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Now Is the Time for Pension Reform
Public pension retirement plans have been ornaments in state and local governments for over a century, yet the once popular and reliable benefit has become a liability to state and local employees and taxpayers alike.
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Vermont’s Soft Drink Tax Is a Nightmare for Small Businesses
Vermont consumers have an unwelcome surprise at the cash register: a new six-percent sales tax on their favorite soft drink. This session, Vermont passed $63 million in new taxes,…
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State of the States Report: Pro-Taxpayer Innovation on the Rise
Nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group State Budget Solutions estimates total debt in the states is at least $5 trillion. Clearly, state governments need new solutions to address today’s fiscal…
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High Stakes Rules For Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts
This post was written by Jonathan Butcher, who is education director at the Goldwater Institute and senior fellow at the Beacon Center. For 17 years, Fit Learning in…
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What State Governments Can Do to Protect Their Citizens from an Economic Downturn
Today was a rough day for global financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points before recovering some of the lost ground. All told, the Dow…
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Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis: Mitigating the Current Crisis and Preventing Future Ones
On August 3rd, Puerto Rico failed to pay $58 million to its Public Finance Corporation creditors. Nearly a month earlier, ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Research Analyst…
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Criminal Justice Reform on the Big Stage
It’s an exciting time for criminal justice reform. In fact, at the first Republican Presidential debate, Ohio Governor John Kasich touted his record on criminal justice reform: “[W]e are rehabbing…
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Oil and Gas Industry Now in EPA’s Crosshairs
EPA’s Regulatory Train Wreck continues. Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule seeking to slash methane emissions from new sources in the…
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A Tribute to Whitney Ball
Supporters of free markets, limited government and federalism lost a spirited champion this week. Whitney Ball, the inspiring president and CEO of DonorsTrust, is at rest after an…
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South Korea Celebrates 70 Years of Independence
On August 15, South Korea, formally known as the Republic of Korea (ROK) will celebrate 70 years of independence. A true appreciation for the profound significance of Korean Independence Day…
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Dodd Frank at Five Years – Another Big Government Failure
The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, named for Senator Christopher Dodd and Representative Barney Frank, who helped spearhead its creation in reaction to the financial crisis, was touted as a means…
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Clean Power Plan Legal Battle Begins
Early last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final version of the Clean Power Plan, the federal regulation designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil…
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California Budget Fails to Address Long-Term Fiscal Stability
California’s newly enacted budget for 2015-2016 falls short of properly addressing the institutional budget troubles the state has faced for years. The California budget shows some steps in the…
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ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson on OANN’s The Daily Ledger
American Legislative Exchange Council CEO Lisa B. Nelson appeared on One American News Network’s The Daily Ledger to talk with Graham Ledger about the 42nd ALEC Annual Meeting in San…
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CBO Adopts Dynamic Scoring; States Should Follow
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is moving forward with adopting a new “scoring” method to evaluate major changes in tax policy. The CBO currently uses “static” scoring, which…
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Clean Power Plan Released
John At a press conference earlier today, President Obama and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy released the agency’s final Clean Power Plan, unquestionably the most consequential and…
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New Study: Low Tax Rates Attract Valuable Talent
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) about state taxes found an interesting correlation that supports states using tax policy to compete with rivals for…
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Doctor Supply Side Problems With the ACA
Those hoping for the Supreme Court to instruct the federal government to step back amidst increasing involvement in health care were sorely disappointed on June 25 when the SCOTUS delivered…
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American City County Exchange (ACCE) Second Annual Meeting a Success
The 2nd Annual Meeting of the American City County Exchange (ACCE) has come to a successful conclusion. In attendance were local elected officials from almost half of the states in…
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Reports: EPA to release Clean Power Plan next week
According to reports published in both the New York Times and the Washington Post last night, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release its final…