The Heartland Institute

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton recently proposed as part of his state budget a $2.1 billion tax hike package that includes higher income tax rates on high-income earners, an expansion of the sales tax base, a hike in cigarette taxes, and a small reduction of the state’s corporate income tax. The initial budget forecasts projecting ...

In the past, because wind (and other renewable sources) is a pollution-free but new way of generating electricity, policymakers decided it should receive subsidies so that it can one day displace electricity from pollution-generating fuels. Now, because of renewable energy subsidies, 1) we have to keep turbines using pollution ...

This document was used to illustrate a "Somewhat Reasonable" blog post by Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast. ...

With support from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, CIRCLE has released a working paper that explores digital badges and alternative assessments for civic skills, knowledge, and dispositions. This working paper, entitled “ New and Alternative Assessments, Digital Badges, and Civics: An Overview of Emerging Themes and Promising ...

The wild artistic license of movies like Gasland notwithstanding, the common feeling in the media and, therefore, among the public, is that fracking is causing significant environmental damage ( Energy Justice ). However, it seems that fracking may be getting a bum rap, at least from the standpoint of toxic emissions. At the ...

Kentucky’s government employee pension system is currently carrying a $33 billion unfunded liability and has less than half the money it needs to cover all its present and future obligations. Both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly are considering proposals that would reform the state’s failing pension system. One proposal ...

Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation insurance system is currently the sixth most expensive in the nation and in dire need of reform. The costs of maintaining the system are high, and the size and burden of the system are a strong factor in businesses’ choice to expand or relocate. Oklahoma is one of only two states that use ...

I am the president of The Heartland Institute. For the past ten years, Maureen Martin worked for me as a senior fellow and legal counsel. Do any of you remember the movie “The Incredibles”? It was an animated movie about a family of super heroes – Mr. Incredible and his wife Elastigirl and their three kids – living in ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the federal Affordable Care Act, Florida policymakers are forced to decide whether or not they should expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover individuals earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Whichever decision they reach will impact ...

A new Joyce Foundation- Chicago Tribune poll shows strong and widespread support — among parents of CPS students and among other Chicagoans — for unchaining more charters in Chicago. The poll of 1,010 Chicagoans found: • More than 6 in 10 respondents (63.7 percent) favor making it easier for charters to expand in neighborhoods ...

“People in this world today crave something real, and our society is lacking that and they could come to Yellowstone and see real nature unfolding in front of their eyes with this very unique personality of a wolf and they loved her. They thought it was great,” said biologist Douglas Smith in December on a NPR program ...

The EPA altered its biofuel requirement. It states that, "obligated parties — oil companies required to show EPA that they blend biofuels in their fuel supply — won’t need to provide information on their compliance. The agency will submit refunds to companies that have submitted payments for 2012 cellulosic waiver credits." Lewis ...

In his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama proposed raising the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 per hour. At the state level, ten states had increases in their state’s minimum wage go into effect in early 2013. According to data collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures , currently 18 ...

This annual report for 2012 presents 51 areas where federal programs may be able to achieve greater efficiencies or become more effective in providing government services. This report describes 32 areas in which the Government Accountability Office found evidence of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation among federal government ...

In this policy proposal — part of the 15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget — Adele Morris proposes a carbon tax as a new source of revenue that could also help address climate change. She suggests that a carbon tax would reduce the buildup of greenhouse gasses, replace command-and-control regulations and expensive subsidies ...

In this article the National Association of Manufacturers asserts that shows a carbon tax would have a devastating impact on manufacturing and jobs. The tax would impact millions of jobs and result in higher prices for natural gas, electricity, gasoline and other energy commodities. ...

This report evaluates the potential impacts on the U.S. economy from possible future carbon taxes whose revenues would be devoted to a combination of debt and tax rate reduction. The results take into account the varied economic effects of fossil fuel cost increases due to a carbon tax as well as the positive economic effects ...

Several states across the country are considering increases in their motor fuel taxes to fund repairs and improvements to infrastructure. These taxes, which are paid as an excise duty—a tax on the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel—increase the cost of transportation for individuals. In recent years, however, the rise of fuel ...

Problem Maryland has struggled to balance its books in recent years and is barely getting back on its feet after the recession. Payments on state debt are projected to triple between 2007 and 2022. The state spends approximately $12 billion, or one-third of its budget, on elementary, secondary, and higher education, according ...

In his 2013 State of the State speech, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn proposed increasing the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 an hour over the next four years . A similar minimum wage proposal failed to pass in the state Senate in 2012. Minimum wage laws are meant to protect workers’ health and well-being by mandating a ...