The Heartland Institute

Meredith, New York seems like an idyllic place—patchwork farms roll tranquilly along the western foothills of the Catskill Mountains, interspersed with small ponds and temperate woodlands. Gentle breezes blow through the tall grasses, symbolizing the town’s serene lifestyle. That same breeze, however, has divided Meredith’s 1,529 ...

Low-income working families in New York State receive a significant annual wage supplement through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is available to eligible filers of federal, state and New York City income tax returns. More than 1.6 million households—nearly one out of every five in the Empire State—claimed total EITC ...

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 ...

At long last, two years after its passage, President Barack Obama’s nationalized government takeover of health insurance is headed to the Supreme Court’s chambers. This week marks the beginning of unprecedented arguments about a number of legal topics related to the law and its constitutionality. But this event is not just a ...

Federal prosecutors are suing a Long Island co-op for trying to evict an elderly couple for buying a “comfort dog” in violation of the co-op’s no-pets rule. When the couple moved into the co-op in 2006, its rules prohibited pets. But the couple bought a schnauzer anyway, on the grounds it helped the wife’s depression ...

Hydraulic fracturing has enabled profitable extraction of oil and gas in diverse areas of the country. As a result, many states sitting atop the country’s shale formations are reconsidering the way they tax these resources, to fill budget holes. Many of these debates are occurring in states with unconventional deposits and where ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent a series of letters to New York state officials suggesting dozens of restrictions on natural gas fracking above and beyond those being contemplated by state officials. Although fracking regulation has always been handled by the individuals states, many observers say EPA is firing ...

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 ...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has signaled his long-awaited decision on whether to lift the ban on hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in his state will be forthcoming “in a couple of months.” Upstate Economy Hurting At stake is nothing less than the economic future of the southern tier of upstate New York, an ...

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 ...

Missouri’s Parkway School District recently purchased 400 electronic devices to track 2,500 elementary students’ physical activity, first during gym classes this spring and possibly 24/7 after that. The Polar Active monitors track a person’s heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and even sleep patterns on a watch-like display ...

New York legislators are debating extending the state’s de facto moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for another year. The current moratorium on permits for new fracking projects, imposed in 2008, is set to expire on June 1, 2012. Regulatory Structure Not in Place Sen. Greg Ball (R-Patterson), who is leading extension efforts in ...

Public-sector unions are vastly different than other interest groups because of laws granting them unique access to political privilege and money, writes Daniel DiSalvo in a report for the Manhattan Institute. Today’s debates about the role of these unions should include not just considerations for their influences on government ...

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 ...

The athletic chair of Bay Shore, a Long Island, New York school system, has raised privacy concerns by ordering electronic monitors to track students’ physical activities both on- and off-campus. The New York Post reported January 15 that Ted Nagengast, the Bay Shore athletics chair, claimed the monitors are “a great reinforcement ...

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 ...

Some New York Medicaid recipients are scheduled to begin receiving health care services through new “health homes” beginning January 1, 2012. The program is intended to provide better quality care while saving the state millions of dollars, but the state still hasn’t let counties know much about how the new system will work ...

A Manhattan lawyer is suing the health club he joined because it promised joiners a “full complimentary breakfast” but wouldn’t serve bacon and eggs. He’s asking for $730,000 in damages. “They had a full restaurant menu like you get in a hotel--omelets, pancakes, waffles, yogurts, meats, juices,” he said. “Whatever you ...

As states begin to estimate the price of implementing President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), one costly component of the law has yet to receive much-needed attention: accountable care organizations (ACOs). According to Obamacare proponents, ACOs will be federally financed organizations for Medicare ...