K-12 Education
Study: Texas and Florida lead education results among biggest 5 states, California last
California students lag 6.3 months behind their peers in learning.
October 29, 2015
Taxes & Spending
Kasich: Kill the federal gas tax, shift transportation power to states
The federal government taxes $0.184 on a gallon of gasoline and $0.244 for diesel with about 40 percent of the $50 billion spent annually going to programs earmarked by Congress, such as urban rail systems.
October 23, 2015
Local Government
Ballot initiatives weaponize emotion to centralize power
In 1982 the United States under President Ronald Reagan was massively recapitalizing the military, including America’s nuclear weapons arsenal. The former Soviet Union didn’t like it one bit, and resolved to blunt Reagan’s efforts.
October 23, 2015
Economy
The EPA’s Clean Power Plan won’t save the planet, but it will cause human suffering
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan (CPP) aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions among America’s electrical power industry by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 for a total of 871 million tons per year.
October 19, 2015
Criminal Justice
Crime surge? Look at the blood, well-told half-truths and statistics again
The bottom line that few Americans know, given the media’s daily drumbeat of shootings and mayhem, is that violent crime in the U.S. peaked in the early 1990s with the gun homicide rate in particular about half today of what it was a little more than 20 years ago.
October 7, 2015
Economy
Generating intellectual property: First Rule of Law, then research universities
Among 106 nations, Taiwan leads the way in patent production per capita over the past decade, followed closely by Japan and the United States.
October 6, 2015
Economy
Is the Dow stall foretelling a jobs reversal?
Economists consider employment to be a lagging economic indicator.
October 2, 2015
Energy & Environment
How government kills two income classes with one stone
Local property rights restrictions are a big driver of cost of living differences between states, while the degree of urbanization—oft-used by blue-state progressives to excuse the high cost of housing in the states they run—has no statistical effect.
September 30, 2015
Taxes & Spending
Taxing carried interest will mean fewer jobs
Generating capital gains means that money was used efficiently, benefiting not just the professional investment manager, but savers and the world.
September 22, 2015
Energy & Environment
Late for work? Maybe zoning is to blame
Among the 50 states, the average commute time from 2006 to 2010 was about 23 minutes and 18 seconds.
September 21, 2015
Economy
Cost of living matters in the Census Bureau’s new poverty report
California has the nation’s 4th-highest taxes as a share of state income, the nation’s highest marginal income tax bracket, 13.3 percent, and a generous social safety net with one-third of the nation’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families recipients.
September 16, 2015
Economy
EPA’s Clean Power Plan nationalizes electric policy, electric bills to soar
The bottom line: it isn’t easy being green—it’s downright costly.
September 8, 2015