This Week From AAI

Arkansas Makes The Top 10, Big Sugar Robs You, & Obama Is Right On Natural Gas

The Arkansas Project

Arkansas has made the Top 10! Well, in highest combined state & local tax rates. We are #6, to be exact. David Kinkade adds some perspective. And the $19 billion question is, "Are hardworking taxpayers entitled to effective and efficient government, or should we continue to let government grow faster than Arkansas?" This conversation can only be good for our state. AAI President Dan Greenberg explains.

Birth-Control Mandate: Unconstitutional & Illegal

Obama's birth-control coverage mandate violates the First Amendment's bar against the "free exercise" of religion. But it also violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Wall Street Journal explains.

Obamacare vs. Consumer-Driven Care

A fair amount of evidence suggests that consumer-driven health plans, which typically pair high-deductible insurance with health savings accounts (HSAs), offer one of the most promising mechanisms for controlling the growth of health insurance premiums as well as overall health spending. But Obamacare will make it hard for CDHPs to survive, according to Reason.

The 'Progressive' Legacy

Barack Obama is the first black president of the United States, but his doctrine is by no means unique. He follows in the footsteps of other presidents with a similar vision, the vision at the heart of the Progressive movement that flourished 100 years ago. Thomas Sowell opines at National Review.

 1 in 8 Voter Registrations Inaccurate

Approximately 24 million active voter registrations in the United States -- one of every eight -- are no longer valid or have significant inaccuracies, according to the Pew Center on the States' Election Initiatives. National Center for Policy Analysis has more.

The Obama Budget

President Obama recently proposed his budget for fiscal year 2013, including outlook and projections for many years to follow.  While analysts continue to look at specifics, the general diagnosis is that Americans can look forward to more and higher taxes, less international competitiveness, deflated growth and out-of-control deficits that will drive the federal government even further into debt. The National Center for Policy Analysis explains.

How Big Sugar Robs You

Perhaps the most famous example in the American economy of effective implementation of trade barriers to protect domestic industry, sugar producers enjoy an inflated price that boosts personal profits.  This benefit is to the detriment of American consumers that routinely pay higher-than-optimal prices for sugar and all foods for which sugar is an input. More from the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Washington's Knack for Picking Losers

Like the mythical monster Hydra-who grew two heads every time Hercules cut one off-President Obama, in both his State of the Union address and his new budget, has defiantly doubled down on his brand of industrial policy, the usually ill-advised attempt by governments to promote particular industries, companies and technologies at the expense of broad, evenhanded competition.  Michael Boskin of The Wall Street Journal explains.  

Lessons from Europe's Experience with Renewable Mandates & Subsidies

The state of Texas, one of the largest producers of wind energy in the world, can learn a great deal from European countries' experiences.  While environmental advocates argue that targeted subsidies will reduce emissions and create "green" jobs, the experiences of Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom suggest that this may not be the case, according tothe National Center for Policy Analysis.

100 Years of Natural Gas

In his State of the Union speech last month, President Obama touted natural gas, claiming that the U.S. has an estimated 100-year supply of it. Critics responded that natural gas is an evil fossil fuel and that a 100-year supply is a "myth" anyway. Reason Science CorrespondentRonald Bailey looks into the matter and finds that the president knows what he's talking about.

How Taxing the Rich Harms the Middle Class

The Obama administration seems content to force American corporations to continue to abide by one of the most abusive corporate tax rates in the world, as this is a tax on the "rich," yet the corporate income tax has just the opposite effect.  More from the National Center for Policy Analysis.