Opinion
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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. -
Don’t Tax My iPod!
Opinion -April 15 is considered by many Americans to be “tax day.” But those who think this expensive event comes only once a year should examine their monthly phone bills ... and beware of recent actions by greedy bureaucrats. -
Education Savings Accounts Could Expand School Choice
Opinion -For many Americans, the most important investment the government can make on their behalf--one that dictates much of the course of their lives--is the money spent to give them a quality education. But maximizing that investment can be a problem. -
Employers Cannot Reduce Retirees’ Benefits, Judge Rules
Opinion -In a closely watched case, a federal district court judge in Philadelphia has ruled employers are prohibited by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) from varying retiree benefits according to their age. Judge Anita B. -
EPA Approves Chemical Control of Aquatic Weeds
Opinion -Local governments and private individuals should not be required to obtain a special environmental permit prior to applying chemicals to control invasive aquatic weeds and other pests, ruled the U.S. -
EPA, State AGs Argue Climate Change in Appellate Court
Opinion -On April 8, 2005, the D.C. circuit court of appeals heard oral arguments in Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. -
Federal Court Upholds Key Healthy Forests Provision
Opinion -The U.S. Forest Service was not required to seek public comment and conduct an environmental review prior to approving the logging of 245 acres of beetle-infested forest in the Lolo National Forest, ruled the U.S. -
German Government Study Questions Value of Wind Power
Opinion -The German government’s energy agency has released a study that concludes wind farms are an expensive and inefficient way of generating sustainable energy. -
Governed by Children
Opinion -Dear Editor: Illinoisans ought to be outraged over the FY 2006 budget deal. We apparently now have a budget that exceeds $54 billion. In 1998 state spending was about $38 billion. That's a nearly 50 percent increase in just eight years. -
Half-Baked Alaska
Opinion -The inexorable drumbeat of climate disaster stories goes on, but no one seems interested in checking the facts. The most recent assault on common sense comes from Alaska. -
How to Reduce the Risk of Nutritional Diseases
Opinion -The United States is experiencing an epidemic of diseases related to poor nutrition. Rates of heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and obesity are all rising rapidly. -
It Would Be Nice to Know More about Ice
Opinion -In early May, newspapers across the country reported that a team of “adventurers” from Minnesota was setting off to “document climate change” at the North Pole. -
Land Value Property Tax Under Consideration in Seven States
Opinion -The unpopularity of the property tax is axiomatic, yet it remains the revenue source of choice for most local governments, including school districts. -
Mental Health Screening Plan Coming to Illinois
Opinion -A controversial plan to screen all Illinois schoolchildren for mental health problems could become a reality June 30, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) reviews a proposal from the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership (ICMHP). -
Michigan Rethinks Laptop Giveaway Program
Opinion -As computer technology becomes integral to an ever-wider range of professions, lawmakers and educators have grappled with how to prepare students to compete in the modern workforce. -
MTBE: A Regulatory Pitfall or Cause for Legal Action?
Opinion -While the gasoline additive MTBE was a relatively small element of the federal government's efforts to address air pollution more than a decade ago, it now occupies center stage as a key issue related to our energy policies, environmental protection, and -
MTBE: A Regulatory Pitfall or Cause for Legal Action?
Opinion -While the gasoline additive MTBE was a relatively small element of the federal government's efforts to address air pollution more than a decade ago, it now occupies center stage as a key issue related to our energy policies, environmental protection, and
