Opinion
-
Cumulative Weight of New Rules on Credit: The Evidence
Opinion -Fast Facts from The Financial Services Roundtable “Because banks believe that Dodd-Frank will probably hurt their bottom line, they're already working on a range of offsets. -
Economic Alzheimer’s
Opinion -There are several forms of dementia. One particularly perverse version affects older economists and investment bankers. They lose the memory of everything except the gold standard. See, for example, the article by Lewis E. -
Washington Unleashes Bipartisan Scorn on IPAB
Opinion -Congress members of both parties are directing ire against a controversial element of President Obama’s health care law, which proposes to restrain Medicare costs through the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board. -
A Case for Dropping the Mortgage Interest Deduction
Opinion -The U.S. federal income tax code is full of complicated deductions, credits, and loopholes, the largest of which is the mortgage interest deduction (MID).According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), itemized deductions excluded $1. -
Financial Instruments Would be Target of Broader Base, Lower Rates
Opinion -Broadening the tax base and lowering tax rates, the current whiz-bang solution to both the government debt problem and the recession, has the support of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) from the political left and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on the political right. -
Massachusetts Mulls Private Finance for Public Services
Opinion -At the request of his Executive Office for Administration and Finance, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has received 34 proposals on how best to employ what’s called social innovation financing. -
Should Motown Implement Surveillance Cameras?
Opinion -“Detroit Police hope to bolster safety in the central business district by connecting a network of 350 security cameras to a central viewing post to track activity on the streets, search out wanted criminal suspects, check parking lots and monitor crowds. -
North Carolina’s Legislature Targets Children’s Waistlines, Sparks Parental Resistance
Opinion -In North Carolina, a host of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who agree government should maintain an active role in controlling children’ diets, have introduced four bills this legislative session directed at North Carolinians’ waistlines. -
California Warrantless Search Bill May Violate Fourth Amendment
Opinion -California lawmakers are attempting to stem the rise in counterfeit compact and digital video discs by proposing a law that would allow warrantless searches of disc manufacturing plants. -
Montana Receives ‘No Child’ Waiver as Congress Moves to Reauthorize the Law
Opinion -Dissatisfied with the pace of No Child Left Behind reauthorization in Congress, the Department of Education announced it will waive some of the law’s penalties for individual states, provided the states make unspecified policy changes in return. -
Minimal Fanfare, Much Controversy, Surround Federal Online Tax Proposal
Opinion -On the sweltering Friday afternoon of July 29, all of Washington and most of the nation was fixated on the political drama over raising the federal debt ceiling. Few may have noticed that same afternoon also marked U.S. Sen. -
New Study Finds Computer Models Predict Too Much Warming
Opinion -A doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will likely cause roughly 1 degree Celsius of global warming, as opposed to United Nations computer model predictions of 1. -
Kansas Budget Director Calls for End of State Income Tax
Opinion -Kansas Budget Director Steve Anderson hopes lawmakers this year will pass proposed legislation to gradually eliminate the state’s personal income tax. A similar attempt to end the tax stalled in the state Senate late year. -
Capitals Gains Would be Target of Broader Base, Lower Rates
Opinion -Broadening the tax base and lowering the rate, the current whiz-bang solution to both the government debt problem and the recession, has the support of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) from the political left and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on the political right. -
Government Bird Brains
Opinion -A Fredericksburg, Virginia mother faced a fine of $535 and up to a year in prison after her daughter rescued an orphaned woodpecker about to be devoured by the family cat.Skylar Capo, 11, found the bird in her dad’s backyard being stalked by the cat. -
Beyond Privatopia Casts Critical Eye on Homeowners Associations
Opinion -Review of Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, by Evan McKenzie, Urban Institute Press (ISBN 978-0-87766-769-8, paperback, 164 pages, $26. -
Britain’s Riots Show Loss of Respect for Property Rights
Opinion -While Washington politicians dispense the citizens’ money, the people of England have become familiar with a far more immediate and tangible form of disregard for private property. -
Judge Refuses to Block Indiana Vouchers Program
Opinion -More than 2,800 students enrolled in the broadest voucher program in the nation may continue using vouchers while litigation against them pends, an Indiana judge ruled on Aug. 15. -
Low Interest Rates Won’t Necessarily Hold Down Credit Card Rates
Opinion -The Federal Reserve announced Aug. 9 it plans to keep interest rates at a record low for the next two years. -
Florida Cat Fund Officer Proposes Reforms for Safer Financial Footing
Opinion -Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Chief Operating Officer Jack Nicholson has proposed reforms that would put the giant taxpayer-backed reinsurer on sounder financial footing. -
Smart Growth Played Major Role in Housing Crash
Opinion -There is general agreement the financial crisis that began with the failure of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 was made worse by the bursting of the U.S. housing price bubble. -
A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Opinion -Published by The Weekly Standard: Sometime late this summer—the Friday before Labor Day if historical patterns hold—the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will announce the beginning of something called Medicare Round Two of “the -
Heartland Institute Telecom Expert Reacts to Google’s Acquisition of Motorola
Opinion -Google on Monday agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a move that is sure to draw antitrust scrutiny by the federal government. -
Judge Overturns Red-Light Camera Ban, Opponents Turn Red-Faced
Opinion -Houston residents have learned their vote may not matter after all.
