Featured Issues

Ohio

Study:  Ohio Ranks 38th in Freedom Index - Mercatus Center - George Mason University  Ohio was just ranked a distressing 38th in a nationwide index of personal and economic freedom doneby the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  The study includes data on fiscal, regulatory, economic, and personal freedoms._{Respond to this posting}

Study: Ohio mired in old economy - Columbus Dispatch Despite initiatives to promote high-tech start-ups, Ohio appears stagnant in the shift to a new economy, according to a national study.  Ohio ranked 30th this year, about the same as in previous years. One of the areas in particular in which the state lagged was entrepreneurial activity._{Respond to this posting}

Government Spending

Pork and Government Waste in Ohio State Government:  2009 Ohio Piglet Book - Buckeye Institute In his 2009 State of the State Address, Governor Strickland asked Ohioans "to accept the sacrifices that these times demand." But none of the wasteful spending programs in this report were eliminated in the governor's budget requests for fiscal year 2010. Some had their funding reduced, but all will be around in the coming fiscal year to waste taxpayer money if Governor Strickland has his way. _{Respond to this posting}

House Transparency Rules Reveal that Pork Projects Tilt Heavily Toward Appropriators - Heritage Foundation The recent transparency rules, agreed to by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI), have provided a window into how Congress allocates pork projects. While Congress claims to distribute pork projects by merit, the first two appropriations bills suggest that committee assignments are the more important factor._{Respond to this posting}

 Health Care

Small Business Health Insurance- NCPA   Small business employees are much less likely to have access to employer-sponsored health coverage than the employees of larger firms.  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation: _{Respond to this posting}

How to Take American Health Care From Worst to First - NY Times - By BILLY BEANE, NEWT GINGRICH and JOHN KERRY   A doctor today can get more data on the starting third baseman on his fantasy baseball team than on the effectiveness of life-and-death medical procedures. Studies have shown that most health care is not based on clinical studies of what works best and what does not — be it a test, treatment, drug or technology. Instead, most care is based on informed opinion, personal observation or tradition._{Respond to this posting}

Louisiana's Governor pushes a creative Medicaid reform - WSJ  Essentially, Mr. Jindal wants to use Medicaid dollars to fund something like private insurance. That way, physicians and hospitals will be compensated for outcomes -- rather than volume of visits and procedures -- and get incentive payments for good performance._{Respond to this posting}

Education

The Accountability Illusion - Thomas B. Fordham Foundation In a study of sample elementary and middle schools, this study found that Ohio's proficiency standards are relatively easy compared to other states._{Respond to this posting}

Ohio 8th Graders trail Peers in Other Countries - American Institutes for Research A study done by Gary Phillips for the American Institutes of Research indicates that on average, students in 12 states and 8 countries were ahead of Ohio 8th graders in science, and 17 states and 9 countries in math. But the study also found that the highest achieveing students in Ohio ranked significantly below the highest achievers in other countries._{Respond to this posting}

Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice  - Pacific Research Institute Right now, many middle-class parents complacently believe that things are great in their neighborhood public schools. Is that belief largely true or an illusion? If the latter, then bold action on the part of middle-class parents is overdue._{Respond to this posting}

Taxes

 The Economy Needs a Shot in the Arm - Jim Powell - CATO President-elect Barack Obama's intention to blitz the economy with infrastructure spending will not be as effective as another option available to him: permanent, across-the-board tax cuts.._{Respond to this posting}  

 High Taxes Drive People and Jobs Out of States - Heartland Institute Just as nations compete economically, so do the individual states within the United States. In fact, states are much more likely to lose jobs and people to other states than to other nations._{Respond to this posting}  

Regulation

The Danger of Over-Regulation  - Richard Rahn - Technology and Democracy Project Appropriate regulation and the rule of law can strengthen financial markets and the domestic economy by attracting flows of foreign capital. Excessive regulation has the opposite effect when it imposes costs that cause capital and companies to flee a jurisdiction._{Respond to this posting}

Law

 Are Your Courts Fair? 2007 ILR/HARRIS STATE LIABILITY SYSTEMS RANKING STUDY - An Institute for Legal Reform Study the ILR /Harris Poll ranks the 50 states based on how fair their court systems are perceived to be. Where does your state rank?_{Respond to this posting}

Tort Reform Record: June 2007 - American Tort Reform Association The Tort Reform Record is published each June and December to record the accomplishments of the latest legislative year. It includes a two-page, state-by-state summary of the ATRA-supported reforms enacted by the states since 1986. _{Respond to this posting}