Opinion
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The Worst Economic Recovery Since The Great Depression
Opinion -The record of President Obama’s first three years in office is in, and nothing that happens now can go back and change that. -
Chicago-based Heartland Institute Reacts to Anniversary of Illinois Tax Hike
Opinion -One year ago today, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a tax package that raised personal income taxes by 67 percent and corporate taxes by 46 percent. -
Heartland Institute Scholars React to President Obama’s Recess Appointments
Opinion -President Barack Obama this week put Richard Cordray on the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Sharon Block, Terence Flynn, and Richard Griffin on the National Labor Relations Board, all as recess appointments. -
Unemployment Numbers Work
Opinion -As the federal government’s officially reported unemployment rate has trended downward in the past few months, many on the political right have noted that some of the decline comes from people who have stopped looking for work. -
Low-Tax Advocates Should Oppose Special Tax Breaks
Opinion -When they joined with Democrats to vote for new handouts to business earlier this week, Republicans in the Illinois legislature such as House Leader Tom Cross patted themselves on the back. -
Indianapolis Cuts Taxes for Some, Not Others; Supreme Court to Hear Case
Opinion -Consistent administration of laws, rational policymaking, and voter-imposed limits on government are just three principles at stake for taxpayers across America, according to observers of an Indiana property tax case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Heartland Institute Reacts to Possible Shutdown of Federal Government
Opinion -Congress must pass a spending measure by midnight Friday or more than a half-million federal employees will be furloughed. Negotiations continue between Republicans and Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. -
Local Debt Stuns Cook County Treasurer—$108 Billion and Counting
Opinion -Households in suburban Cook County, Illinois, owe nearly $33,000 on average for local government debt, with households in the City of Chicago owing more than $63,000 on average, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. -
“Green” Energy Industry a Leading Recipient of Crony-Capitalist Coddling
Opinion -A recently released report prepared by liberal think tank Citizens for Tax Justice (CFTJ) has attracted the attention of the mainstream media. -
Laffer Starts the Conversation on Eliminating Oklahoma’s Income Tax
Opinion -Economist Arthur Laffer, the father of supply-side economics, visited Oklahoma’s capital city to provide what could be called a “conversation starter. -
Louisiana Bans Real Estate Transfer Taxes
Opinion -Louisiana voters have approved an amendment to the state constitution to permanently ban real estate transfer taxes in the state. The Nov. -
Heartland Institute Reacts to November Unemployment Numbers
Opinion -The Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced that just 120,000 new jobs were created in November, putting the unemployment rate at 8.6. percent. Though that is a drop from October’s rate of 9. -
Missouri’s Mel Hancock, Friend to Taxpayer, Advocate of Freedom
Opinion -Many politicians, especially at election time, say they believe the size and power of government should be limited. Rare is the politician who both says it and means it. Mel Hancock of Missouri was one of the rare ones. -
Short-term Fixes Won’t End Cook County Woes
Opinion -Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has governed in a more fiscally responsible manner than her predecessor, Todd Stroger. Unfortunately, her most recent, $2. -
Obama and the Crash of 2013
Opinion -Most people do not know that already enacted in current law for 2013 are increases in the top tax rates of virtually every major federal tax. That is because the tax increases of Obamacare become effective that year, and the Bush tax cuts expire. -
Save Housing, Kill Fannie and Freddie
Opinion -Four years after its collapse, the housing market continues to crumble. The National Association of Realtors on Nov. 9 reported that housing prices fell in 111 of 150 metropolitan areas in the third quarter of the year. -
Government Handouts Always Followed by Takeaways
Opinion -President Barack Obama apparently does not understand basic economics or even simple math. Such as: There are two sides to every equation. -
Heartland Institute Reacts to Super Committee Failure
Opinion -The so-called “super committee,” a bipartisan panel of members of the House and Senate, announced Monday it would not reach agreement on a plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over 10 years. -
Heartland Institute Responds to Balanced Budget Amendment Debate, Vote
Opinion -The U.S. House of Representatives today has begun debate on a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. -
Chicago-based Heartland Institute Reacts to Metra Fare Hike
Opinion -The Metra Board of Directors today approved the agency’s 2012 budget, which includes fare increases across all ticket types and a variety of other changes to Metra’s fare policies. Starting February 1, 2012, one-way tickets will increase an average of 15. -
States Eye Taxes on Sweets, but Research Says to Expect Sour Results
Opinion -States are increasingly extending higher tax rates to products such as candy and soda, ostensibly to fight obesity, but such moves are unlikely to have an impact on obesity rates and health outcomes, according to a new study by the Tax Foundation. -
Rejecting Union Curbs Leaves Ohio in ‘Fiscal Crisis’
Opinion -Ohioans by a 61 percent majority rejected a statewide ballot measure written to help state agencies balance their budgets and avoid excessive tax increases by giving them more flexible bargaining rights on worker pay and benefits. -
Heartland Institute Reacts to Cook County Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Hike Votes
Opinion -A committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a 50 percent hike in alcohol taxes, from 6 cents per gallon to 9 cents per gallon, and an extension of the cigarette tax to other tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco, -
Education Tax Roundup from Tuesday Elections
Opinion -Ohio Voters Reject Education Tax Increases In approximately two-thirds of northeastern Ohio districts, voters renewed existing tax levies for schools but refused to increase them.
