It was refreshing to see President Trump remind the world in a speech at the White House this week that America leads the world in making our air and water safe while growing our economy. Sadly, the press has failed to adequately report American environmental progress, and it seems hostile toward the president using his...
The lack of predictability in health care costs continues to frustrate Americans. Most people blame the insurance companies, which negotiate rates with providers behind closed doors. Others say government intervention has destroyed health care markets and the lack of competition drives up costs. Both sides are right, which is why Americans should embrace the latest executive order from...
Across the nation, nearly thirty percent of jobs require an occupational license or certification; that percentage has more than quintupled since the 1950s. These licensing restrictions often create a lifelong barrier to gainful careers for the large number of qualified workers in Rhode Island with an arrest or conviction record. Now is the time for...
A recent study from Synapse Energy Economics (commissioned by the Sierra Club) claims that replacing the J.K. Spruce coal-fired power plant units owned by CPS Energy — San Antonio’s municipal utility — with wind and solar power “could benefit rate payers an average of $85 million each year from 2026-2040.” Unfortunately, the Sierra Club and...
Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature made school finance reform and property tax relief the signature issue of the 86th legislative session. The final result was HB 3, a monumental school finance bill that dedicated $5 billion in state tax dollars to local maintenance and operations (M&O) property tax relief. That’s important because maintenance and...
The modest participation of our volunteer military in the Independence Day celebration in our nation’s Capital has sparked debate. That’s both curious and troubling. This may be explained in light of a new Gallup Poll showing that Americans have the lowest pride in their nation since the question was asked in 2001, with Gallup noting, The greatest disparities in...
One hundred years ago, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Since then, voters have used this right to choose many women to represent us. This is a wonderful thing, but ironically, some progressive women are now advancing climate policies that would harm the world’s poorest women the most. Consider two...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has now ended its policy of separating minors from their parents at the border; that’s a move that a majority of Americans — even those who want stronger border security — support. That’s because Americans are seemingly united in the belief that there is an innate sanctity to the nuclear family; the...
It often baffles me why so many politicians and CEOs—folks who have fought hard to achieve their positions—exhibit so much fear. The slightest dip in polls or profits seems to drive them into a headlong flight for the safety of big government. Nowhere is this more evident than in the response to renewable energy subsidies....
Citing a report from Hired, a job site, the Austin Business Journal ran an article headlined, “Study: When adjusted for cost of living, Austin tech workers make more than San Francisco peers.” The piece observed, “…for the fourth year in a row, Austin tech workers have the highest average salary when adjusted based on cost of living… (with) Austin’s tech workers…...
The Institute for Justice has taken up the cause of doctors in Texas who want to offer their patients affordable medications at the point of care—a practice known as physician dispensing of prescription drugs. As the doctors point out, the Texas ban on physician dispensing is irrational. “As 45 other states have recognized, doctor dispensing...
New wind and solar farms are continuing to be constructed all over Texas. Longroad Energy, a company headquartered in Massachusetts, has recently announced plans to build two new renewable energy plants in Texas, which are both set to be completed in the year 2020. Earlier this month, Longroad Energy signed a 15-year Virtual Power Purchase...