Opinion
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Electronic Health Records System Now Available
Opinion -While Congress works to establish the framework for increased use of information technology (IT) in health care, some in the private sector are already up and running with tools to allow average Americans to manage and preserve their own health records. -
Activists Target School Sales of Soft Drinks, Snacks
Opinion -In January, trial lawyers were poised to file a class-action lawsuit against the soft drink industry on behalf of parents of school-age children. -
2005: A Bad Year for Health Policy
Opinion -The initial implementation problems of the Medicare drug benefit that went into effect January 1 are being spun by some as reflective of a structural flaw: the inclusion of free-market competition and choice. -
Book Review: Making a Case for Market Forces in Health Care
Opinion -Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: Five Steps to a Better Health Care System by John F. Cogan, Glenn Hubbard, and Daniel P. -
Property Rights Improve Environment, Book Says
Opinion -Re-Thinking Green: Alternatives to Environmental Bureaucracy edited by Robert Higgs and Carl P. Close Independent Institute, 2005 480 pages, $22. -
Floridians Seek to Save School Choice from Court Decision
Opinion -In response to a 5-2 vote by the Florida Supreme Court overturning the state's six-year-old Opportunity Scholarship program January 5, parents statewide are joining school choice advocacy organizations in seeking remedies to save their children's -
Milwaukee Begins to Ration School Choice
Opinion -The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) officially announced on December 27 its plan for rationing seats in the 15-year-old Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in the 2006-07 school year. -
Hurricane Relief Bill Sets Humanitarian Example
Opinion -The Hurricane Education Recovery Act (HERA) signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 30 is the most comprehensive package of K-12 school choice yet attempted in the United States. -
Wisconsin Considering School Choice for Parents of Autistic Children
Opinion -A scholarship program in Wisconsin would allow the parents of children with autism to choose the school best suited to their children's needs and could help pave the way for school choice options for others. -
Florida Voucher Ruling Puts Programs at Risk
Opinion -The Florida Supreme Court's January 5 decision to overturn the statewide A+ Opportunity Scholarship voucher program for students in low-performing schools leaves other programs--particularly in the Sunshine State, but possibly elsewhere as well--at risk -
Illinois Set to Ban Soda and Snacks in Schools
Opinion -The Illinois State Board of Education, following the urging of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), on December 15 began the process of banning the sale of high-fat, high-calorie foods and drinks to most of the state's elementary and middle school students. -
Cyber Bullying on the Rise Among U.S. Teens
Opinion -As school districts across the United States grapple with preventing and dealing with bullying among students, a newer and more subversive form is being employed in increasing numbers: cyber bullying. -
Study: Colorado School Violence Goes Largely Unreported
Opinion -The December 2005 release of the annual Colorado School Accountability Reports (SARs) raised concerns among analysts and legislators that school districts may be underreporting school violence and crime. -
Pioneer Institute Launches Drive for Choice in Mass.
Opinion -The people at Massachusetts' Pioneer Institute think their state has gone long enough without seriously considering school choice. On January 31, they released two pro-voucher reports--the first step in a planned three-year school choice campaign. -
Unions Drive Growth of Government
Opinion -David Denholm, president of the Public Service Research Foundation (PSRF) in Vienna, Virginia, has spent almost 40 years studying the impact of unionism in government on government. -
Hospitality Industry Ignored by Tax Relief Bill
Opinion -Congress awarded businesses that suffered losses because of Hurricane Katrina tax breaks worth nearly $8 billion in the closing days of 2005, but the breaks exclude hospitality industry businesses such as liquor stores, casinos, and golf courses. -
IRS Gets Record Funding to Prosecute Taxpayers
Opinion -On November 30, 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law the largest appropriation for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the history of the agency. A remarkable share of the $10.7 billion IRS checkbook is going to law enforcement activities. -
San Francisco Solar Initiative Too Costly
Opinion -A $100 million solar power initiative approved by San Francisco voters in 2001 has yet to produce any solar power, San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission reports. -
Senate Minority Blocks ANWR
Opinion -In a tense December 21, 2005 vote, 43 U.S. senators prevented opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling for oil and natural gas, by voting to sustain a filibuster. -
Pennsylvania Senate Passes Eminent Domain Reform
Opinion -The Pennsylvania Senate on December 7 passed eminent domain reform legislation significantly curtailing the ability of state and local government to condemn private property for non-public uses. The bill, S.B. -
California Voters Defy Activist Groups, Approve New Home Construction
Opinion -Voters in the San Francisco suburbs of Pittsburg and Antioch, reflecting support from key Democratic elected officials, defied the Sierra Club and other activist groups by approving on November 8 two proposed housing developments. -
Lake County, Ohio Scraps Flagship Recycling Program
Opinion -Lake County, Ohio, which has long subsidized the state's flagship recycling program, has decided to scrap curbside recycling. County commissioners announced the decision December 1, blaming escalating and unjustified costs for the program. -
Mass., R.I. Reject Regional Greenhouse Pact
Opinion -The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) of Northeastern states limped into existence in December 2005 with only seven of nine anticipated members actually signing the pact. -
California Utilities Commission Approves Costly Solar Plan
Opinion -California citizens will pay at least $3.2 billion over the next 11 years to finance a costly solar energy initiative rejected by the state's legislature in fall 2005 but implemented by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on December 13.
