Publications
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Illinois Cannot Afford Governor Quinn’s Budget
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Tough decisions are a part of governing, and Illinois’ $11.5 billion budget shortfall will undoubtedly force many of them. -
Universal Access Fund Reform
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Federal and state Universal Access and Service Funds (UASFs) have become an inefficient and unnecessary use of taxpayer money.The funds’ original intent—to expand basic telephone service to rural and low-income residents—has run its course. -
Is the U.S. Surface Temperature Record Reliable?
Publication -Books -The stakes in the debate over global warming are high. If human activities are causing a major warming of the earth’s atmosphere, then actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions costing hundreds of billions of dollars would be necessary. -
Research & Commentary: Health Information Technology
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As part of the federal government’s economic stimulus package, Congress has authorized spending about $20 billion on health information technology (health IT) and another $1 billion on comparative effectiveness research. -
Research & Commentary: The Best And Worst Ways To Eliminate A Budget Deficit
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Research & Commentary: The Best And Worst Ways to Eliminate a Budget DeficitLegislatures in at least 39 states will have to take steps by the end of this fiscal year to eradicate budget deficits totaling nearly $50 billion. -
The Ineffectiveness of Individual Mandates
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Providing insurance coverage for the uninsured has become a cause celebre during the recent crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs and the percentage of Americans without insurance rising across multiple policy lines. -
What A Smoking Ban Would Mean For Indiana
Publication -Research and Commentaries -While Indiana’s legislature and citizens debate the merits of a draconian statewide smoking ban, business owners are already taking steps to balance the wishes of the smoking and nonsmoking populations. -
Ten Principles of Telecom Policy
Publication -Legislative Principles -Why do we need principles of telecom policy? -
FHA Loans Create Substantial Risk for Taxpayers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The subprime crisis has spawned numerous calls for tightening the credit market and banking regulations, in a market that is already highly regulated. -
Federal Cigarette Tax Increase Unfit for SCHIP
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Proposals to increase the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents (156 percent), in order to pay for an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), are problematic. -
An Economic Examination of West Virginia ‘s Prevailing Wage Law
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia is a nonprofit research and educational organization that conducts scholarly research and analysis of public policy in West Virginia. -
Cap-and-Trade in Pennsylvania
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Pennsylvania, among other states, is mulling programs that would establish a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade system for the purpose of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, even as the scientific community becomes increasingly skeptical of claims that global -
Virginia Needs Spending Reform, Not Higher Cigarette Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -For years tobacco consumers have been flocking to Virginia to take advantage of the 30 cents-per-pack cigarette tax in order to avoid taxes in Maryland and Washington, DC, where the tax is currently $2.00 per pack. This week Gov. -
Climate Change in the Classroom Education or Indoctrination? Part 2: Scientific Critiques of Global Warming Alarmism
Publication -Research and Commentaries -This Research & Commentary collection contains three articles that provide scientific critiques of the global warming alarmism that appears in Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth. -
Credit Default Swaps
Publication -Research and Commentaries -First offered by JP Morgan in 1997, credit default swaps (CDS) are the most widely used type of credit derivative in the market and an influential force in the financial marketplace (http://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/08/cds.asp? -
Film Tax Credits: Do They Work?
Publication -Research and Commentaries -States are increasingly interested in expanding subsidies to the film industry through the use of refundable tax credits and sales tax exemptions. -
Film Tax Credits: Do They Work?
Publication -Research and Commentaries -States are increasingly interested in expanding subsidies to the film industry through the use of refundable tax credits and sales tax exemptions. -
Worker’s Compensation Insurance
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Worker's Compensation insurance is a form of insurance that provides compensation for medical care for employees who are injured in the course of employment. -
Research & Commentary: What A Smoking Ban Would Mean for Michigan
Publication -Research and Commentaries -People often support smoking bans in order to be protected from the nuisance of smoking environments in restaurants, bars, casinos, and other businesses. -
Kansas Can’t Afford A Cigarette Tax Hike
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Kansas Health Policy Authority’s recommendation to use a 75-cent cigarette tax increase to pay for health costs should be worrisome—not only to smokers, but also to non-smokers and fiscally responsible legislators as well. -
Community Reinvestment Act: The Risk of Unintended Consequences
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As policymakers consider ways to address the current mortgage crisis, it is important to evaluate new proposals with an eye toward their future effects on the economy. -
Defined Contribution vs. Defined Benefit Pensions
Publication -Research and Commentaries -According to the Pew Center on the States, state government employee pension plans nationwide have racked up nearly $360 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. -
Raising New Hampshire’s Cigarette Tax Is Bad Tax Policy
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A 25 percent increase in New Hampshire's cigarette tax, scheduled to go into effect today, has been put on hold until audits can be completed to determine just how much revenue the tax has raised so far this year. -
Federal Deposit Insurance for the 21st Century
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A holdover from the 1930s-era New Deal programs, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) aims to limit the occurrence and mitigate the effects of bank closures.