Opinion
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To Reduce Flood Damage, End National Flood Insurance
Opinion -Record Mississippi River floods in the 1960s prompted Congress to create the National Flood Insurance Program. Let’s hope this year’s record Mississippi River floods prompt Congress to end it. -
Taxing, Suing Big Oil Won’t Reduce Gasoline Prices
Opinion -The Obama administration and its congressional enablers have announced two main strategies to curb rising gasoline prices in this country: “Tax, baby, tax” and “Sue, baby, sue. -
Implementation of State Exchanges Loaded with Uncertainty
Opinion -Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, states are required to create a health insurance exchange. While these exchanges must be submitted for approval from the U.S. -
Recent Storms Notwithstanding, Nation Much Safer from Tornado Damage
Opinion -By any reasonable measure, the windstorms that ravaged the South in April present a massive tragedy: the most disaster-caused deaths in a single day since Sept. 11, 2001, and more deadly than all but three post-World War II natural disasters. -
‘Counter-Manifesto’ Challenges Common Core Standards
Opinion -A coalition of more than 150 education reformers, state and federal policymakers past and present, teachers, and opinion leaders has released a manifesto opposing a state and federal government effort to establish a national curriculum and testing system. -
North Carolina Legislators Seek Relief from Manmade Disasters
Opinion -Pummeled by tornadoes in April, North Carolina residents bravely soldiered forth to pick up the pieces, assist one another, and set the state aright. Not all disasters affecting Tar Heel citizens fall from the sky, however. -
Jindal Joins Other Governors in Declining to Set Up Health Care Exchange
Opinion -Louisiana’s Republican Governor, Bobby Jindal, has announced his state will not create a health insurance exchange mandated by the Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act.Confirming an earlier report in Health Care News, Gov. -
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.