David Kopel: Why Obamacare mandate penalty can’t be a tax
Writing in the Orange County Register, Independence Institute Research Director Dave Kopel explains why the penalty for not buying government-approved health plan cannot be a tax.
High-Speed Rail Is Out of the Budget
Early Tuesday morning, Congressional leaders agreed on a 2011 budget package that zeros out funding for high-speed rail and rescinds $400 million in 2010 funding that remains unspent (transportation begins on p. 404). The package has the support of Senate Majority Leader Reid, House Speaker Boehner, and House Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers. The budget […]
4/12/11
Newsletter April 12 2011
Legislature provides cover for Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy enjoys great success at the state Capitol. It seems that whatever Xcel wants legislatively, Xcel gets. Relief for ratepayers is met with opposition. According to the Secretary of State’s online lobbying information, through March 2011, the utility company has taken positions on 28 different bills this year: opposing 14, supporting 3 and “amending” […]
I.I. Report Covers Colorado Teacher Pay Innovations, Harrison Program; U.S. Dept. of Education, NCTQ Challenge Nashville Study
Last fall a story about a report on teacher pay reform made the front page of the Denver Post: “Offering teachers bonuses for student growth didn’t raise scores, study finds.” Yes, the front page. Back then I shared a fresh reaction with insights from national experts like Rick Hess concerning what the study actually did […]
Health Insurance Is Not “Commerce”
In The National Law Journal, Independence Institute scholars David Kopel and Rob Natelson argue that health insurance is not “commerce” as used in the U.S. Constitution.
TriMet Tax Fraud
TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, gets about half its operating funds from a payroll tax. In 2004, this tax was 0.6218 percent, meaning employers had to pay TriMet $62.18 for every $10,000 they paid employees. Employees, other than the self-employed, are largely unaware of this since it is on top of pay, not a deduction from […]
D.C. Voucher Program Renewed: Rounding Up Reactions, Controlling My Exuberance
So I hear the federal government came really close to shutting down this past weekend. Bigger people than me can tell you whether the last-minute deal to avert a shutdown was in total a good deal or not. But I do know one aspect of the deal that is definitely praiseworthy: namely, that the SOAR […]
Why to retain burdensome 1099 tax-reporting requirement
Taking [the 1099 reporting requirement] off the table risks losing that community’s commitment to the complete defeat of Obamacare. Repealing the 1099 reporting requirement would be a Pyrrhic victory in the struggle against Obamacare — exactly the type of bipartisanship we don’t need.
Mesa Del Dolares
Saturday, the Antiplanner spoke in Damascus, Oregon, a rural community on the fringe of the Portland area that Metro planners have targeted to become a dense, New Urban city of 100,000. The residents of the area are none too happy about that and have been fighting it by passing initiatives preventing the city from cooperating […]
Assaults on the Initiative & Referendum Rights of Coloradans
The Independence Institute and Citizens in Charge Foundation invite you to attend a panel discussion with Keynote Speakers: John Fund, Wall Street Journal Columnist Joe Trippi, Founder & President Joe Trippi & Associates Moderator: Paul Jacob, Citizens in Charge Foundation Panelists: Shayne Madsen, Attorney, Jackson Kelly Colorado Senator Kevin Lundberg Elena Nunez, Colorado Common Cause […]
Fischer full of hot air when it comes to energy policy
The Colorado News Agency reported a gem of a quote from State Representative Randy Fischer (D-Fort Collins). While providing arguments against Representative Kathleen Conti’s (R-Littleton) bill to bring more accountability to the Public Utilities Commission, especially in the area of utility rate increases, Fischer: refuted Conti’s assertion and countered that cost increases can be attributed […]
