Research and Commentaries
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Research & Commentary: Extending the Bush Tax Cuts
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Without Congressional action the Bush tax cuts will sunset on January 1, 2011 and raise U.S. residents’ tax bills by a whopping $3.1 trillion over the next 10 years. -
Research & Commentary: Constitutionality of School Voucher Programs
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In this year’s session the Illinois state legislature failed to pass a voucher bill benefiting low-income students in failing Chicago schools. Legislators expressed concern about the measure’s constitutionality. -
School Vouchers, Prosperity, and Job Creation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -States and localities are struggling with the need to slow the growth of spending for public K-12 education, while government employee unions and some legislators continue calling for ever-more money. -
Research & Commentary: Health Care Reform May Kill HSAs
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The question keeps coming up from concerned citizens: “Under President Barack Obama’s new health care regime, what’s going to happen to my health savings account (HSA)? -
Research & Commentary: Interchange Fee Update
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In an effort to force a reduction of what consumer advocates call "swipe fees" and depository institutions call "interchange fees," many in Congress are proposing heavy regulation of these fees, which are charged for processing transactions through debit -
Research & Commentary: Donald Berwick’s Radical Agenda
Publication -Research and Commentaries -While everyone in Washington is chatting about a different nominee, President Barack Obama’s choice of Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is an equally unique one and in some ways the more surprising choice. -
Research & Commentary: Nuclear Energy Reprocessing
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Nuclear energy has become a hotly debated issue with President Barack Obama’s announcement that he wants to triple public financing for new nuclear power plants (through $54. -
Research & Commentary: Wisconsin Auto Insurance Mandates and Minimum Rate Hikes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In his 2009 budget, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle introduced a series of regulatory changes to Wisconsin’s auto insurance market. -
Research & Commentary: South Carolina Cigarette Tax Ignores Real Budget Problems
Publication -Research and Commentaries -South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto of a 50-cents-per-pack cigarette tax hike shows he understands such tax hikes are bad for the state’s economy and bad for all of the state’s taxpayers, not just those who smoke. -
Research and Commentary: K-12 Teacher Tenure and Merit Pay
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Last week, Florida’s legislature passed landmark legislation to tie teacher compensation to educational outcomes and phase out tenure for K-12 teachers. On April 15, Gov. -
Research & Commentary: New Hampshire’s Vanishing Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) has proposed his fifth cigarette tax increase in five years. The 20 cents-per-pack increase would bring New Hampshire’s cigarette tax to $1.98 per pack, well above the national average. -
Research & Commentary: Homeowners’ Defense Act
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Concerned about making homeowners' insurance affordable in coastal areas, Congress currently is considering proposals to expand its role in catastrophe insurance. -
Research & Commentary: California’s Single-Payer Posturing
Publication -Research and Commentaries -When the governor of your state compares it to "an accident victim bleeding to death on the side of the road" and has to go to Washington seeking $6. -
Research & Commentary: Bipartisan Support for State-Led Effort Against Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
Publication -Research and Commentaries -President Barack Obama's February Blair House summit made little difference in the push toward national health care reform, but an increasingly popular idea for cutting costs was raised by Sen. -
Education Model Policy Manual
Publication -Research and Commentaries -School board policies that are found in a policy manual provide the parameters for the administration to manage the district based on the beliefs and philosophy of each board of education. -
Research & Commentary: Subsidizing Sports Stadiums
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Since the 1990s, the building of new sports stadiums has increasingly relied on taxpayer funds, with subsidies growing from just a few million dollars in tax exemptions to unabashed corporate welfare in the hundreds of millions of dollars. -
Research & Commentary: Universal Access and Service Funds Are Outdated, Costly
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Federal and state universal access and service funds (UASFs) have become an ineffective and outdated use of taxpayer money. -
Research & Commentary: Credit Union Member Business Lending
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Access to credit is an essential component of a market system, and the tightening of credit markets in the course of the economic downturn has businesses and entrepreneurs struggling to sustain themselves and grow. Small businesses have suffered the most. -
Research & Commentary: FCC Internet Regulation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The battle royale between Comcast and the Federal Communications Commission over so-called "throttling" of file-sharing activity on Comcast's Internet service has spilled over into federal court. On January 8, Comcast presented its argument before the U. -
Research & Commentary: Gross Receipts Taxes New Mexico Update
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Having begun to move away from gross receipts taxes (GRT) in 2005, New Mexico lawmakers are considering reinstating the tax on groceries in an effort to close the state's budget shortfall. -
Research & Commentary: Governor’s Support for Tobacco Tax Makes No Fiscal Sense
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Gov. Mark Parkinson's recommendation to use a cigarette tax increase to help cover Kansas's $300 million budget deficit should be worrisome not only to smokers, but also to nonsmokers and legislators who want to be fiscally responsible. -
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