Criminal Justice

The health of the community inside and outside prisons is imperative in Indiana

Indiana’s 2021 legislative session showed promising efforts to reform the criminal justice system and promote public safety, with lawmakers introducing several important bills. In particular, this session brought opportunities for the state to improve initiatives protecting women in prison, but these attempts ultimately failed when lawmakers hit the halfway marker of the 2021 session. As...

March 15, 2021

Local Government

Don’t Let the Pandemic (or the Freeze) Cloud Sunshine Week

Video from a Jan. 5 officer-involved shooting won’t be made public until April, the Austin police say, because on top of everything else, it got cold in Texas in February. According to a police statement, “due to recent city of Austin weather-related closures, APD will not be releasing the video during the initial 60-day timeframe.”...

March 15, 2021

Local Government

Government Responses to the Pandemic were Disastrous

A year ago, Texas governments were making it up as we went along. Officials responded to COVID-19 by upending our lives, shutting down the economy, and closing schools. Parents became teachers and grocery store stockers became vital front-line troops. Governments further closed bars, mandated masks, and enforced stringent measures that chipped away at our fundamental...

March 12, 2021

K-12 Education

San Francisco School Board Dances Atop Lincoln’s Grave

If a U.S. president can be impeached twice—even with the second trial coming after he leaves office—Abraham Lincoln can be assassinated a second time, with the second attack coming on his reputation. This posthumous attack comes from the woke luminaries heading up the San Francisco Unified School District, which recently decided to rename its schools formerly known...

March 12, 2021

Economy

Did The Shutdowns Save Lives? A Year Later, Statistical Analysis Suggests Not

The government response to COVID-19 has mostly been a failure. Theatric, yes—see New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Emmy. Symbolic, yes. But there is no evidence shutdowns did anything but deepen the economic suffering, increase suicides, and prevent lifesaving medical tests and treatments. With the exception of former President Trump’s effort to speed research, approval, and...

March 12, 2021

Taxes & Spending

Montana: Lower Taxes Start by Reining in Spending

Debates about Montana’s budget often invoke bitter contention over spending cuts, but miss an opportunity for consensus on limiting spending growth. Most Montanans I grew up with would likely agree our government should spend within its means and not tax too much. Those who drafted Montana’s constitution wisely required governments to balance budgets for that...

March 9, 2021

Other

Iowa Needs A Conservative Budget

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republican-led legislature have mainly been following fiscal conservative principles of limiting spending and reducing tax rates. Gov. Reynolds even received an “A” grade from Cato Institute’s 2020 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors for her fiscal conservatism. As a result of conservative budgeting practices, Iowa’s fiscal house was not only prepared...

March 9, 2021

Energy & Environment

Biden’s Anti-Fossil Fuel Agenda Hurts the World’s Poor

The first thing Aysha picks up when she opens her eyes to the warm glow of the morning sun is not an iPhone, not an alarm clock, not even a glass of water. It’s her collection of large plastic gasoline canisters. The 13-year-old Ethiopian straps them to her camel — which her family is lucky...

March 8, 2021

Energy & Environment

Facts, Not Unfounded Fears, Should Drive Policy on Methane Emissions

As IHS Markit’s CERA Week, the world’s premier gathering of executives and ministers to discuss energy, environment, and climate, comes to a close it is clear climate change will – as Biden promised – take center stage in this administration. Unfortunately for the American people, Biden’s actions on methane emissions, as well as other climate...

March 4, 2021

Health Care

It’s Time to Enforce Hospital Price Transparency Rules

Cities across Texas are witnessing some of the country’s fastest growth. With this rapid change, it’s no wonder that Texas is becoming an innovation hub — with Austin dubbed the “new Silicon Valley.” Health care innovation is no exception. We’re seeing new business models rise (from Direct Primary Care practices to direct contract surgery marketplaces) hoping to...

March 3, 2021

Energy & Environment

Please Don’t California the Puerto Rican Power Grid

The most significant threats to Puerto Rico’s energy grid are not tropical storms, hurricanes, or earthquakes—but rather decades of mismanagement and the Island’s unrealistic renewable energy goals for 2025. With the Biden Administration making aggressive renewable environmental policy changes, the Island can expect more pressure from the federal government for renewable energy in Puerto Rico....

March 2, 2021

Energy & Environment

Neglecting Decommissioning Standards Risks Undoing Green Energy Progress

President Joe Biden’s green energy agenda is expansive, with plans to spend over $2 trillion over the course of his first term in office. Democrats’ main talking point is that the United States needs to expand solar energy’s part within America’s energy mix as quickly as possible. However, there is little conversation around what is...

March 2, 2021