Intercounty Connector Opens
Maryland’s Intercounty Connector opens for traffic today, either one day or 41 years late depending on how you count. The toll road connects Montgomery and Prince George County in the suburbs of Washington, DC, an area that has grown by more than 75 percent since the road was first planned in the 1960s. Click to […]
Pushing Back Against Public Employee Unions
A significant piece of Wisconsin legislation to cut spending and rein in public employee union power has led to protests and a lot of national media attention. Education policy analyst Ben DeGrow breaks down the differences between public and private sector unions, what the bill would actually do, the potential national impact, and whether any of the ideas might be a good fit for Colorado.
MacLaren School and K-12 Class Sizes: Finding the Sunday Perspective Section
In a high-tech media world, it’s still lots of fun to get an actual print copy of the Sunday newspaper. That’s what my parents do. Sunday afternoon as I was digging through the newest edition of the Denver Post to find the color comics, I ran across something called the “Perspective” section.
What did I find, […]
The Wisconsin Protests and the New Medical Ethics
The breaches of professional ethics displayed in Wisconsin may be an ominous foretaste of future problems Americans can expect under ObamaCare.
The Anti-Driverless Car Movement Strikes Back
“Hands-free driving. Cars that park themselves. An unmanned car driven by a search engine company. We’ve seen that movie. It ends with robots harvesting our bodies for energy.” Some men get a testosterone thrill from having their hands on the wheel of a car, or so they tell the Antiplanner. I just remind them that, […]
Phantom carbon tax still haunts ratepayers
Xcel Energy testified today in the House Agriculture Committee that its resource acquisition projections DO include a $20 per ton “phantom carbon tax” as allowed under language from HB 08-1164, but the tax DOES NOT affect ratepayers. The Denver Business Journal reports: But Karen Hyde, Xcel vice president of rates and regulatory affairs, said the potential […]
If I Showed This Union Leader’s Attitude, No Way I Would Have Gotten Off So Easy
I guess that United Federation of Teachers political director Paul Egan is too old to get sent to his room without dinner. Because if I tried his attitude with my mom, that would be the least of my problems:
And with Egan apparently worked into a froth over the size of his quail in the $40 […]
Colo. HB 11-1173: Licensing of naturopathic doctors limits competition, increase prices
Occupational licensing is a tried and true way for professionals to restrict competition while claiming to protect consumers. Colorado HB11-1173 is the latest example. It’s sure to put some naturopathic doctors of a job, limit entry of new doctors into the marketplace, and increase prices patients pay.
Stop Me Before I Spend Again
The debates over public employee pension benefits in Wisconsin and high-speed rail are, at heart, the same question: what to do about growing government debt? There seem to be four basic views. On the Democratic side are the Krugmanites, who think we need to stop worrying about deficits and spend, Spend, SPEND our way out […]
Amendments Convention: Answering Those Not-So-Tough Questions
Are you a state lawmaker or reform advocate challenged to answer “tough questions” about a Convention for Proposing Amendments? If so, here are some answers. Recently I traveled to Indianapolis to testify before the Indiana legislature. While there, I learned that opponents of an amendments convention are circulating questions about a convention, apparently designed to […]
Momentum Growing to Expand Private School Choice in Many States in 2011
Friday seems like a good time to take a step back and look around the country at a slate of school choice legislation. Writing on the Flypaper blog, Jamie Davies O’Leary highlights a number of proposals in Ohio that are being given serious consideration, including:
Expanding the Cleveland voucher program statewide, removing all enrollment caps and […]
The Conservative Case for HB 1240
Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly will have a rare opportunity to repeal an energy tax this Monday, when the House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to take up Representative Spencer Swalm’s HB 1240. Rep. Swalm’s bill targets a surreptitious energy tax that was authorized by the General Assembly in 2008 with […]
