Publications

Legislation making its way through the Texas Legislature would establish a universal education savings account (ESA) program open to all children in the Lone Star State. These accounts would cover tuition, fees, and curricula for eligible children at private and parochial schools, as well as textbooks and uniforms, private tutoring services, transportation costs, and educational therapies. […]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics are a popular kind of social credit scoring, one that poses a significant threat to individual liberty and free-market economies, both in the United States and abroad. ESG is regularly used by corporations and investors as a tool to impose progressive values and environmental policies on other businesses, governments, […]

Quick Bullets: Coal is formed when plant debris from mostly swampy areas is gradually buried, compacted over millions of years, and made into rock by heat and pressure deep underground.  In a coal power plant, coal is burned and used to make steam, which turns a turbine and produces electricity. Coal generated 35 percent of […]

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as "fracking," has a litany of common misconceptions too many believe. Authors Linnea Lueken and Tim Benson debunk the four most persistent in this policy brief.

ESG standards are designed to create a “great reset of capitalism” and to “revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions.”

Legislation making its way through the Texas Legislature would establish a universal education savings account (ESA) program open to all children in the Lone Star State. These accounts would cover tuition, fees, and curricula for eligible children at private and parochial schools, as well as textbooks and uniforms, private tutoring services, transportation costs, and educational therapies. […]

 Q. Is climate change real?  A. The Earth’s climate is always changing. Any assertion of a climate crisis, however, is a sham.   Q. What if you are wrong?  A. If the science starts to turn, we can and will quickly react. In the meantime, climate alarmism is killing millions of people, impoverishing millions more, and […]

When a less expensive drug is available and comparable to a more expensive one, corporations and government purchasers have developed policies that force the patient to try the cheaper drug first by requiring prior authorization (PA) to skip to a more expensive alternative. This has pulled cost out of the system, but also has delayed […]

One-in-five (about 30 million) Americans are bound by noncompete agreements. Noncompete agreements are routinely executed to prevent valuable, and sometimes proprietary information from traveling with employees when they change jobs. Technology companies thrive in a highly competitive environment where the coin of the realm is novelty, so it is understandable that many such employers ask […]

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering House Bill 1427, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Keystone State to $15 per hour, beginning January 1, 2024. Furthermore, beginning January 1, 2025, HB 1427 would increase the minimum wage by an annual cost-of-living adjustment calculated by the secretary using the percentage change in the […]

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering House Bill 1500, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Keystone State to $15 per hour, by January 1, 2026. The legislation would incrementally raise the minimum wage beginning with an increase to $11 per hour beginning January 1, 2024. Then increasing to $13 per hour beginning […]

The South Carolina Senate is considering Senate Bill 291, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Palmetto State to $15 per hour, immediately effective upon the passage of the legislation. Also known as the “South Carolina Minimum Wage Act” this bill would bring forth a substantial increase from South Carolina’s current minimum wage of […]

The South Carolina House of Representatives is considering House Bill 3805, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Palmetto State to $17 per hour, immediately effective upon the passage of the legislation. Also known as the “South Carolina Minimum Wage Act,” this bill would bring forth a substantial increase from South Carolina’s current minimum […]

The South Carolina Legislature is considering House Bill 3526, new legislation that would eliminate the imposition of the income tax on individuals, estates, and trusts in the Palmetto State.  Throughout recent legislative sessions, many elected officials have turned their sights towards state revenue and budgets. Legislative sessions have been particularly unique following the COVID-19 economic […]

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is considering House Bill 1986, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Sooner State to $13 per hour by January 1, 2026. This would be a substantial increase from Oklahoma’s current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.  HB 1986 would raise the minimum wage incrementally beginning with an increase […]

The Oklahoma Senate is considering Senate Bill 156, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Sooner State to $10 per hour by January 1, 2026. This would be a substantial increase from Oklahoma’s current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.  SB 156 would raise the minimum wage incrementally beginning with an increase to $8.25 […]

The Oklahoma Senate is considering Senate Bill 163, legislation that would raise the minimum wage in the Sooner State to $13 per hour. This would be a substantial increase from Oklahoma’s current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.  SB 163 would raise the minimum wage incrementally by $0.50 per year over a five-year period after the […]

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a way of connecting health care providers and patients in a retainer-based service agreement. Under DPC, providers and patients agree on a fee to be paid to cover routine health care services. It does not replace health insurance and it must not be defined as insurance. The main barrier to […]

Skyrocketing Medicaid costs were already threatening to overpower every other priority in state budgets before the pandemic. As COVID-19 spread, national Medicaid enrollment ballooned from 23 million people to 95 million as eligibility requirements were relaxed. States were given enhanced funding from the federal government to load more people onto Medicaid while simultaneously being unable […]

Telemedicine has benefited from a steep COVID-19 learning curve. After restrictions on telemedicine were eased or eliminated to allow virtual treatment as a temporary replacement for in-person office visits during the pandemic, most patients are returning to in-person consults. However, as the formal pandemic emergency ends, public health officials are allowing many COVID-19 emergency rules […]

Certificate of Need (CON) laws were intended to reduce costs and improve access to health care by controlling the availability of medical facilities through state-based regulation. In the 1960s, policy makers began to worry that the free market would concentrate an oversupply of lucrative medical services in some areas, while creating an undersupply of services […]

Two people who are suffering from the same curable condition may need the same drug. One will get it, while the other may be prescribed something less effective. The insurance you have determines which drug you are prescribed because your insurer may require prior authorization (PA) for certain treatments. PA reform is taking shape in […]

In 2018, President Trump signed Right to Try legislation, which allows terminally ill and untreatable patients with the right to try medicines that are deemed safe, but have not yet gained final approval from the FDA. This year, states are taking the next step to allow more patients access to more potential treatments. While Right […]