Blog Post
May 6, 2013
The verdict is in – crop insurance, as currently structured, results in massive overspending on the part of the federal government. Just how much overspending? According to a recent study by agriculture economist Bruce Babcock from Iowa State University, the 2012 drought resulted in almost $7 billion in unnecessary payments. To put this in perspective, [...]
Blog Post
May 6, 2013
Senate prepares vote on Internet sales tax bill today: Great Falls Tribune Floridians taking advantage of Citizens’ sinkhole “glitch”: Tampa Bay Times Ag groups oppose efforts to cut subsidies to richest farms: National Cotton Council Patent claims are chasing firms out of the high-tech industry: Reuters Despite long odds, carbon tax advocates forge ahead: The [...]
Op Ed
Eli Lehrer • May 3, 2013
Buried deep in the recesses of President Obama’s budget are two items that could have vast and potentially devastating consequences for millions of Americans involved with dozens of different risk markets. Though their names are more likely to induce slumber than tea party rage, these proposals serve as important reminders of the ways that misguided [...]
Blog Post
May 3, 2013
As the push for modernization and consumer choice in North Carolina’s auto insurance system moves from the state Senate to the House, it’s worth going back to examine the goals the General Assembly set for itself on the topic a full year ago. A pair of bills sponsored by Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca, [...]
Op Ed
Huffington Post • May 3, 2013
With the stroke of his pen on a piece of insurance reform legislation, Florida Gov. Rick Scott will soon have the opportunity to begin writing another chapter to a rich and under-appreciated history of small-government environmentalism. The legislation he’ll almost certainly sign in the next few weeks — the “coastal preservation” title of a property [...]
Blog Post
May 3, 2013
Florida Senate sends Citizens reform bill to Gov. Scott: PropertyCasualty360 Citizens reform could impact real estate market: South Florida Business Journal Texas wind pool board meets today to discuss funding options: Corpus Christi Caller Economy adding nearly 200,000 jobs a month in 2013, despite alleged “austerity”: BLS The waste and inefficiency of the corporate income [...]
News Release
May 3, 2013
LANSING, Mich. (May 3, 2013) – Legislation approved last night by the Michigan House Insurance Committee will help tame out-of-control claims costs that have led the state’s drivers to pay the second-highest auto insurance rates in the nation, the R Street Institute said. Sponsored by Insurance Committee Chairman Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township, H.B. 4612 would [...]
Op Ed
Tobacco Truth • May 2, 2013
One of the longstanding federal warnings on smokeless tobacco is: “This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss.” This warning has no scientific basis. I previously discussed a study from Sweden concluding that snus use was not associated with gum disease. A 2012 study by the same research group concluded that “snus use does [...]
News Release
May 2, 2013
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (May 2, 2013) – The R Street Institute today commended the Florida Legislature for approving significant reforms to the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp., including provisions that will end insurance subsidies for new construction in environmentally sensitive coastal regions. The state Senate concurred today by a 32-1 margin to an amended version of [...]
Blog Post
May 2, 2013
The so-called “Marketplace Fairness Coalition,” one of a half-dozen groups using big-box retailer cash to organize support of Internet sales tax legislation, sent a very interesting letter yesterday to eBay CEO John Donahoe. In it, they include one of the best “sort of true but woefully incomplete” statements I’ve seen in a long time. They [...]
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