Opinion
-
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. -
Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 28
Opinion -Canadians finally started working for themselves, rather than their governments, on June 28 of this year, one day later than they did last year. -
Minnesota ‘Best Practices’ Law Riles Opposition
Opinion -Minnesota has recently become a national hotspot in the battle over health care reform. -
A Guide to the New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Opinion -The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in late 2003 is like a giant sequoia: You can't get your arms around it all at once. -
New Study Shows Hefty Price Tag for McCain-Lieberman Bill
Opinion -U.S. Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) in January 2004 introduced a modified version of the Climate Stewardship Act they had championed in 2003. -
Mouse that Cost Economy $100 Million May Never Have Existed
Opinion -After six years of Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations and restrictions that have cost builders, local governments, and landowners on the western fringe of the Great Plains as much as $100 million by some estimates, new research suggests the -
South Carolina Legislature Named
Opinion -The taxpayers' advocacy organization Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named the South Carolina legislature "Porker of the Month" on June 8 for overriding almost every one of Governor Mark Sanford's (R) 106 recent budget vetoes. -
AFSCME, Tennesseans Back State Income Tax Deduction
Opinion -The national union of state and local government employees has endorsed the proposed deductibility of state sales taxes at the federal level. In a June 16 letter to representatives in the U.S. House, Charles M. -
Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights Faces Fine-Tuning in Colorado
Opinion -A tug-of-war is underway in Colorado pitting the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) against state spending on education. -
Worldwide Sourcing Adds Jobs to U.S. Economy, IT Association Says
Opinion -[Editor's note: Worldwide sourcing of information technology jobs, criticized by some liberals and conservatives alike as a drain on the U.S. -
The Pain in Maine Is Dirigo
Opinion -Mainers are beginning to have second thoughts about Dirigo health care, the new state-run plan that looks like national health care, sounds like national health care, and acts like national health care. -
Table: Monthly Premiums For Nongroup Health Insurance
Opinion -Sample Monthly Premiums for Nongroup Health Insurance in Massachusetts, September 2003 Carrier Status Rate Offered in Boston* Aetna Life Insurance Company Single** $765.00 Family $2,461.10 Two Adults $3,037.55 Aetna Health Inc. Single $417. -
Endangered Species Act Hit at New Mexico Hearing
Opinion -"The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has given wildlife very little to cheer about," said Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), chairman of the House Resources Committee, at a June 7 hearing in Carlsbad, New Mexico. -
Job-Threatening Liquor Tax Hike Defeated in Michigan
Opinion -The Michigan legislature defeated Governor Jennifer Granholm's (D) proposed tax increase on distilled spirits products in June, averting what would have been a severe blow to Michigan's hospitality industry, according to an economic analysis by the -
Rich Pay More When Tax Rates Fall
Opinion -Claiming that too many rich people and corporations aren't paying their fair share of taxes seems to be a sure way get applause on the campaign trail. -
Liquor Laws Increase Sales in Ohio, New York, and Delaware
Opinion -Ohio Governor Bob Taft (R) signed into law on June 17 a bill rolling back the state's ban on Sunday liquor sales. The law became effective immediately. Senate Bill 164, sponsored by State Sen. -
California Regulators Issue Rules for GHG Reductions
Opinion -The California Air Resources Board (ARB) on June 14 published first-of-its-kind regulations requiring a 30 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions. -
Consumers Take Control with HSAs
Opinion -According to a May 23 story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Susan Grabiak's health insurance premiums were about to jump 28 percent. -
Federal Regulations Back to Near-Record Levels
Opinion -Federal government regulators issued 4,148 new rules in the 71,269-page Federal Register in 2003, 19 fewer than they did in 2002. The cost of those rules appears nowhere in the federal budget. -
Global Warming Extremists Use Shareholder Actions to Pressure Corporations
Opinion -The global warming treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol is politically dead in the United States, but the treaty's most extreme supporters haven't given up their fantasy of creating a socialist global economy through controls on energy use. -
Hospital Price Transparency
Opinion -The Boston Globe published a laudatory write-up on June 8 about a new essay in the June issue of Harvard Business Review, by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg of the University of Virginia. -
Kyoto Proving Unworkable
Opinion -Recent developments in Japan, Russia, and Canada suggest the international Kyoto Protocol is doomed to failure ... with or without U.S. participation. -
Obesity Claims Overstated, Consumer Advocate Tells FDA
Opinion -Obesity is a genuine problem in America, but our national debate on the subject has become nothing short of hysterical. And around every corner is a hidden agenda. -
Physicians and Surgeons Examine Consumer-Directed Care
Opinion -South Africa and the United States are on different continents and in different hemispheres, but experience with consumer-directed health plans in the former suggests such plans may soon soar in popularity in the latter.