The Heartland Institute

The name of President Barack Obama’s health care law is, of course, the Affordable Care Act. But a major clash has broken out in Washington regarding what that word “affordable” really means--and billions of dollars in subsidies hang in the balance. As we’ve noted in the past, Richard Burkhauser of Cornell was the first to ...

Unlike oil, the price of natural gas is set in the domestic market. Right now, American consumers and businesses are reaping a windfall from the lowest natural gas prices in 10 years. Cheap gas has reduced heating and electric bills for millions of households, while industries using natural gas as a feedstock or boiler fuel ...

The hydraulic fracturing process of extracting natural gas from shale rock formations has not resulted in any groundwater contamination, according to a study released by the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The study, Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in Shale Gas Development , found any instances ...

Unlike oil, the price of natural gas is set in the domestic market. Right now, American consumers and businesses are reaping a windfall from the lowest natural gas prices in 10 years. Cheap gas has reduced heating and electric bills for millions of households, while industries using natural gas as a feedstock or boiler fuel ...

In his second term, President Reagan supported an effort by his budget director, David Stockman, to abolish the Small Business Administration. Stockman referred to the SBA as a "billion-dollar waste" that benefited few small businesses while distorting credit markets. SBA advocates always argue the agency is very economical. With ...

According to a new report from the Joint Economic Committee, based on CBO data, Obamacare will impose $4 trillion in new taxes by 2035. The “Cadillac” tax will lead to reduced medical benefits and higher taxes across all income classes. The “high-income” surtaxes are not indexed and will eventually hit low- and middle-income ...

The next time you hear President Obama beating up on oil companies and crusading to wipe out what he calls the industry’s “tax breaks,” don’t be fooled: He’s telling a lie. Recently at the White House, Obama unleashed some of his most aggressive rhetoric yet on the subject, telling Congress that it can “stand with big oil ...

Do school workers scam taxpayers by filing for unemployment on scheduled breaks like Easter and spring break? Ohio's special education vouchers help students get the personal attention they need , argues the Lima News editorial board. Southern states such as Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have recently seen a surge ...

Idaho and Wyoming residents and environmental groups are expressing opposition to a proposed 1,100-mile long high-voltage power line designed to transmit 3,000 megawatts of mostly wind-generated electricity to fast-growing areas in the West. Sage Grouse, Pristine Lands The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is overseeing ...

Western Governors University is pioneering a new, fast-growing model of education: Competency-based learning. In traditional classrooms, time is fixed and student learning varies. Schools operate under inflexible calendars, schedules, and seat-time requirements. When the bell rings, official learning time ends whether students have ...

The Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC-7) will take place in Chicago, Illinois from Monday, May 21 to Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, 720 South Michigan Avenue. The event will follow the NATO Summit taking place in Chicago on May 19–21. The previous ICCC to take ...

One of the big questions on the minds of many in Washington at the moment is: what comes after the individual mandate? Should the Supreme Court strike the requirement down but not strike down President Obama's entire law, some substitute will likely be proposed by the White House and its allies in Congress. Health policy ...

Health insurance companies have experienced dramatically higher stock prices in the two years since the passage of President Obama’s health care law, thanks to the individual mandate to purchase their product. Wellpoint (WLP) was at about $80/share in 2007, dropped significantly in price shortly after the 2008 election, and is ...

Economist Jonathan Williams joins us to discuss the new edition of the Rich States, Poor States book, which evaluates each of the 50 states on taxes and other policies that shape their economies and add to or subtract from the financial well-being of their citizens. ...

A confidential memo from the director of Illinois’ largest state pension system said decades’ worth of unfunded liabilities may require the state to cut benefits for current and retired teachers. With the state currently owing $43 billion to the fund, Illinois Teachers Retirement System Director Dick Ingram cited forecasts predicting ...

State government tax collections in Fiscal 2011 showed strong year-over-year growth compared to fiscal 2010 collections, according to Census Bureau data released April 12. Fiscal 2011 ended on June 30, 2011 for 46 states. Fiscal 2011 total state government tax collections increased by 8.9 percent. Personal income tax grew by ...

Federal energy policies designed to rid the nation of traditional incandescent light bulbs continue to encounter popular resistance, with South Carolina’s legislature considering its own unique act of defiance. Intrastate Bulbs Considered Lawmakers in Columbia are pondering a proposed “Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act,” a measure ...

Benjamin Domenech talks with Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center regarding his recent conversation with Don Berwick and the benefits of premium support. ...

National Conference of Insurance Legislators Property and Casualty Insurance Committee VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Members of the Committee: The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit education and research organization, headquartered in Chicago and dedicated to discovering, developing, and promoting free-market solutions to a ...

A panel of seven former U.S. Department of Agriculture secretaries representing Republican and Democratic presidents alike spoke in favor of genetic engineering and large, corporate farms at a Feb. 23 agriculture conference in Virginia. The former secretaries said environmental activist groups that oppose corporate farming and the ...