Opinion
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Gov. Crist Blasted on Failure of Insurance Bill in Florida House
Opinion -TALLAHASSEE (April 21, 2010) -- The Florida director of The Heartland Institute’s Center on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate today reacted angrily to the apparent failure of market-freeing insurance reforms in the state legislature. -
Credit Card Debt Falls for 17th Consecutive Month
Opinion -For the 17th consecutive month, U.S. consumer use of revolving credit has declined, according to a report released in April by the Federal Reserve.Revolving credit is primarily credit card usage. It fell in February at an annual rate of 13.1 percent. -
As Some Louisiana Insurers Withdraw, Others Move In
Opinion -Hanover Insurance Group is dropping thousands of Louisiana property insurance policyholders, but State Insurance Commissioner James Donelon says Louisiana’s residual market for property insurance is shrinking and will continue to do so, thanks to -
Obama Tax Proposal Would Hit Property Reinsurance, Raise Costs
Opinion -In 2008 candidate Barack Obama attacked his challenger for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, for defending offshore reinsurance arrangements. -
Meet Your Heartland Friends at The Freedom Pub
Opinion -Welcome to the ground floor of a new place on the Web to share your love of freedom and frustration over the ever-creeping state -- a place called The Freedom Pub. -
Georgia Voucher Expansion Bill Fails to Reach Vote
Opinion -Crystal Beale fights back the tears when she talks about her husband, Sgt. First Class John Beale, and one of the last conversations they had about their children. -
Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Arizona Parents
Opinion -A superior court judge in Arizona’s rural Yavapai County dismissed a lawsuit and imposed sanctions against a local school district that had sought to prevent four resident taxpayers from requesting public information. -
Los Angeles on Verge of Bankruptcy
Opinion -The nation’s second-largest city teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, largely because of lavish pay and benefits packages for a bloated government workforce, according to tax and budget watchdogs—and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. -
New York Worst, Utah Best in Annual Competitiveness Rankings
Opinion -New York ranks last and Utah first in the third edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, released in April by the American Legislative Exchange Council. -
Value-Added Tax Would Be a Big Disaster
Opinion -The idea that the Obama administration wants to make the United States more like France can no longer be considered a black-helicopter conspiracy theory concocted by Tea Partiers and “right-wing extremists. -
Illinois Governor Angles for More Borrowing, Higher Taxes
Opinion -Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) has proposed a budget that would borrow billions of dollars in fiscal year 2011, continuing the state’s eight-year trend of increased borrowing, and would still leave the state with an $11 budget deficit according to -
Looking for Revenue, Locales Turn to Higher Gasoline Taxes
Opinion -To fill budget holes, some localities are considering raising fuel taxes, including places in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. But many local officials are finding raising the tax politically difficult. -
Florida Bill Would Free Up State’s Ailing Insurance Market
Opinion -Despite there having been no major storms in Florida in the last year, three property insurers in the state have gone into receivership, and many others are in financial trouble, according to Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation. -
Consumer Power Report #217
Opinion -I was having an exchange with a physician friend. He argued that advocating repeal of the ObamaCare law is a bad strategy. He thought there were some good things in it that should be preserved. -
Former Senator Schmitt Takes Issue With the President on Space Policy
Opinion -The President has repeated his advocacy for the abandonment of a program of deep space exploration by Americans in return for vague promises about future actions. -
Documentary Questions Education Status Quo
Opinion -Review of “The Cartel,” directed by Bob Bowdon. Moving Pictures Institute, 2009, 90 minutes. Now playing at film festivals around the country, The Cartel is a powerful and provocative documentary about the sorry state of American education. -
Law to Protect Market in Auto Crash Repair Parts Proposed
Opinion -For the last two decades, drivers having their cars repaired after collisions have been saving money by using“generic” replacement parts that cost less than the original manufacturer’s replacement parts but are equivalent in every -
San Francisco Mayor Threatens Mass Firing, Settles for Furloughs
Opinion -With San Francisco facing a $522 million budget deficit, Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) proposed firing more than 15,000 city employees and then rehiring some of them, at fewer hours per week, to save money. -
Weak Dam Has Washington Lawmakers Mulling New Flood Insurance Program
Opinion -Weaknesses discovered in the Howard Hanson Dam in Washington state’s Green River Valley have led Washington legislators to consider creating a new state-run flood insurance program.Citing weaknesses in one of the dam’s abutments, the U.S. -
Two Illinois Counties Hit Feds’ Broadband Stimulus Jackpot
Opinion -The federal government has awarded two Illinois counties $11.9 million to deploy a 130-mile fiber network, a move industry insiders suggest could ultimately crowd out private broadband investment. -
NJ Governor, Teachers Unions Face Off Over Deficits
Opinion -School reformers are paying attention to New Jersey as Gov. Chris Christie (R) prepares to fight the state’s powerful teachers union over state education funding, public employee pensions, and structural education reforms in cities such as Newark. -
California Again Considers Imposing an ‘Amazon Tax’
Opinion -Scrambling to come up with ways to close an historic $20 billion budget deficit, California legislators are contemplating—yet again—imposing an “Amazon Tax. -
Florida Lawmakers Pass Merit Pay, Tenure Reforms
Opinion -Florida’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would effectively end tenure for new teachers and establish a merit-pay system. -
Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly #9-8
Opinion -Keeping the Change Prison inmates in Wisconsin have a constitutional right to receive sex-change drugs while jailed, a federal judge in Milwaukee ruled recently.
