Latest Research

Citizens Property Insurance debate once again heating up Florida

Blog Post

Citizens Property Insurance debate once again heating up Florida 0

The Citizens Property Insurance Corp. debate is heating up once again in Florida. Despite a legislative session that largely steered clear from this contentious issue earlier this year, a recent proposal by Citizens board members is drawing a lot of attention (and scorn) from lawmakers and others.

Federal flood program gets 60-day extension

Blog Post

Federal flood program gets 60-day extension 0

The National Flood Insurance Program will be extended an additional 60 days beyond its scheduled May 31 expiration, after the U.S. House late May 30 approved by voice vote  an extension bill previously approved by the U.S. Senate. The vote, which came the day House members returned from a one-week Memorial Day recess, grants a [...]

Eli Lehrer: Florida’s lawmakers ignore storm warnings

Op Ed

Eli Lehrer: Florida’s lawmakers ignore storm warnings Comments Off

The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season is always June 1, but Mother Nature apparently didn’t get the memo this year. Tropical storms Alberto and Beryl crashed the party before it even started. In contrast, Florida’s costliest natural disaster — Hurricane Andrew — was the first storm of the 1992 season and did not [...]

Free markets don’t have to mean no regulation

Blog Post

Free markets don’t have to mean no regulation 0

A one-time boss of mine—a bearded gentleman who liked cigars, opera, candy and the Austrian School of economics—used to insist to me that the private sector would insure everything under the sun, if only the government would get out of the way, abolish all regulations and stop setting prices.  As such, he favored not only [...]

Ron Paul should drop out now

Op Ed

Ron Paul should drop out now Comments Off

In recent weeks, Ron Paul has emerged as the greatest threat to the Republican Party’s future. If the Texas Congressman and one-time Libertarian Party presidential nominee actually wants to see President Obama defeated in November, he should bow out of the Republican nomination process quickly, accept whatever offer the Romney camp offers him for a [...]

Prison rape standards: A start, but only a start

Op Ed

Prison rape standards: A start, but only a start Comments Off

Almost a decade after the law requiring them passed Congress and two years after the original deadline for announcing them, the Department of Justice has, at last, come out with mandatory, nationwide standards to prevent rape in detention facilities. The standards, decent although flawed, are a first step — but only a first step — [...]

The best flip-flop he could make: Romney should support gay marriage

Op Ed

The best flip-flop he could make: Romney should support gay marriage Comments Off

If Mitt Romney wants to win the election and become president, he should come out and support gay marriage. Doing so will work not so much because it’s consistent with conservative principle (which it is) and generally popular (that too) but because it will fracture Obama’s base. Let’s start with why marriage is right from [...]

News Release

Heartland Institute Announces Plan to Spin Off Insurance Project Comments Off

The Heartland Institute has decided to spin off its insurance research project effective May 31. According to Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute, “We’re convinced this will be a win-win situation for Heartland as well as Eli Lehrer and his team of very skillful and devoted policy experts. We urge any individual, foundation, and [...]

May 9, 2012 Testimony to Senate Banking Committee

Policy Brief

May 9, 2012 Testimony to Senate Banking Committee Comments Off

This written testimony from R Street Public Affairs Director R.J. Lehmann was submitted on behalf of the Heartland Institute to the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy for a May 9, 2012 hearing on reforming and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program.

Texas’ Margins Tax: Principles for Reform

Policy Brief

Texas’ Margins Tax: Principles for Reform Comments Off

This policy brief, co-authored by R Street President Eli Lehrer and Texas Director Julie Drenner, was issued by the Heartland Institute in February 2012. The pair looked at Texas’ franchise tax,  a 1% levy on businesses’ “taxable margins” that operates much like an income tax. Since its introduction, the tax has fallen far short of lawmakers’ [...]