Opinion
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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. -
Indiana Bill Would Ban State Agencies from Tightening EPA Standards
Opinion -Indiana state agencies would be required to defer to federal environmental rules, rather than enacting more stringent state rules, under the terms of legislation being considered in the state legislature. Supporters of the bill, S.B. -
Colorado Town Celebrates National Drinking Water Week
Opinion -The City of Fort Morgan, Colorado kicked off National Drinking Water Week on May 2 with a variety of events designed to raise awareness of the often-overlooked safety record of the city’s and nation’s water delivery systems. -
Eco-Terrorists Firebomb Washington Homes
Opinion -Eco-terrorists affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) torched one suburban Seattle home and attempted to firebomb another in an April 13 night of terror, say federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigators. -
Minnesota Botches IT Bill
Opinion -Caught up in the fervor over open-source software and believing open-source alternatives save money, Minnesota wants to encourage the use of royalty-free operating systems such as Linux. -
Gas Tax Diversions Cause Road Crisis in Illinois
Opinion -Trying to balance the Illinois state budget by shifting highway funds into other government programs is creating a statewide “road crisis,” an unusual coalition of business and organized labor groups is warning. -
Tax Incentives to Texas Competitor Frustrate North Carolina Firm
Opinion -The owners of Pate Dawson Company, a Goldsboro, North Carolina food distributor that has been doing business in the state for 120 years, are wondering how the state can justify giving the company's main competitor, Houston, Texas-based Sysco Inc. -
Illinois Budget a House of Cards
Opinion -As Illinois Democrats touted the $54 billion-plus FY 2006 budget they passed on Sunday, I could not help but recall my daughters' delight at their first successful attempts to build a house out of playing cards. -
Why Not Free Broadband?
Opinion -Should municipalities be allowed to build and operate broadband networks in competition with private companies? States around the country are considering laws making it difficult for cities to do so. -
Capitol Awash in Gambling Proposals
Opinion -Since Gov. Luther Youngdahl rid Minnesota of slot machines and gambling devices in the 1940s, gambling has inched its way back into Minnesota--evolving from legalized charitable bingo in the 1970s to a multifaceted and multibillion-dollar industry today. -
CAFTA and Agriculture
Opinion -The Bush administration has proposed an ambitious trade agenda by moving forward with several countries on Free Trade Agreements. -
Polls Show Solid Support for School Choice
Opinion -Despite the efforts of teacher unions and their allies to portray voucher supporters as extremists whose ideas are out of touch with mainstream America, the results of recent public opinion polls taken in three different states show solid support for -
Analysis: Oil Refineries Not Damaging Houston’s Air Quality
Opinion -Houston Mayor Bill White on April 23 asked a team of analysts to study the city’s air quality and to provide, within a year, guidelines to aid future air quality decisions. -
Analysis: School Choice Improves Public School Funding
Opinion -One of the most controversial aspects of school vouchers and education tax credits is their potential effect on public school finances. On one side, critics charge vouchers will “drain much-needed resources from our public schools,” as Rep. -
Auditor Slams Illinois’ Guardian Against Waste
Opinion -An Illinois agency that claims to have saved taxpayers $600 million by reducing waste and fraud has itself wasted money, granted multi-million-dollar contracts to politically connected firms, and failed to show it has saved money, according to a -
Bill Would Allow Consumers to Purchase Health Insurance Across State Lines
Opinion -On May 12, U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) introduced the Health Care Choice Act of 2005, H.R. 2355, which would make it possible for consumers to purchase individual health insurance across state lines. The measure has more than 40 cosponsors. -
Bottle Bills Back on Legislative Agendas
Opinion -Lawmakers in Illinois, Tennessee, and West Virginia are taking up beverage container deposit laws aimed, proponents say, at addressing roadside litter and keeping recyclable materials out of landfills. -
Budget Discipline Collapses in Washington State
Opinion -Exercising complete political control for the first time in years, Washington state Democrats pushed through a record $26 billion budget for the state’s 2005-07 budget cycle on April 24. -
Commentary: Current Public School Funding Is Unwisely Idolized
Opinion -Each season of the hugely popular Fox television series American Idol starts with a few episodes featuring talent-challenged but very entertaining contestants taking their shot at pop superstardom. -
Commentary: Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Saves Lives
Opinion -When a consumer sees an ad for the latest Ford truck, it catches his attention. Perhaps he goes on the Internet to learn more about that truck and compare it with the latest trucks from Dodge, Nissan, and other manufacturers. -
Consumer Choice Matters: AHIP Announces One Million HSAs Sold
Opinion -America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released its latest survey of HSA enrollment on May 4. It finds that in just 14 months, more than one million people have enrolled in HSA-qualified high-deductible plans. -
Crisis Looms in Universal Service
Opinion -President George W. Bush has laid out the case for why Congress should tackle the looming Social Security crisis, even though the real financial crunch is still several decades away. He’s right, of course. -
Cul de Sacs, Grid Street Patterns Both Have a Role to Play
Opinion -Modern urban planning literature is filled with references to grid street patterns and their alleged superiority to the cul de sac--a loop or “dead-end street” pattern typical of modern suburban developments. -
DC City Council to Regulate Drug Prices
Opinion -On May 3, the District of Columbia City Council unanimously passed a measure that would make it an illegal trade practice to charge too much for prescription drugs.
