Health Care
How states could transform Medicaid with a block grant
In Ohio, Medicaid surpassed cost projections by nearly $1.5 billion in the first 18 months after expansion.
October 7, 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
Taxes & Spending
Texas continues to receive highest credit ratings since 2013
Legislators should avoid the temptation to spend every taxpayer dollar available by passing conservative budgets while keeping taxes low, as they did this past session, so that the Texas model can continue to foster economic opportunity for all. If they do this, there’s no doubt Texas will keep its high credit ratings.
October 6, 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
End oil export ban
Texans have had to pay higher gasoline prices and incur much damage from this antiquated 40-year ban that should end immediately, which a bill in Congress would do but looks dead on arrival at the White House.
October 5, 2015
K-12 Education
Dr. David Upham’s amicus brief for the school finance trials
The final oral arguments for the current school finance litigation were heard before the Texas Supreme Court on September 1st 2015. This amicus brief explains how our state can make education more productive for Texas children.
October 5, 2015
Criminal Justice
How solitary confinement makes our streets less safe
Solitary confinement, which segregates inmates in a 60-square-foot cell for up to 23 hours a day alone, has consistently shown to increase crime at a much greater cost to the taxpayer.
October 5, 2015
K-12 Education
Ed reform a top priority for Texas Legislature
Kids can’t wait for our three- to five-year plans to succeed. Opportunity isn’t something you put on hold; either we have it or we’ve lost it. This is why parental choice is urgent. Rep. Bohac is absolutely correct when he concluded that school choice legislation must be the top priority for the next Texas Legislature.
October 5, 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
Higher Education
Finally, bipartisan agreement on why college is so expensive
Before the bankruptcy notices begin to arrive at their doors, many American colleges and universities need to look at where they can cut excess spending and pass these savings on to their students and faculty.
September 30, 2015
Energy & Environment
Cleaning the air on climate change
CO2 is an odorless, invisible, beneficial, and natural gas lacking any characteristics of a pollutant.
September 29, 2015