September, 2011 - Independence Institute

Misusing the Post Office and Necessary and Proper Clauses to Justify the Federal Monster State 0
- September 23, 2011
One way apologists for the modern federal monster state attempt to justify it constitutionally is to argue that the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) is an “elastic clause” conferring vast “implied” power on Congress. Actually, as Constitution’s advocates during the ratification battles made clear, the Necessary and Proper Clause grants
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Boulder's ballot measures won't stop global warming 0
- September 23, 2011
Bummer for Boulder — the city’s ballot measures likely won’t have any impact on global warming. Supporters of 2B and 2C hope that they can reduce the city’s carbon emissions and thus help save the planet by establishing a municipal utility that generates power from a combination of renewables and natural gas. But these efforts
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High-Speed Rail Is Still Dead (and Let’s Keep It That Way)0
- September 23, 2011
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to spend a token $100 million on high-speed rail after its own transportation subcommittee had zeroed out funding for the program. The purpose, said a rail advocate with US PIRG, is “to keep things on life support until Congress comes to its senses.” The only way Congress will “come to […]
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Is It Really Time to Re-think Education Reform Focus on The Achievement Gap?0
- September 22, 2011
What’s going on in the world of education reform? Every once in awhile, even a precocious 5-year-old like myself can benefit from stepping back to try to get a better look at the big picture. With a penetrating eye and a nuanced approach, the prolific Rick Hess takes on one of K-12 reformers’ sacred cows–the […]
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Boulder's Utopian Utility Effect 0
- September 22, 2011
Utopian Utility Effect (UUE): a romanticized perception that a group, such as a municipality, can provide reliable, reasonably priced, global warming-friendly electricity more efficiently than its current power provider. Specifically for supporters of 2B and 2C, Boulder’s ballot measures to form its own utility, UUE seems to mean, “a local energy utility can reduce our carbon
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Here We Go Again 0
- September 22, 2011
Density is good. That’s the message from Ryan Avent, a writer for The Economist, whose new ebook, The Gated City, received a boost from a promotional op ed in the New York Times. Density, according to Avent, makes people wealthier, happier, and more productive. The data he uses to support these ideas, however, are suspect. […]
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