow new oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara. -
Research & Commentary: The Damaging Effects of Tourism Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tourism taxes have become an increasingly trendy pick for elected officials hoping to raise additional revenue to cover increases in government spending. -
Research & Commentary: Texas Windstorm Insurance
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Texas is a model of fiscal stability compared to most other states--with one glaring exception. Texas is one hurricane away from bankrupting its state-run wind insurance pool. -
Research & Commentary: The Failures of Smart Growth
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Government planners have coined the term "smart growth" to justify a litany of intrusions into the economic planning of our communities. Billions of taxpayer dollars are spent every year in various "smart growth" projects around the country. -
Climate Change Reconsidered
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The American Clean Energy Security Act--better known as "Waxman-Markey"--has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate. -
Research & Commentary: Internet Access Taxes in Louisiana
Publication -Research and Commentaries -It is disheartening to see the Louisiana House nearly unanimously approve a tax on Internet access with the specious claim it is necessary to protect “the children. -
Research & Commentary: Internet Sales Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -State legislators are desperate for new tax revenue to plug massive deficits without cutting spending. -
Research & Commentary: Beware Federal Meddling in the Internet
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama’s pick for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, to “fix” what many in Congress see as a dysfunctional agency.