The Heartland Institute

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law by President Obama in 2010 will significantly worsen the federal government’s fiscal position relative to previous law. Supporters argued that this comprehensive health care reform would deliver a much-needed correction to the government’s unsustainable fiscal outlook ...

There is strong evidence that instructional materials play a pivotal role in student learning and, compared to more popular reforms like merit pay and school turnarounds, changing them for the better is easy, inexpensive, and quick, conclude Matthew Chingos and Grover Whitehurst in a report for the Brookings Institution. At the ...

As the 21st Century evolves and our economy begins to recover, there is near-universal agreement on the importance of expanding Americans’ access to high-speed Internet service. President Obama, countless Members of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and consumer advocates from across the political spectrum have ...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1992 decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota protects out-of-state businesses in the Internet era from overreaching by revenue-hungry states. The Court’s decision prevents a state from forcing an out-of-state business to serve as the state’s sales tax collector if the business has no physical ...

Louisiana legislators have proposed an education reform that is garnering significant national attention: the Parent Trigger. The legislation, first passed in California, is currently being drafted in a dozen other states. The Louisiana Parent Trigger would allow a simple majority of parents at a school to “trigger” its conversion ...

If President Obama and Congress fail to act this year, an enormous, unprecedented tax increase will fall on American taxpayers starting on January 1, 2013. The Washington Post called the looming tax increase “Taxmageddon,” and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called it a “massive fiscal cliff.” This impending tax increase ...

As states have been debating whether to implement a health insurance exchange, a key deterrent has been that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had released only draft rules. HHS now has released final insurance exchange rules, and many states are left with questions unanswered or suspicions confirmed. According ...

Catastrophe bonds are insurance-linked securities that offset major costs to taxpayers and insurers caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Cat bonds, as they are known, work differently from other types of bonds. Investors lose their entire principal in the event of a catastrophe that meets the terms ...

Ballooning costs in recent years indicate that there is significant room for increased efficiencies in Texas schools that would free up funds to improve educational instruction without the tax increases sought in the recent lawsuits filed by school districts against the state, writes James Golsan in a policy brief for the Texas ...

The current crop insurance program provides premium subsidies that encourage farmers to buy more insurance -- and more expensive kinds of insurance -- than they would buy if they had to spend their own money. Crop insurance now goes well beyond protecting against unpredictable events that might destroy a crop. Now many farmers ...

Tax Freedom Day® 2012 arrives on April 17 this year, four days later than last year due to higher federal income and corporate tax collections. That means Americans will work 107 days into the year, from January 1 to April 17, to earn enough money to pay this year’s combined 29.2 percent federal, state, and local tax bill ...

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 ...

This section of Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2011 provides a comprehensive overview of the latest on school choice, charter schools, voucher and tax credit programs, and other news from the education sector. Topics include: In 2011 15 states offered a total of 26 school voucher and tax credit programs with ...

As part of the Obama administration’s quest for additional revenue, they have proposed a tax aimed at business owners. While the Enterprise Value Tax (EVT) is no longer an immediate threat, the administration has made it clear that they have a deep interest in increasing the tax burden on business owners and job creators ...

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 ...

In this report for the Australian government, it states that the aim of the government is to move toward a clean energy solution. Indeed, the Australian Parliament placed a price on carbon "pollution" in 2011. Somewhat ironically, this reform includes the carbon pricing mechanism and delivers support for jobs and competitiveness ...

All across the country, legislators and businesses are under increasing pressure to confront issues arising from differences in sales tax collection obligations between traditional “brick-and-mortar” and “remote” retailers. A sales tax authority can only require a business to collect and remit its tax if that business has a legitimate ...

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 ...

In U.S., Global Warming Views Steady Despite Warm Winter Just over half say effects of global warming are now evident, similar to 49% last year by Lydia Saad PRINCETON, NJ -- About half of Americans, 52%, say the effects of global warming have already begun to happen, consistent with views since 2009. However, this remains ...

Over the last two centuries, technological advantages have allowed some traders to be faster than others. We argue that, contrary to popular perception, speed is not the defining characteristic that sets High Frequency Trading (HFT) apart. HFT is the natural evolution of a new trading paradigm that is characterized by strategic ...