Opinion
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Welcome, New Readers!
Opinion -If this is your first issue of Budget & Tax News, you are probably one of the 8,300 mayors, village presidents, city council members, and village board members who have been added to the complimentary mailing list for Budget & Tax News. -
Free Trade Agreement Gains Support from Agriculture and Manufacturing
Opinion -A new push for Congressional approval of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has officially begun. -
Hispanic Parents Rally for School Choice in Texas
Opinion -On April 5, the Texas State Capitol in Austin served as a school choice forum for several hundred Hispanic parents, gathered there in a show of strength for the movement and to testify on behalf of three bills being debated in the state House of -
Ohio House OKs Statewide Voucher Plan
Opinion -Building on the success of the 10-year-old Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, the Ohio House of Representatives on April 12 approved legislation to create a new statewide scholarship program. -
Parents Pummeled by South Carolina Legislators
Opinion -Democratic legislators in South Carolina slapped high-fives outside the state House of Representatives chamber May 4, celebrating a 60-53 vote to table a bill proposing tax credits and vouchers to give parents choices on where to send their children to -
Sparks Fly over Revelations of Scandals in Head Start Program
Opinion -Head Start or "No Start"? It's been more of the latter in recent years on Capitol Hill, at least in the sense of being able to muster bipartisan agreement on terms for Head Start's reauthorization. -
More than 1,000 Celebrate Fourth Anniversary of Pennsylvania Tax Credit
Opinion -On what turned out to be a stunningly beautiful day, more than 1,000 parents and children joined state legislators at Pennsylvania’s Capitol in Harrisburg on May 10 to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the state’s landmark Educational Improvement Tax -
Maine, Florida Poised for Rulings on School Choice
Opinion -Eight Maine families are awaiting a written opinion from the state supreme court following their latest school choice appeal, argued on March 24. -
New Jersey, Maryland Need School Choice, Studies Show
Opinion -If high per-pupil spending and widespread underachievement are two of the qualities that make a school system an ideal testing ground for vouchers, then Paterson, New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland are two prime candidates, according to a pair of -
Chlorine Chemistry Council Announces Interactive Informational Tool
Opinion -In conjunction with National Drinking Water Week, the Chlorine Chemistry Council (CCC) introduced a new interactive tool, the Chlorine Tree (http://www.chlorinetree. -
Death of Environmentalism Essay Ignites Dissent
Opinion -An April 20 Gallup poll showed only 1 percent of Americans believe the environment is the most important problem facing the nation today. -
Voluntary Methane Cuts Would Help Limit GHG Emissions
Opinion -In February of this year, the Kyoto Protocol set binding limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for many industrialized nations of the world, not including the United States (which did not sign the protocol) or developing nations such as China. -
Corruption Is Rampant in Public Schools
Opinion -A new study by the Cato Institute takes an in-depth look at allegations of corruption and abuse of assets in the nation's public schools, a system built upon the expectation of public accountability. -
Veto Limits Growth of Milwaukee Voucher Program
Opinion -Just two days after one of the nation's oldest voucher programs celebrated a milestone anniversary, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) vetoed a bill to lift its 15,000-student enrollment cap, placing the program's future in jeopardy. -
Few Americans Lack Access to Health Coverage
Opinion -In May, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored its annual “Cover the Uninsured Week,” the purpose of which is to raise awareness of the number of Americans without health insurance. -
Arkansas, Michigan Try Differing Automotive Mercury Strategies
Opinion -The state of Arkansas on March 8 became the second state in the nation to pass a mandatory recycling law for automotive mercury switches. -
Blue-Ribbon Government Panel Lauds Nuclear Energy
Opinion -The U.S. -
Federal Spending Controls Disappearing
Opinion -In introducing his proposed budget for the 2006 fiscal year, President George W. Bush spoke of his commitment to spending controls, even though the budget calls for an overall spending increase of 3.6 percent. -
Reliance on ‘Sin’ Taxes Draws Opposition
Opinion -As lawmakers look for ways to continue growing state budgets, they are increasingly turning to excise taxes, often known as "sin" taxes. In the past, general tax hikes were often the answer. -
D.C. Scholarship Program Passes First Evaluation
Opinion -Increasing numbers of students and parents in the District of Columbia are taking advantage of the nation’s first federally funded scholarship program, according to an independent evaluation released April 5 by the U.S. Department of Education. -
Public Schools’ ‘Sacred Charge’
Opinion -Editor's note: Dana Rone, vice president of the Newark Public School Board, testified before the New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee on March 24 that although the state is spending increasing amounts of tax dollars on public education, the children -
Bush Health Care Agenda Introduced in Congress
Opinion -On May 9, Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Representatives Sam Johnson (R-TX), Eric Cantor (R-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) introduced bills S. 978 and H.R. -
Analysis: Canadian Drugs Can’t Solve High-Drug-Price Problems
Opinion -It’s been months since the Easter Bunny completed his Sunday rounds; perhaps he will now fulfill the fantasies of U.S. politicians and make Canadian drug importation work. Alas, Canada is no Oz with streets paved with Prozac. Unless its 32. -
How to Improve Medicaid for Minorities
Opinion -Ethnic minorities in America, particularly African-Americans, are generally less healthy than whites and suffer from reduced access to quality health care services. This should be unacceptable in the richest and most advanced country on the planet.
