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Constitutional Reform
Heartland Institute Launches New Center for Constitutional Reform at Dallas Event
The Heartland Institute launched its new Center for Constitutional Reform in Dallas, Texas this week. The Heartland Institute’s new Center for Constitutional Reform was created to highlight individuals and organizations working to find solutions to the nation’s constitutional problems. It will not endorse one particular path to constitutional reform, seeking instead to support and promote constructive debate on all efforts to restore constitutional order.
Explaining why a Center for Constitutional Reform is needed, Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast said, “America is facing a constitutional crisis. Limits on the size and power of the national government intended by the Founding Fathers and placed in the Constitution have been violated repeatedly and with devastating consequences. The national government has grown to the point that it is now a clear and present danger to American life, liberty, and happiness.” Read More
Energy and Environment
Fracking on Federal Lands Should be Encouraged, Not Banned
In a recent article, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) contends the government should ban hydraulic fracturing on public lands. Pocan cites concerns about potential environmental and economic impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” and raises concerns about fracking in national parks. The article has serious flaws regarding the environmental and economic impacts of fracking, and it misrepresents oil and gas activity in national parks. Heartland Research Fellow Isaac Orr responds in a recent article from The Hill stating, “Additionally, nearly all Americans – not just energy companies and their immediate suppliers – are reaping the benefits of increasing energy production. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates low gasoline prices will save the average household $675 this year. A study conducted by the Brookings Institution estimates low natural gas prices are saving $181 to $431 dollars per person.” Read more
Education
Florida Legislators Recognize Need for Flexibility, Choice in Special Education
Florida’s personal learning scholarship accounts program offers an education savings account for special-needs students. Parents initially pay for approved educational services and then are reimbursed. Funding provided through the program can cover expenses ranging from instructional materials to curriculum to approved specialized services and therapies. In this Townhallarticle, Research Fellow Heather Kays argues, “These changes show Florida legislators have recognized the need for flexibility and choice when designing special-education funding. The rest of country should consider enacting similar legislation, because a program such as this makes an enormous difference to each family it serves.” Read More
Budget and Tax
Research & Commentary: New Hampshire Tax Reform
Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) recently announced a new tax proposal that would lower the business profits tax, increase the threshold on who has to file and pay the business enterprise tax, and dramatically increase the state’s tobacco tax. While Hassan’s business tax cuts are a positive step forward, imposing excise taxes on e-cigarettes and other noncombustible products is not justified from a public health perspective, as it removes a prime economic incentive for smokers to improve their health by switching to e-cigarettes and other less harmful alternatives. In this Research & Commentary, Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Glans argues, “New Hampshire should continue its focus on lowering all forms of income taxes, which would put dollars back into the pockets of taxpayers and create new, reasonable limits on government spending.” Read More
Health Care
Nation’s Number of Uninsured Declines, Access to Care Worsens
In this Heartlander article, Health Care News Managing Editor Ken Artz discusses how the number of people who were uninsured declined from 36 million in 2014 to 29 million in the first three months of 2015 and how supporters of Obamacare claim this as proof of the law’s success. Artz speaks with several critics of the law who argue the changes emerged mainly due to the Obama administration’s expansion of Medicaid, not a rise in people obtaining high-quality insurance. “‘Most doctors don’t accept Medicaid patients, because the government’s rate of payment is so low. So even though people may have an “insurance” card in their wallet, they still don’t have better access to health care. As a result, hospitals are reporting substantial increases in the use of emergency rooms.'” Read More
From Our Free-Market Friends
The Center of the American Experiment’s 2015 Fall Briefing with Sen. Tom Coburn
Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) speak about his book The Debt Bomb: A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America at the Center of the American Experiment’s 2015 Fall Briefing. The event takes place on Tuesday, October 13th, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in in Minneapolis, MN. Register Here
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