FreedomTalks

A new study from the Heritage Foundation finds that state-level regulation of health insurance is correlated with higher premiums. Specifically, regulations such as health plan liability laws and mandated benefit laws are associated with premium increases of up to $31.15 per month. This can price many Americans out of coverage and thus contribute to the high […]

The Economist has an article illustrating how policy success breeds envy and eventually trumps ideology.  Seeing how welfare reform in the U.S. has cut welfare rolls in half while poverty has fallen, European nations have started to implement reforms modeled on the U.S.  According to the Economist
Welfare reform was once regarded as a harsh, right-wing, […]

On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on fundamental tax reform. Key testimony will come from former Sens. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and John Breaux, D-La., who co-chaired the 2005 presidential tax reform panel.

J.T. Young has a great piece today about the future of entitlement spending. It is frightening how much entitlements will consume the federal budget in the future.
It is even more frightening that the government’s share of the economy will increase by 25% in the next 15 years and will almost double in the next 45 […]

This Week has an article which provides a real world example of what school choice might mean for American families; an education which meets their child’s needs. Columbus Public Schools, now that they are facing competition have decided that it is time to start responding to parent concerns.
Saying it’s time to take a direct role in […]

In a 35-14 vote, the Chicago City Council recently approved a measure that would force all “big box” retailers to pay a minimum wage of $10/hour by 2010. Stores with over $1 billion in annual sales and 90,000 square feet of store space would be required to comply with the ordinance if Mayor Richard Daley signs it into law. If approved, […]

With Democrats and moderate Republicans continuing their push for an increase in the minimum wage, conservatives in the House have taken a stand against it. Yesterday, members of the Republican Study Committee circulated a letter on the Hill that outlines the negative effects of the minimum wage on employers and workers. It also calls on House […]

President Bush’s 2007 budget calls for creating an office of dynamic scoring in the Dept. of Treasury. FreedomWorks strongly supports this effort to create more realistic modeling for changes in tax policy. Bravo! Treasury writes:
“Dynamic analysis goes beyond traditional analysis of tax policy by focusing on the broad economic effects in both […]

In the 50 most competitive GOP House districts, only 29 percent of likely voters said they’d “definitely” or “probably” vote for the incumbent, according to a new poll commissioned by NPR.  The 109th Congress has engaged in precious little serious policymaking, and the public knows it.  Imagine if the majority had passed Social Security personal […]

An editorial by Washington Post editorial by Robert J. Samuelson argues that there is no speculative bubble for oil, only speculation about a significant shortage in the supply in the near future.  As future prices for oil barrels rise and exceed spot prices, there is an incentive for companies to build up inventory and sell […]