Opinion
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Consumer Power Report #69
Opinion -Consumer Power Report, written by Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices at The Heartland Institute, is a weekly report summarizing recent developments on consumer-directed health care in the media, legislative, and regulatory -
Media Advisory: Utah Governor Signs Voucher Bill, Experts React
Opinion -(Chicago, Illinois - February 13, 2007) In a quiet ceremony last night (February 12), Utah's governor, Jon Huntsman Jr., signed the most expansive school reform legislation in American history. -
Heartland Responds to Wall Street Journal Column
Opinion -The following is a response to Sharon Begley’s Wall Street Journal column of February 9, 2007 by James M. Taylor, senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute. Taylor was quoted extensively in her article. -
Consumer Power Report #68
Opinion -Consumer Power Report, written by Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices at The Heartland Institute, is a weekly report summarizing recent developments on consumer-directed health care in the media, legislative, and regulatory -
Not All Classroom Ideas Are ‘Great’
Opinion -Dear Editor: Judging by its headlines ("Classroom ideas that work," Feb. 4; "5 more great classroom ideas," Feb. 7), the Tribune editorial board does not lack self-esteem. However, not all of the ideas in its education-reform series are hot stuff. -
Global Warming: A Science and Economics Update
Opinion -Greetings from Chicago, hog butcher for the world, city of big shoulders, and if you believe everything you read in the newspapers, home of the next President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama. -
Oregon Governor Trampling Scientific Freedom
Opinion -In a chilling assault on free speech and academic freedom, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) has informed KGW-TV in Portland that he is seeking to remove a prominent skeptic of manmade global warming from the position of state climatologist. -
Controversial EPA Proposal May Increase Ozone Pollution
Opinion -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering new rules for diesel truck engine manufacturers that may actually increase ozone levels in many cities. -
Cable Franchise Reform Spreads
Opinion -As of December 2006, 11 states had approved video franchise reform legislation. Eight of those states--California, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas--created statewide video franchising processes. -
FCC Gives Franchise Reform a Boost
Opinion -While it lacks the power to create a national franchising process, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did its bit in December for competition and choice in cable and video services by voting to institute a 90-day "shot clock" for local approval -
Link Tax Day with Election Day: Congressman
Opinion -Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) has sponsored a bill, H.R. 77 (H.R. 442 in the 109th Congress), to move the deadline for filing federal income tax returns from April 15 to the first Monday in November--the day before Election Day. -
Vote Seen as Referendum on Pensions
Opinion -School employee pensions are widely cited as a major reason for Michigan voters' landslide rejection of a November ballot initiative that would have mandated automatic annual increases in funding for public education in the state. -
Lancaster Convention Center Battle Shatters Amish Country Calm
Opinion -The project started out modestly enough. In 1999, a $75 million convention center and hotel was conceived for downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a city of about 50,000 in a county with a population of approximately 500,000. -
New York State Government Grows
Opinion -Employment and wage trends in New York State since the beginning of this decade could be described as a tale of two sectors: public and private. -
Supreme Court to Hear Washington Lawsuit Opposing Forced Union Dues
Opinion -A group of teachers has successfully persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case in which Washington State's high court rejected a campaign finance regulation referred to as "paycheck protection. -
Long-Term Care Conferences Upbeat
Opinion -The 2006 LTCi National Producers Summit, billed as "the largest LTC [long-term care] insurance sales event of the year," convened in Austin, Texas on November 4. Attending were 600 of the nation's leading LTCi agents. -
Medicare Part D Doesn’t Need Direct Negotiation
Opinion -Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, pledged to remove in the first week of the congressional session the current ban on federal negotiation of drug pricing for Medicare beneficiaries. -
Ohio City Contemplates Local Beer Tax
Opinion -City officials in Kent, Ohio may seek authority from state lawmakers to levy a local tax on beer, one of a number of options under consideration to boost city revenues. -
Spending Limits Don’t Inhibit Effective Government: Report
Opinion -For many, the management of government boils downs to two options: either higher taxes and spending, or fewer services. -
How to Unclog the Nation’s Highways
Opinion -The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think, and What We Can Do About It By Ted Balaker and Sam Staley Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2006 208 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0742551121, $24.95 Available through Amazon. -
New Jersey Lawmakers Aim to Cut Property Taxes
Opinion -After three months of extensive and intensive study, the New Jersey Legislature has begun considering 98 policy initiatives aimed at reducing the state's reliance on local property taxes. -
Double Taxation of Dividends Should End
Opinion -There is no good reason for government to tax dividends twice, as it now does, and many reasons not to. Companies need capital to finance a business. -
Minnesota Budget Surplus Brings New Pressure for Property Tax Relief
Opinion -If all politics is indeed local, there was no more political issue during the 2006 legislative campaign in Minnesota than property taxes. -
Electricity Fee Mulled in No. Carolina
Opinion -In North Carolina, the trend toward taxing "sinful behavior" is reaching new heights. The North Carolina Public Utilities Commission is considering charging an extra "fee," separate from existing rates, to electric utility customers.
