Opinion
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Biotechnology Promises Industrial Benefits
Opinion -Two reports issued in June 2004 document the potential for the use of genetic engineering in industrial processes to reduce air and water pollution, expand the production of new fuels, reduce the amounts of energy and raw materials required in -
Anti-Biotech Bills Find Little Traction in State Legislatures
Opinion -Despite recent high-profile measures in California counties and in the Vermont legislature to ban or heavily regulate genetically enhanced crops, most state legislatures are following the federal government's lead in rebuffing the opponents of -
State Legislatures Face Anti-Pesticide Bills
Opinion -Anti-chemical activists have pushed several state governments in recent years to pass laws to eliminate or drastically reduce the use of pesticides in schools and daycare centers. To date, about 20 states have enacted such laws. -
Court Rulings Endanger Farmers’ Use of Pesticides
Opinion -Farmers who apply their own pesticides, and state legislators who represent them, should be aware of two key environmental cases making their way through the federal court system, as well as a legislative response from a coalition of agricultural and -
Industry Running Much Cleaner in New Jersey
Opinion -Industrial pollution in New Jersey dropped 58 percent between 1994 and 2001, even as businesses used 8 percent more hazardous substances, according to a state report released on June 10. -
New HEI Report on Air Pollution Easy to Misinterpret
Opinion -A study released June 16 by the Health Effects Institute (HEI) aims to improve our understanding of the relationship between very small particulate matter (PM) in our air and cardiovascular-respiratory human health. -
Big-Budget Hollywood Movie Is a Science Travesty
Opinion -Even the Weather Channel has gone Hollywood. -
New York Senate Launches Campaign for $1 Billion Tax Cut
Opinion -The Republican majority in the New York State Senate has launched a campaign for a package of tax cuts and tax credits it says would be valued at $1 billion when fully effective. -
New Jersey Governor Signs Bill to Tax Cosmetic Surgery
Opinion -On the last day of June, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey (D) signed into law a measure that will require patients to pay a tax on cosmetic plastic surgery procedures performed in the state. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Wayne R. -
Texas Comptroller Calls for End to Discriminatory Federal Tax Rule
Opinion -Texas is one of only seven states without a state income tax. According to the state's comptroller, that places Texans at a disadvantage when paying federal income taxes. -
Kansas Taxpayer Group Praises Pro-Growth, Anti-Tax Legislators
Opinion -The Kansas Taxpayers Network (KTN) released its 2004 fiscal ratings for the Kansas legislature on June 28. This is the ninth year the Wichita-based taxpayers' organization has evaluated votes cast by state legislators on fiscal matters. -
Pennsylvania Voters Want Property Tax Reform; Legislators Ignore Them
Opinion -While legislators were in Harrisburg debating property tax relief and the current year budget, which should have been passed by July 1, a new poll from Triad Strategies found Pennsylvanians want voter approval of property tax increases. -
Oklahoma Taxpayers Are Fiscal Conservatives, Poll Says
Opinion -On June 1, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) released the results of its most recent survey of 400 Oklahoma voters. -
Ronald Reagan’s Fight Against Inflation
Opinion -One of the amusing things about the media is their compulsion always to present an alternative perspective to conservative successes, even when they look ridiculous doing so. -
Think Tank Presents Reagan’s Legacy on Web
Opinion -Although America has had 43 presidents so far, only a handful can be rightfully claimed to have an "age" or "era" named after them: Jefferson, Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and now, Ronald Reagan. -
The Bush Tax Plan: How Big Was the Cut?
Opinion -There is a good deal of disagreement over just how big President George W. Bush's tax cuts really were, and hence whether they were a wise policy choice. -
Why Congress Can’t Stop Spending
Opinion -Congress spent one evening during the last week of June debating a token measure to reduce government spending by implementing very slight caps on some future entitlements. Not surprisingly, even this exceedingly modest bill failed overwhelmingly. -
Smokers Head for the Border to Avoid Cigarette Tax Increase
Opinion -Michigan smokers say they'll smoke 'em while they got 'em. And then get more. In Indiana. On July 1, a 75-cents-per-pack cigarette tax increase [took] effect in Michigan. -
Methodology of Tax Freedom Day Calculation
Opinion -Tax Freedom Days are calculated on the Fraser Institute's Canadian Tax Simulator (CANTASIM). Statistics Canada's Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M) is an important part of the Fraser model for the 1992 through 2004 Tax Freedom Days. -
Study Shows Fear of Mercury ‘Hot Spots’ Unfounded
Opinion -Faced with scientific consensus that current levels of exposure to mercury pose little or no threat to human health, some environmental activist groups have taken to claiming mercury "hot spots" immediately surrounding power plants have been overlooked -
House Passes Pro-Growth Tax Reforms
Opinion -On June 17, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which repeals export subsidies found to be in violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. -
Virginia Running Budget Surplus, But Tax Hike Passes Anyway
Opinion -On June 11, Virginia Secretary of Finance John M. Bennett wrote a blockbuster memo to Governor Mark Warner (D), noting tax revenues were running much higher than anticipated in the state. -
Tax Cut Forces Take Raleigh by Storm
Opinion -Taxpayers and grassroots activists from across North Carolina converged on the state capitol on May 27 to lobby their legislators for lower taxes and less government intervention in their lives. -
Saving Social Security
Opinion -Since its passage in 1935, the Social Security Act has helped provide economic security to millions of Americans. Over the years, Social Security programs have been broadened to provide more assistance to a greater number of Americans.