Opinion
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Despite Success, California’s American Indian Charter Expansion Thwarted
Opinion -American Indian Public Charter School, officially the top school in California, wants to expand, but local authorities are standing in the way. -
Oregon Taxpayers Left Holding Bag After State’s Failed ‘Investments’
Opinion -Oregon lawmakers provided Blue Heron Paper Company in Oregon City with $13.75 million in loans and tax credits, but the intended long-term investment lasted a mere seven years.The company shut down in April. -
Wireless Service Taxes Now Double Sales Taxes
Opinion -Wireless telecom customers are paying a combination of federal, state and local taxes on their bills that often far exceed the retail sales tax rate, according to Scott Mackey, partner with KSE Partners in Montpelier, Vermont. -
State Snags $20 Million from UConn Malpractice Fund
Opinion -The University of Connecticut Health Center malpractice account is underfunded with only enough money to cover one-third of the estimated claims against the state-owned hospital.Two years ago, this underfunding would have been illegal. -
California’s Redevelopment Agencies Tarnish the Golden State
Opinion -In Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is planning to close California’s $26.6 billion structural deficit through spending cuts and tax extensions. -
Lawmakers Look to Gas Tax Alternatives as State Budgets Run on Empty
Opinion -Owners of electric and fuel-efficient vehicles might be in for a bumpy road if some lawmakers have their way. -
Transportation Secretary Vague About Funding $556 Billion Proposal
Opinion -While some state lawmakers consider alternatives to the current motor fuel tax system, including taxing motorists based on the number of miles they drive instead of charging a flat excise tax on gallons of fuel purchased (see accompanying article, p. -
How the Prisons Hold Us Captive
Opinion -After years of deficit financing, California is hurtling toward bankruptcy. Yet in the midst of the budget turmoil, Gov. -
Despite Price Declines, Housing Still Expensive Relative to Incomes
Opinion -The National Association of Realtors recently announced that its national median house price for the first quarter of 2011 dropped 4.6 percent from a year ago. -
Grant to Canadian Company Could Shutter North Carolina Employer
Opinion -Lee County, North Carolina officials are pushing a tax-funded incentive for a Canadian company that is looking to operate in Sanford, where it would compete directly with a homegrown steel fabricator and service center that has been in business more than -
Pragmatic Funding Decisions Mark the Final Round of Rail Grants
Opinion -Pragmatic funding decisions have marked the third and final round of awards in the Obama Administration’s $10 billion High-Speed Rail Program. -
State Tax Revenues Finished 2010 Strong; Continue Growing in Early 2011
Opinion -States’ tax revenues finished strong in 2010, continuing a trend toward gradual fiscal recovery, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s latest State Revenue Report.State tax revenues grew by 7. -
The Tipping Point
Opinion -State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz says she is concerned that the state is nearing a "tipping point, where we're starting actually to make decisions about people's lives" ("Keeping tax pledge doesn't look promising," News, May 9).Excuse me? -
Comment: Crusaders’ False Claims Convinced Congress, AGs to Pressure Craigslist
Opinion -Craigslist.org took its Adult Services section offline permanently last September as a result of pressure from Congress and at least 17 states attorney general. -
The End of Medicare?
Opinion -Is this “the end of progressive government?” asks E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post. Do Republicans intend to break “America’s promise to seniors and to the poor?” asks Jon Cohn in The New Republic. -
Indiana Governor Discusses ‘Breakthrough’ K-12 Education Reforms
Opinion -Indiana Gov. -
‘Hybrid Learning’ Offers Education Savings, Personalization
Opinion -By Every school day, 112 kindergartners log themselves on to a bank of computers for two half-hour tutorials at KIPP Empower Academy in Los Angeles. -
Truth in Fable to Fix the Failed Fractional Reserve Banking System
Opinion -In my recent column, “A Fetid Fable of Fractional Reserve Banking,” I shared a thinly disguised fairy tale about the creation of the Federal Reserve and its power to take money from hapless taxpayers and hand it to politically connected -
Idaho Moves to Block Implementation of Obamacare
Opinion -As the battle over Obamacare shifts to the courthouses and the statehouses, lawmakers in one state, Idaho, have implemented some measures to stop implementation of the federal health care law. -
Heartland Florida Director Hails Signature of S.B. 408
Opinion -Heartland Florida Director Hails Signature of S.B. 408“A small but important step”TALLAHASSEE--Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) today signed Senate Bill 408, popularly known as the “Cost Drivers’” bill. -
Credits Help Take More Than Half the Households Off Income Tax Rolls
Opinion -More than half of the nation’s households paid no federal income tax in 2009, according to an analysis by Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation.At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on May 3, committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont. -
Heartland Florida Director Hails Signature of S.B. 408
Opinion -TALLAHASSEE--Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) today signed Senate Bill 408, popularly known as the “Cost Drivers’” bill. -
‘Atlas Shrugged’ Offers Timely Message for Teaching Profession
Opinion -Almost as alarming as the rate at which children drop out of high school is the rate at which young teachers drop out of the profession. -
Heartland Institute Experts React to Rep. Paul Ryan’s Speech to Economic Club of Chicago
Opinion -Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Budget Committee, delivered a speech Monday to the Economic Club of Chicago in which he defended his Medicare reform ideas and proposed deep spending cuts as a condition to raise the federal debt ceiling.