Policy Brief
May 14, 2013
Washington’s Farm Policy is a nearly trillion dollar tangle of agriculture subsidies, welfare payments and environmental patronage. There is tremendous need for reform. Current subsidy programs are rooted in the 1930s, when prices for crops and livestock bottomed out and farm families were desperate for income. Agriculture today could not be more different. Farmers are [...]
Op Ed
RealClearEnergy • May 14, 2013
Tax reform may involve simplifying the tax code, but actually achieving such a thing promises to be a terrifyingly complicated process. The battle over how (and by how much) to reduce the various tax deductions, credits and exemptions that litter the code will be contentious enough; reaching agreement on how to divvy up the revenue [...]
News Release
May 14, 2013
WASHINGTON (May 14, 2013) – The U.S. House version of the 2013 Farm Bill, which the Agriculture Committee will begin marking up tomorrow, includes increases in taxpayer-financed crop insurance subsidies that are nearly double those of its Senate counterpart, the R Street Institute noted today. “While pitched by its sponsors as the more ‘fiscally responsible’ [...]
Blog Post
May 14, 2013
Louisiana House shelves bill giving lawmakers authority to block Citizens rate hikes: The Republic Online tax burden would hurt, not help: Beloit Daily News Many policyholders don’t know what their home insurance covers: Insurance Journal Gene Healy on the dangers of a partisan IRS: Cato Institute Stereotyping in Europe: Marginal Revolution
Op Ed
George W. Bush Institute • May 13, 2013
Public Radio’s Marketplace This Morning recently ran a piece featuring an in-depth investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting that highlighted the ability of U.S.-based companies to legally evade paying taxes on the profits earned from their overseas operations. The story presented a picture of U.S. corporate behavior that no doubt left many people indignant [...]
News Release
May 13, 2013
WASHINGTON (May 13, 2013) – The R Street Institute today noted the draft Farm Bill the Senate Agriculture Committee will begin marking up tomorrow once again fails to enact substantial reforms to the expensive and elaborate system of agricultural subsidies. While the committee bill eliminates the nonsensical “direct payments” program, it uses virtually all of [...]
Blog Post
May 13, 2013
IRS apologizes for targeting conservative groups: Associated Press Atmospheric carbon dioxide hits highest level in 3 million years: New York Times Five ways Congress could improve copyright law: Ars Technica Internet sales tax muddles treatment of gifts: Forbes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s recent profits could be sapping will for mortgage reform: The Hill Hospital [...]
Op Ed
Tobacco Truth • May 10, 2013
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2003 prison smoking ban produced a pervasive black market, where single cigarettes cost inmates $30, and a pack runs as high as $200, according to the Daily News. That might sound shocking, but I predicted those unintended consequences nine years ago in a column for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, after [...]
Blog Post
May 10, 2013
With the Farm Bill renewal debate rapidly approaching, one undeniable candidate for pruning is the federal sugar program. Currently, the federal government controls almost every aspect of sugar production. First, the government decides how much domestic sugar can come to market. It then sets the price significantly higher than prices on the world market. This [...]
Blog Post
May 10, 2013
Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow releases Farm Bill draft: Senate Agriculture Committee Lofgren bill would allow unlocking/jailbreaking smart phones and other devices: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Could Mark Sanford be a GOP champion for climate change action? : ThinkProgress Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union on the Internet sales tax: U.S. News Rep. Bennie [...]
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