Government Lobbying on Pension Rules Does Not Align with Public Interest
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements 67 and 68, despite their limitations, are expected to bring about some improvements in the way governments report pension liabilities. As a...
View ArticleKeystone XL Poses Very Little Danger to Whooping Crane
The Daily Caller In the ongoing debate over whether the Keystone XL pipeline should be built, there are many false and exaggerated claims about the pipeline’s environmental impacts. One of the worst...
View ArticleGAO Sounds Warning on State, Local Budgets (Again)
In recent years, state and local governments have largely remained in a fiscal holding pattern, continuing a slow recovery from the impacts of the Great Recession. Overall, state revenues have...
View ArticleGAO Warns on Long-Term State, Local Fiscal Imbalance
The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently issued its latest state and local government fiscal outlook, which suggests a growing gap between revenues and expenditures over the coming decades...
View ArticleBringing the Endangered Species Act in to the 21st Century Through Increased...
A recent Washington Post story addresses what has long been a problem for those impacted by the Endangered Species Act: a lack of transparency for data used by federal regulatory agencies to make...
View ArticlePrivatization & Government Reform Newsletter #14 (January 2015 edition)
The January 2015 edition of the Privatization & Government Reform Newsletter is now online. Topics covered in this issue include:BUDGETS: GAO Sounds Warning on State, Local Budgets (Again)PENSIONS:...
View ArticleWhat Causes Policymakers to Underfund Pensions
The failure of many states properly fund their pension systems has been a well documented reality over the past few years, and unfunded liabilities are estimated to be as high as $4 trillion. However,...
View ArticleCompetitive Contracting Helps California Taxpayers
Orange County Register It’s been over 20 years since Orange County plunged into bankruptcy, prompting a wide range of financial and budget reforms that ultimately helped put the county on a more...
View ArticleAtlanta Transit Should Stay off Tracks and on the Road
Georgia Public Policy Forum This legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly is expected to tackle transportation reform, with many hoping lawmakers address both roadways and transit. It appears...
View ArticleWhy Obama's Alaskan Wilderness Plan Matters for the Endangered Species Act
Watchdog.org The announcement by President Obama that he wants to designate the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska as a wilderness area has a great deal of importance to states,...
View ArticleHow Privatization Could Improve Accountability at Scandal-Plagued Texas Hospital
Tyler Morning Telegraph Change is never easy, as recently demonstrated by the state’s move to privatize Terrell State Hospital and the ensuing calls by state Sen. Robert Nichols and the Tyler Morning...
View ArticleCalifornia Bill to Restrict E-Cigarettes Would Harm Public Health
Orange County Register A California legislator just introduced a bill that would add electronic cigarettes to the state’s Smoke-Free Workplace Law, thereby prohibiting vaping everywhere that smoking is...
View ArticlePoll: 72 Percent of Americans Are Concerned About Public Pension Costs, 82...
The new Reason-Rupe national telephone poll of 1,003 adults finds 72 percent of Americans are concerned their state and local governments may not be able to afford the pensions that have been promised...
View ArticleThe Incoherent Philosophy of the Radical Environmental Lobby
While the growing influence of a small number of environmental lobbying groups on the implementation of the Endangered Species Act is widely known, less well understood is the philosophy driving these...
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Sign of Reform for Military Pension
While most of the private sector has embraced the defined contribution (DC) pension model, the public sector is still largely using unwieldy defined benefit (DB) plans. This is also true for members in...
View ArticleRepealing Plastic Bag Bans Is Good for Shoppers and Likely the Environment Too
Orange County Register The Huntington Beach City Council’s recent decision to overturn its ban on plastic bags is not only good for shoppers, it is likely good for the environment too. So is the news...
View ArticleEliminate TIGER Program
Recommendation for the CongressEliminate Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program Issue: The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program is an...
View ArticleSurface Transportation Reauthorization Should Eliminate TIGER Grants
Approximately every six years, Congress reauthorizes U.S. surface transportation policy. These reauthorizations provide an opportunity to make changes and updates that affect millions of Americans. We...
View ArticleRequire Metro Planning Agencies to Consider Congestion in Transportation Plans
RECOMMENDATION FOR CONGRESSRequire Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Compare Future Congestion with Baseline Congestion in Long Range Transportation Plans Issue. Under federal law, Metropolitan...
View ArticleRequire MPOs to Compare Current and Future Congestion
Over the next two weeks Reason Foundation will highlight six national surface transportation policies that need to be changed. Today’s topic focuses on congestion relief in metro areas. The proposal...
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