Opinion
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Technical Malfunctions Mar Common Core Testing Rollout
Opinion -The New Hampshire-based company Measured Progress, which developed online Common Core tests used in Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota, has acknowledged a major problem with the test’s rollout. -
Nevada Legislators Create the Nation’s Most Inclusive ESA Program
Opinion -Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) signed the nation’s first nearly universal education savings account (ESA) program into law on June 2. On May 29, the Nevada State Assembly voted to create the most inclusive ESA program for K–12 students in the country. -
Winning the Climate Change Debate
Opinion -How can climate realists win the climate change debate? -
New Jersey’s Growing Pension Gap Threatens Taxpayers
Opinion -New Jersey’s pension liabilities are increasing, with official actuary reports compiled for the state’s pension board showing the public retirement fund debt grew by 13 percent between June 2013 and July 2014. -
Alabama Lawmaker Introduces Flat Tax Proposal
Opinion -Alabama state Sen. Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) is proposing a constitutional amendment to reduce and flatten the state’s income tax. Hightower’s proposed amendment, if placed before and approved by voters, will cut the top tax rate from 5 percent to 2. -
Department of Education Presses for New Authority Over Banks
Opinion -The U.S. Department of Education is proposing a new rule granting itself new power over how banks can work with colleges to assist with loan disbursements to students. -
Virginia Homeschool Privacy Bill Becomes Law Without Governor’s Signature
Opinion -Homeschoolers in Virginia are pleased a widely supported privacy measure designed to prevent the sharing of personal information passed with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 1383, sponsored by state Sen. -
New NAEP Scores Show Poor Student Performance Nationwide
Opinion -The latest 8th grade U.S. history, civics, and geography results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show no significant change from the previous assessment, which was conducted in 2010. -
Online Poker Ban Gains Support in U.S. Senate
Opinion -Despite his past support of online gaming legalization bills, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) now backs the Restoring America’s Wire Act (RAWA), a bill that aims to revise federal anti-wagering laws to include bans on online poker. -
Gov Hutchinson Defies State School Board, Orders PARCC Test Withdrawal
Opinion -The Arkansas state school board rejected Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s (R) request to replace the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests with ACT Aspire earlier this month. -
Congress Considers FCC Transparency Reform Bill
Opinion -House lawmakers are reviving a bill they say will hold the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) more accountable to the public and would provide greater congressional oversight. -
Obamacare Subsidies Survive Supreme Court Challenge
Opinion -A key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, allowing 6.4 million Americans to receive health insurance subsidies to purchase health insurance, was upheld by the Supreme Court. -
States Are Now Pulling Back from the Common Core Test Consortiums
Opinion -While news report focus on states, politicians, teachers, and parents who are angry with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the debate over CCSS-aligned testing is heating up rapidly. -
Heartland Institute Experts React to Obamacare Decision by Supreme Court
Opinion -By a vote of 6–3 the United States Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the Obama administration in King v. -
Soviet Union 2.0 – The Environmental Protection Agency
Opinion -Former President Richard Nixon is an ancestral RINO – Republican In Name Only. The wobbly GOP wing that insists on delivering us Diet Democrat policies. -
Heartland Institute Experts React to Gov. Rauner’s Veto of State Budget
Opinion -Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner today vetoed the state budget, sending it back to a Democratic-controlled legislature just six days before the end of the current fiscal year. -
New York Lawmakers Consider Snuffing Out E-Cigarettes in Public, Private Buildings
Opinion -State lawmakers in New York are proposing banning indoor e-cigarette use in publicly and privately owned businesses using the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act. Dr. -
Legislative Pulse: Wisconsin
Opinion -Editor’s Note: Wisconsin state Rep. Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin) is serving his third term in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Among his other committee assignments, Kuglitsch chairs the Energy and Utilities Committee. -
Alabama Tax Agency Proposes ‘Netflix Tax’
Opinion -Alabama’s Department of Revenue is proposing administrative changes to the state’s interpretation of existing tax law to extend existing taxes on videocassette rentals to include online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. -
Government Should Stop Subsidizing Tesla, Billionaire Musk
Opinion -Multibillionaire Elon Musk made his first billion as the inventor of PayPal — and, as we all know, the first billion is the hardest. -
Kansas Ridesharing Regulatory Fight Freezes Uber Operations
Opinion -Ridesharing company Uber is back in operation in Kansas after an intense legislative battle between the state legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback (R). -
Poll Shows the Public Supports Fracking
Opinion -A new poll from Robert Morris University (RMU) shows the public overwhelmingly supports fracking for natural gas and oil production. -
Senate Considers Dodd-Frank Reforms, Rollbacks
Opinion -A bill to ease financial and investment regulations passed in 2010 in response to the 2008 banking crisis is under consideration in the U.S. Senate. -
Supreme Court Blasts Maryland Taxman’s Double-Dipping
Opinion -The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a case of double taxation in Maryland’s income tax system is unconstitutional.
