The Heartland Institute

With transportation coffers barely able to maintain highways, let alone adding new capacity to relieve congestion, many transportation economists and urban planners have concluded that the best solution to U.S. freeway congestion is to implement variable pricing on all congested freeways. At the same time, many political scientists ...

With transportation coffers barely able to maintain highways, let alone adding new capacity to relieve congestion, many transportation economists and urban planners have concluded that the best solution to U.S. freeway congestion is to implement variable pricing on all congested freeways. At the same time, many political scientists ...

The recent discovery of vast deposits of oil and natural gas trapped in shale rock formations has revolutionized our nation’s short-term, mid-term, and long-term energy outlook. For example, proven natural gas reserves in the United States rose by 40 percent between 2004 and 2009. At the same time, new technological advancements ...

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 ...

Executive Summary Following the passage of “Chemicals of Concern” legislation in Maine, Washington, and California, several states are considering adopting similar statutes. Although everyone supports reasonable measures aimed at protecting human health and the environment, these particular efforts are ill-considered and unnecessary ...

This report is the summary of extensive research that examined the criticism that has been leveled over the past three years at the national efforts to improve intercity passenger rail and introduce true high-speed passenger rail in the United States. In the course of this research it has been heartening to discover that there ...

Jefferson County, Alabama’s financial struggles have taken the local government into the largest municipal bankruptcy in national history as nearly two dozen persons associated with the county’s financial troubles have been convicted of criminal conduct. Jefferson County, which includes the city of Birmingham, filed for bankruptcy ...

At least eight states have implemented de facto regulations on chemicals they deem “hazardous” by creating “chemicals of concern” lists. Proponents claim the lists are necessary to protect consumers from potentially hazardous chemicals in products, and they argue a lack of federal regulations means states must step in. Opponents ...

Record high levels of unemployment and record low reserve funds have placed great pressure on the federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) tax and benefit system. Between 2008 and 2011, $174 billion was paid in unemployment taxes while $450 billion was paid out in benefits, a gap of $276 billion. In 2011 alone, employers and ...

Alabama's Jefferson County is "teetering on the edge of bankruptcy," says Jefferson County Commissioner Jimmie Stephens. The county is $3.14 billion in debt as a result of sewer construction and financing deals tainted by corruption. In September, county commissioners voted 4–1 to approve a repayment agreement that includes $1 ...

Problem: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), sometimes referred to as "Obamacare," requires states to establish and operate health insurance exchanges by 2014. States that create their own exchange must comply with federal requirements, and the exchange must be approved by the secretary of the Department of ...

The skyrocketing costs caused by Medicaid’s fee-for-service approach have states struggling to meet their government budgets, and access to quality health care is becoming scarcer. In hopes of improving access and reducing costs, many states are considering turning to managed care. Under a managed care system, health care providers ...

The pelican population along the northern Gulf of Mexico is thriving, putting to rest fears the BP oil spill would have long-lasting negative effects on the iconic marine bird. The limited impact of the oil spill on the pelican population contrasts sharply with the much higher death toll inflicted by windmills on golden eagles ...

Georgia will be able to keep more of its Lake Lanier water, as a federal appeals court ruled the Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to allocate extra water from the manmade lake to meet the increasing needs of Atlanta residents. The decision will result in less water being sent from the northeastern Georgia lake ...

Tobacco use poses well-known health risks. Smokers, on average, die earlier than nonsmokers. Estimates of lost life expectancy range from two or three years to 14 years; most researchers agree on six to eight years. A 2004 Surgeon General’s report concluded that smoking contributes to at least 16 potentially fatal conditions ...

Almost each time volatility in equity, debt, or currency markets increases, there are cries to introduce a tax of financial transactions, first proposed in Tobin (1974). This tax is motivated by the view that the excess volatility in financial markets is the result of trading by “speculators"; thus, even a small tax on financial ...

Teachers receive job evaluations much like workers in other professions; except the “satisfactory” rates for teaching usually lie somewhere in the high 90th percentiles, according to an Education Next study. Meanwhile, even higher percentages of students fall behind in school. This casts great doubt on the validity of teacher ...

The 25-five-year-old federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) doesn’t protect individuals’ data stored remotely in the Internet “cloud” (such as gmail, mobileme, and skydrive). This allows government agencies to perform warrantless searches on any data stored there for more than 180 days. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has ...

Some stereotypes about groups are pure calumny, others have a small grain of truth, and some are absolutely, 100 percent true. What follows concerns a stereotype about men and women that is 100 percent true. Upon reviewing a great deal of research, Heartland Institute staff confirmed what most people already know intuitively ...

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, supported and created by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, sets grade-by-grade content requirements for K–12 in English language arts and math. The consortium is also developing science and history/social studies standards. The Obama administration ...