The Heartland Institute

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 ...

A bill offering South Carolina parents education tax credits and allowing tax-credit scholarships passed the House March 29—a first for any such measure since school choice became key to the Republican agenda in 2004. With a 62-38 vote, the bill now awaits discussion by the Senate’s Finance Committee. It likely faces an uphill ...

The South Carolina legislature voted to merge two versions of a bill that could increase the number of public charter schools in the state. Key to H.B. 3241 are measures that would diversify the types of sponsoring organizations, launch a loan program, and allow greater flexibility in charter school course and extracurricular ...

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 ...

As South Carolina and Utah consider legislation to step back from Common Core education standards, citing local-control concerns, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan released a statement accusing Core critics of promoting a “conspiracy theory.” “The idea that the Common Core standards are nationally imposed is a conspiracy theory ...

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 ...

South Carolina legislators are considering a bill to block the state from implementing the Common Core, a collection of grade-level lists for what children should know in math and language arts. Gov. Nikki Haley sent the bill’s sponsor a public letter declaring her support for the repeal. “Just as we should not relinquish ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Hurricane Irene appears likely to make landfall in the United States sometime in the next few days. The storm, predicted to become a “major hurricane” by the end of the week, may hit both Florida and North Carolina. If it is as big as some forecasters predict, it will be the first major hurricane to hit the United States ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...