Energy and Environment Report: Wind Costs Soar While the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) argues onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of electric power – cheaper than nuclear, new coal, hydro, and solar – a new study from researchers at Utah State University shows when you take into account the true costs of wind, it’s around 48 percent more expensive than the EIA claims. H. Sterling Burnett, a research fellow at The Heartland Institute and the managing editor ofEnvironment & Climate News, examines what has caused wind costs to soar. Read more
Education Pernicious Egalitarianism Shrinks 8th Grade Algebra Programs A growing trend among school districts is to limit or eliminate entirely advanced learning opportunities for students, because districts claim Common Core discourages acceleration of individual students. Many districts now prefer for students to wait until high school before taking algebra as a result. Math teachers in San Francisco were told by a district official the district was limiting the “accelerated math” in which qualified students in 8th grade, and even some in 7th grade, had been allowed to take an Algebra 1 course early. Read more
Health Care Research & Commentary: The ‘Cadillac Tax’ Since its inception, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been plagued by legal, financial, and technological problems, many of which remain unaddressed. One of the issues looming on the horizon in 2018 is the so-called Cadillac tax, a 40 percent non-deductible excise tax on employer-sponsored health plans with annual premiums exceeding $10,200 for individuals or $27,500 for a family. In this Research & Commentary, Matthew Glans cautions the Cadillac tax could add billions more in new state and local taxes while negatively affecting more health insurance policies every year. “States will either have to raise taxes or reform their health care plans for state workers by increasing worker contributions, scaling back coverage, or limiting benefits.” Read more
Budget and Tax Atlantic City Resident Fights Private Taking of Longtime Home In this article from The Heartlander, Tony Corvo covers the story of an Atlantic City resident who is fighting the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s plan to seize his property and resell it for undisclosed private purposes. Corvo examines Charlie Birnbaum’s fight against the state agency’s plan to use eminent domain, the seizing of private property by government agencies for public use, to demolish his home and resell the property to private developers. Read more
Constitutional Reform EPA Power Grab Incites States to Consider Nullification Kyle Maichle of The Heartland Institute writes in The American Spectator about the possible use of nullification in several states over the myriad new regulatory rules imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that have had a strangling effect on businesses and property owners. “States’ refusal to enforce what they consider to be unconstitutional federal laws is known as nullification. In the Virginia Resolution of 1798, James Madison said states are ‘duty bound to resist’ when the federal government violates the Constitution. States are now embracing this concept by responding to an increasing regulatory burden imposed by federal bureaucrats.” Read more
From Our Free-Market Friends Learn Liberty Video: Sharing Economy: Uber, Airbnb, & Feastly vs. Government Regulation The sharing economy connects people with services such as Uber, AirBnB, and Feastly. Despite these new ways to connect, many regulators would like to stop it in its tracks. In this Learn Libertyvideo, Mercatus Center Research Fellow Christopher Koopman discusses how the sharing economy undermines the regulatory establishment and makes people’s lives better. He also expresses his concerns about regulating the sharing economy. Watch here
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