Opinion
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California Study Says Public Housing Costs More Than Private
Opinion -“The road to state-subsidized housing may be paved with good intentions, but it’s marked by an unavoidable fact: It actually costs more to build housing that costs less,” reported the Bakersfield Californian in a January 25 story addressing a University -
What Is the FairTax?
Opinion -The FairTax, pending in Congress as HR 25 and S 1493, is a non-partisan proposal that would abolish all federal income taxes, including payroll, self-employment, alternative minimum, income, capital gains, corporate, and death taxes, replacing them with -
Taxpayer Group Seeks to Save Feds $12.6 Million
Opinion -February 5, 2004 The Honorable Tommy Thompson Secretary Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20201 Dear Secretary Thompson: On behalf of the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I write to -
A Timely Reference Book for Tax-Filers
Opinion -The IRS Problem Solver: From Audits to Assessments--How to Solve Your Tax Problems and Keep the IRS Off Your Back Forever Daniel J. Pilla Regan Books, 2003, $15. -
Tax Fairness versus Tax Morality
Opinion -Politicians talk about “tax fairness,” but never about tax morality. That’s because their notion of a fair tax is really an immoral tax, for it is based on theft (some people taking money from other people for themselves). -
A Free-Market National Broadband Policy
Opinion -Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, recently sent a letter to President Bush casting aspersions on the need for a national broadband policy. -
Michigan’s Telecom Regs Raise Costs, Kill Jobs
Opinion -MIDLAND, MI -- A new analysis of telecom data by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has revealed that the vast majority of wireline telephone companies in Michigan are simply reselling the network services they purchase at below-cost from SBC Michigan. -
Measure H and the War Against Biotech
Opinion -Voters in Mendocino County, about a hundred miles north of the San Francisco Bay, are being asked to turn back the clock with a ban on one of the most useful environmental tools available to farmers: biotechnology. -
Congress Returns to Challenges Old and New
Opinion -January marked the second anniversary of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). President George W. -
‘No Child Left Behind’ Fuels Fierce Debate
Opinion -The bouquets and brickbats No Child Left Behind (NCLB) received on its second birthday in early January intensified a debate over the federal education law that is likely to last throughout this Presidential election year. -
03/2004 Friedman Report Profile: Indiana State Senator Teresa Lubbers
Opinion -In 2001, a small group of educational choice proponents met with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office to celebrate the 10th anniversary of charter school legislation. -
Minnesotans Polled on Government-Run Health Care
Opinion -On January 12, the Minnesota Citizens Forum on Health Care Costs released a draft report of findings it reached after a telephone survey of Minnesota residents. As chair of the 18-member panel appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty (R), former U.S. -
Health Care 2004: The Candidates Stake Out Positions
Opinion -Managing editor’s note: Health care rates high on the list of issues taxpayers and voters want Presidential candidates to address during this year’s campaign. -
California Play or Pay Repeal Gains Ballot Status
Opinion -A three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled Californians should be allowed to vote on a referendum aimed at repealing SB 2, a law requiring some companies either to provide health insurance to their workers or pay -
Experts Expose Flaws in Global Warming Extinction Predictions
Opinion -A January 8 article in Nature magazine created a media sensation by predicting global warming will cause between 15 and 37 percent of the Earth’s species to go extinct by the middle of this century unless immediate and drastic action is taken. -
Wyoming, Feds Clash on Gray Wolf Delisting
Opinion -An anticipated delisting of gray wolves from Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection was put on hold January 12 after the U.S. -
Mandatory Recycling Wastes Resources, Harms Environment
Opinion -In mid-December 2003, the Seattle City Council decided to make curbside recycling mandatory. The measure, which goes into effect in January 2005, is a misguided step that will burden taxpayers, antagonize residents, and waste resources. -
Cook County Businesses Burned by 450 Percent Cigarette Tax Increase
Opinion -The Finance Committee of the Cook County (Chicago, Illinois) Board of Commissioners voted on February 3 to raise the county cigarette tax 450 percent, from 18 cents to $1.00 a pack. -
Congress May Address Soaring College Costs
Opinion -Amid concerns about the soaring cost of college, Congress this year is expected to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), which provides guaranteed loans, grants, and support services to college students and their families. -
Choice Would Bring Accountability to Schools
Opinion -In a 1999 interview with School Reform News, Reason Foundation scholar Alexander Volokh explained how choice would discipline schools to be more accountable to parents without the need for government agencies to tell each school in minute detail how to -
Leading Democrat Offers Choice Bill in New Mexico
Opinion -In a move that could signal a major change in the politics of school choice, New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Manny M. -
Medicare HMO Premiums Plummet
Opinion -Millions of seniors enrolled in private-sector Medicare HMOs are getting a big surprise: lower health insurance premiums and increased benefits. -
$30 Million Awarded to High-Risk Pools
Opinion -In late December, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded $30 million in grants to 16 states to help meet the health insurance expenses of residents with preexisting conditions who are unable to obtain private health coverage and are -
California Law Could Force 30% Cut in GHG Emissions
Opinion -California Air Resources Board (CARB) officials have begun drafting plans to implement legislation requiring “maximum feasible and cost-effective” reductions in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation, A.B.