Make a list of the things you think government does really well. Almost everyone can agree it is pitifully short. Why, then, would we want government to run something as important as health care? The argument for a federal solution to affordable health care assumes the feds will do a good job, and is marked by a lack of understanding about what has made America the wealthiest country in history. Our meteoric rise was ignited by doing less, not more, when it came to regulating the choices people could make …
In the 1970s when gas prices were soaring, the federal government implemented price controls to replace expensive gas with scarce gas, causing consumers to wait for hours to fill up their tank. Today, in the Southeast consumers are experiencing $4-a-gallon gasoline and scarcity. Some gas stations in the area have no gas to sell and fights are breaking out among angry consumers at other stations. Waiting lines range from 30 minutes at some stations to two hours at others. Marsha Lewis of Dacula, Ga., remarked, “At first I was a …
Digital Lies & the Future of America – The Technology Liberation Front This is a good article by Harvard professor Harry Lewis. He worries that the ease of spreading lies on the Net puts us at risk of losing “a thoughtful, analytical, educated citizenry… Tax Policy Questions for the Presidential Candidates – The Tax Foundation A few days ago, we released eight tax policy questions we have for Senators McCain and Obama: The Treasury Department and the Congressional Budget Office say that housing receives more tax subsidies than any other …
Is the Bush Administration supporting yet another bailout? After seven delays and months of negotiations between Massachusetts and federal officials over the renewal of the state’s Medicaid demonstration waiver which supports its landmark health reform, State House News Service has just reported that a deal has been struck. While the details of the waiver renewal are so far being withheld by both state and federal officials, there was a press conference today at 2pm where Gov. Patrick announced the deal. As my colleague Ed Haislmaier and I wrote in our …
Last week the House of Representatives approved a funding bill that reversed a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. While this is a major victory for American consumers, it is only the beginning. The left and their environmental allies have constructed a massive web of bureaucracy between America’s natural resources and American consumers. The Institute for Energy Research has detailed the cumbersome and inefficient process energy producers must go through before a drop of oil or a cubic foot of natural gas can be …
This week, Heritage senior fellow J.D. Foster squares off with American Prospect’s Robert Kuttner over how Congress should address the economy next in The Los Angeles Times. First JD: The Paulson plan was certainly no cure-all; it was intended to keep capital markets functioning so they can resolve their own problems. The plan’s core was to make up to $700 billion of taxpayer funds available to purchase low-quality assets. We need additional steps, such as expanding the reach of deposit insurance at commercial banks. The problem began with housing, but …
The 2009 Defense Authorization Bill passed by Congress last week, only authorizes the Air Force the funds needed to keep 317,050 airmen in uniform. This is 11,550 less than the 328,600 airmen Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he needs. Apparently this isn’t even Congress’ fault. Air Force Times reports: The reason for the disconnect: Neither Gates’ office nor the Air Force ever went to Congress to formally ask for more airmen, according to congressional staffers. The confusion stems from tensions inside the Air Force between funding a much needed modernization …
Nuclear waste is not just at nuclear power plants, but there’s also radioactive waste at universities, labs and hospitals across the country, as indicated in a recent Associated Press story. These places have all kinds of nuclear waste? Much of it low-level nuclear waste. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines low-level radioactive waste as items that have become contaminated with radioactive material or have become radioactive through exposure to neutron radiation. This waste typically consists of contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing, wiping rags, mops, filters, reactor water treatment …
Campaigning in Colorado yesterday Barack Obama blamed the financial crisis on “a culture of deregulation.” No, we don’t know what this means either. Pressed for specifics, some on the left manage to identify the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley law as the deregulation source for all our problems. But as we have detailed before, Gramm-Leach-Bliley is not to blame for the current crisis. In fact, it has actually been key in helping the federal government manage financial institution failures. The financial crisis we are experiencing today is not the cause of too little …
Gore: To the Barricades! Everyone! (Well, Except Me) – Shopfloor.org Al Gore, who once swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution, tells young people to break the law to stop construction of coal plants. The Wall Street Journal comments… Will Illinois’ Hospital Uninsured Discount Act Protect Patients? – Pacific Research Institute By a unanimous vote, Illinois legislators have passed the Hospital Uninsured Discount Act, which requires that hospitals charge uninsured patients their lowest rates. The Illinois Hospital Association (which supported it) has a good summary of the bill… Another Green Converts …
