The Heartland Institute

Is there any high-speed rail boondoggle big enough to make rail transport advocates reject it? Sadly, for all too many of them the answer is no, as two recent developments make clear. The first is in California, where the state continues to press forward on a high-speed rail plan that could cost anywhere from $68 billion ...

For insurers, the most salient fact about tobacco use can be summarized simply: overwhelming scientificevidence indicates that all widely used forms of tobacco harm human health. A significant body of evidence also indicates tobacco use correlates strongly with other risky behaviors. According to the Centers for Disease Control ...

Stockton, California, has gone into bankruptcy, making this city of 300,000 residents the nation’s largest city to seek protection under the U.S. bankruptcy code. The Stockton City Council voted 6-1 on June 26 to adopt a spending plan for operating under bankruptcy protection, and to file a motion with the courts to enter ...

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, several commentators have suggested a transaction tax on financial markets. The potential consequences of such a tax could be hazardous to the financial markets affected as well as to the economy. In this paper, we review the relevant theoretical and empirical literature and apply ...

The central component of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) is taking effect this year, and with the state facing a $15.7 billion deficit, political leaders have ended a long debate over how to spend revenue the Act is expected to generate. The central component is “cap and trade,” a complex system that aims ...

It’s not just the government that functions as the food police. Two California mothers took on Nutella in a class action lawsuit, winning cash for being ‘duped’ by the company’s advertisements, which they claim indicated the hazelnut and chocolate spread was a healthy food. Laura Rude-Barbato and Athena Hohenberg claimed they ...

California legislators in late June approved dozens of amendments to this year’s state budget, but opponents say it's still unbalanced and incomplete. The budget depends on voters approving an $8 billion tax increase in November. If they refuse it, billions in spending cuts will kick in on January 2013. ‘Worst in California ...

The Los Angeles City Council voted 13 to 1 to ban plastic grocery bags, making the City of Angels the largest in the nation to enact such a ban. In wake of the May 23 vote, consumers will soon have to use reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each. The ban will be phased in during the next 16 months. Los ...

This report from California Common Sense cites three main factors contributing to the city’s bankruptcy: The housing bust and financial collapse decimated the city’s property tax (and related) revenues. This problem was made worse by a skyrocketing home foreclosure rate. The real estate bubble encouraged large spending increases ...

Climategate central figure Michael Mann gave a talk in Orange County, California last month that perfectly illustrates how global warming alarmists spread myths and misinformation to further their agenda. Before his presentation, Mann reportedly objected strenuously to skeptical scientists appearing on the same panel with him. His ...

Five cable companies will team up to enable each other’s high-speed Internet customers to access their wi-fi networks. The participating cable companies made a deal to share access to 50,000 wi-fi hotspots located in New York City and the surrounding tri-state area, as well as in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Tampa, and Orlando ...

San Francisco’s Municipal Transit Authority has announced it will deploy 288 surveillance cameras equipped with special software to monitor suspicious behavior in the city’s buses, trains, and 12 transport hubs. The cameras will be outfitted with BRS Labs’ AISight artificial intelligence software, which is programmed to recognize ...

Many hospitals and doctors offer cash discounts for medical bills for their patients, regardless of income. But there's a catch: The lowest price is usually available only if the patients don't use their health insurance. The savings are impressive in some states. A Long Beach hospital recently charged a patient $6,707 for ...

The central component of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) takes effect this year, and with the state facing a $15.7 billion deficit, political leaders have ended a long debate over how to spend revenue the Act is expected to generate. The central component is “cap and trade,” a complex system aimed at reducing ...

Amazon.com Inc. is planning to partner with at least one California city to collect sales taxes from the entire state. Most of the collected tax money would go back to Amazon. The company is building warehouses in Patterson and San Bernardino, California. Under state law, purchases made by customers anywhere in the state can ...

Today, North Carolina is expected to vote to allow the process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” for natural gas. This comes just a month after Vermont became the first state to completely ban the process, even though the state has no known resources that actually could be tapped this way. Many environmental activists ...

Telecommunications services are regulated by a combination of rules from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), state public utility commissions (PUCs), and state legislatures. State legislatures give PUCs the authority to develop and enforce rules about the way in which telecommunications companies behave, including ...

The results of a ballot measure that would raise California’s cigarette tax from 87 cents to $1.87 a pack are too close to call. After 100 percent of precincts reported 50.4 percent opposed versus 49.6 percent in favor, the final tally won’t be released until hundreds of thousands of mailed-in, dropped-off, and provisional ...

California is facing a worse budget predicament than previously thought, and while the governor touts additional short-term fixes of tax hikes and spending cuts, opponents are calling for systemic reform. In January, the state was staring down a $9.2 billion deficit. By mid-May, the projection had ballooned to $15.7 billion. Gov ...

Three influential environmental activist groups are suing the federal government over plans to build a 100-turbine wind farm on federal land in Kern County, California. Condors, Eagles at Risk The suit, filed by the Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), alleges the proposed North ...