I recently heard that the Oregon legislature actually may kill a wasteful, non-productive, and from my perspective, illegitimate government program. I won’t tell you which one, because that could give its supporters time to organize and to pressure legislators to keep squeezing taxpayers for more money to keep their gravy train alive. This program and [...]

President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget includes $310 million for an ongoing energy research program called SunShot. The goal of the program is to use taxpayer subsidies to reduce the total installed cost of solar energy by 75% by the end of this decade, making it cost-competitive with other sources. This is an admirable goal, [...]

Before the legislature solidifies Governor John Kitzhaber’s revolutionary new reform plan for education, let’s look back at the first big education reform of which he was a part. In 1991, then Senate President Kitzhaber voted for The Oregon Education Act for the 21st Century. It was full of new committees, new high school CIM and [...]

This is National School Choice Week. Every January, National School Choice Week highlights the need for effective educational options for all children. Planned by a diverse and nonpartisan coalition of individuals and organizations, National School Choice Week features special events and activities that support school choice programs and proposals. The effort is a collaboration of [...]

Nine months ago I happily testified (twice) on behalf of a legislative bill that would allow the creation of a privately operated car sharing program in Oregon. I liked the idea of using cars more efficiently, and I loved the fact that the price of rentals would be determined entirely by the market. A model [...]

Nobody likes pain, but we need it. This may sound counterintuitive or cruel when you are suffering with an injury or illness, but severe dangers accompany a life without pain. A rare genetic disorder renders some people incapable of feeling pain, heat, or cold. Life for them is full of unexpected dangers, particularly for children, [...]

Americans live in a regulatory minefield. Consider the tens of thousands of statutes, regulations, and court precedents that affect nearly every aspect of your life: The United States Code is 50 volumes; the Code of Federal Regulations is 150,000 pages; State laws, administrative rules, and city codes add tens of thousands more pages. Add the [...]

Now that the Dear Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (aka North Korea) has left this earth, it is up to the Great Successor (aka the Dear Leader’s youngest, inexperienced son) to carry on his legacy. Rumor has it that the Great Successor’s first command was that all lights in the hermit kingdom [...]

Struggling parents with children’s clothing and toys on layaway are finding that anonymous strangers have paid their balances down to a penny at Kmart and other stores across the country. Retailers have known “Secret Santas” for years, but this Christmas season appears to be different. According to the Frederick News Post in Maryland, a local [...]

I read with a tinge of dismay that the U.S. Postal Service is proposing to slow first-class mail delivery to avert impending bankruptcy. A letter-writer who enjoys reading periodicals I get in the mail, I don’t believe the age of hard copy is ended. Delivery of printed materials likely will continue to be a valued [...]