Opinion
-
Damage Caused by Government Fiscal Expansion
Opinion -The reason the private sector is more efficient than government is not because it doesn’t make mistakes, but because it has mechanisms to purge mistakes and move resources to higher-valued uses. -
Government Debt Threatens Living Standards
Opinion -One of the nation’s top accountants warned, “the most serious threat to the United States is its own fiscal irresponsibility” at a screening of a movie focused on the nation’s debt and government’s “fuzzy -
Illinois Spending Soars, Governor Seeks Tax Hikes
Opinion -Illinois state government is facing a budget deficit between $8 billion and $11.5 billion, and Illinois citizens are facing tax and fee hikes that could take billions more from them.Gov. -
Information Therapy Strengthens Consumer-Directed Health Care
Opinion -Private managed-care providers are increasingly using electronic medical records and other information technology systems to get patients and doctors more connected with each other, giving patients more involvement in their treatment decisions and more -
Iowa City Rejects Local Tax Diversion for College Scholarships
Opinion -Voters in Davenport, Iowa overwhelmingly rejected a measure to use a local sales tax to fund a college scholarship program that would have been run by the city. -
iPhone ‘Jailbreaking’ Sparks Regulatory Battle
Opinion -A regulatory fight is brewing with Apple Inc. facing off against third-party software developers and consumers. At issue is whether users may modify the Cupertino, California-based company’s popular iPhone without running afoul of U.S. -
Kentucky Can’t Seize Gambling Sites, Court Rules
Opinion -The fate of online gambling in Kentucky comes to a head in June, when the state supreme court is scheduled to rule whether Gov. Steve Beshear’s (D) seizure of 141 online gambling Web sites last October is constitutional. -
Mississippi Bans Red Light Cameras
Opinion -Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has signed a bill banning the use of automated cameras that take pictures of drivers who run red lights.All red light cameras must be removed from the state’s streets by October 1. -
Net Neutrality Bill on Comeback Trail?
Opinion -The Democratic majority in Congress has a lot on its plate this year, dealing with the Obama administration’s ambitious domestic agenda. -
New Jersey Budget Relies on Questionable Revenue, Cuts
Opinion -Only nine days after proposing to eliminate the property tax deduction allowed under New Jersey’s personal income tax, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) partially backed down from the proposal. -
Online Company Helps Educate People Worldwide
Opinion -Not many schools can say they’ve helped educate more than 100 million people around the globe from preschool through postgraduate professional certification, but Pearson Education, a 165-year-old international media company based in England, can. -
Oregon Becomes First State to Officially Ration Health Care
Opinion -The Oregon Health Services Commission has drawn up a formal procedure for rationing health care services available to recipients of taxpayer-subsidized coverage. -
Pennsylvania Considers Sin Tax on Some Video Games
Opinion -Pennsylvania lawmakers are pondering whether to add violent video games to the list of products subject to state “sin taxes.”The great majority of states place surtaxes on alcohol and cigarettes, purportedly to discourage drinking and smoking. -
Proprietors of ‘Pirate Bay’ Convicted of Copyright Violations
Opinion -A Swedish court sentenced the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay, one of the most popular file-sharing Web sites in the world, to a year in jail and a fine of $3.6 million for breaching copyright law. -
Report: Less Regulation Benefits Homeowners Insurance Buyers
Opinion -Consumers in five states are paying higher premiums for homeowners insurance than necessary because of ill-advised regulation, according to a new report card jointly released by The Heartland Institute and Competitive Enterprise Institute. -
Shut Down Google Docs, Advocacy Group Tells FTC
Opinion -The Electronic Privacy Information Center is calling for a federal government investigation of Google’s privacy safeguards. The group is reacting to the accidental sharing of some users’ Google Docs information in March. -
South Carolina Considers School Choice Bill
Opinion -South Carolina could become the latest state to implement a tax credit scholarship program allowing low-income children to attend the private school of their parents’ choice, if a bill introduced during the spring session becomes law. State Sen. -
States, Local Governments’ Impact on Freedom Revealed
Opinion -With the nation anxiously waiting to find out whether the federal government’s stimulus package will boost the economy, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that state and local governments can affect our pocketbooks and personal lives as much as -
Tax-Fighter, Reformer Beats Illinois Democrat Machine
Opinion -With little money and no help from the Chicago political machine, Cook County Board Member Mike Quigley on April 7 won a special election for the Congressional seat formerly held by Rahm Emanuel, now chief of staff for President Barack Obama. -
Tech Industry Chafes at ‘Card Check’ Bill
Opinion -The technology corridor of northern Virginia is uniting against a labor union bill backed by President Barack Obama. -
Texas Considers Special-Needs Voucher Programs
Opinion -Special-needs students in Texas may get some school choice if the legislature passes two bills currently pending in the Senate.Senate Bill 183, sponsored by state Sen. -
Texas Legislature May Expand Government Insurance Role
Opinion -The Texas State Senate is considering a bill to subsidize health care costs for small businesses employing low-income workers. -
Vt. Regulator Explains His State’s Success
Opinion -Vermont Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Bertrand recently explained to The Heartland Institute’s Matthew Glans why he thinks his state has such a good insurance climate:Glans: Nationwide, Vermont has the most insurance companies doing -
Waste, Fraud, Abuse Likely to Flood Federal Hurricane Fund
Opinion -Efforts to create a federal Catastrophic Hurricane Fund are finding an all-too-eager audience in Congress, setting the stage for “the entire baggage of waste, fraud, and abuse” that typically accompanies poorly thought-out federal programs,
