The Heartland Institute

President Obama has announced a way to help states get around No Child Left Behind’s requirements. His plan grants certain states waivers from No Child Left Behind accountability requirements if they agree to a series of preset conditions. Although many states are enthusiastic about obtaining this relief, the waiver plan poses ...

The current economic environment of low—virtually zero—interest rates has hit savers hard, but the US Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy is actually having a stabilizing effect on the economy. Abruptly raising interest rates could harm economic growth and the housing market. Until the economy stabilizes enough that ...

Roger Feldman, Robert Coulam, and Bryan Dowd write that "A major reason Medicare faces a severe fiscal crisis is because it pays too much for basic benefits. But chronic overpayment can be cured by harnessing market forces in the form of competitive bidding. It uses bids from private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and the ...

School districts should prepare for lean budget years not just this fall, but for at least the next half decade, says a study from Frederick Hess and Whitney Downs at the American Enterprise Institute. Wise administrators will use the pain as an occasion make fundamental changes, not piecemeal cuts, to increase productivity ...

States report that their public-employee pensions are underfunded by a total of $438 billion, but a more accurate accounting demonstrates that they are actually underfunded by over $3 trillion. The accounting methods that states currently use to measure their liabilities assume plans can earn high investment without risk. Should ...

On January 15, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a long-awaited update of its policy regarding bisphenol A (BPA)--an industrial chemical used to add strength and flexibility to many plastic products--finding it safe as currently used. The FDA review was undertaken after intense campaigning by advocacy groups ...

For the past 30 years, Congress has struggled with how to best provide protection against natural disasters to agricultural producers. In 1980, Congress replaced a standing disaster program with subsidized crop insurance. The Federal Crop Insurance Improvement Act made crop insurance the primary form of disaster protection for ...

For the past 30 years, Congress has struggled with how to best provide protection against natural disasters to agricultural producers. In 1980, Congress replaced a standing disaster program with subsidized crop insurance. The Federal Crop Insurance Improvement Act made crop insurance the primary form of disaster protection for ...