Biodiesel Needs Less Government, Not More
Biodiesel has hit center stage in the Northwest, and proposals for government support…
Read Blog DetailYear: 2005
End the CIM-CAM Flim Flam
Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo decided last week that a key…
Read Blog DetailClimate Change and the Oregon Economy: Still Searching for the Smoking Gun
Summary Several studies on global climate change fall short on empirical data, relying…
Read Blog DetailDon’t Kick the Kicker
Now that Oregon’s economy is finally showing signs of life, we are again…
Read Blog DetailThe forgotten Thanksgiving lesson
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. We learned in grade school that it…
Read Blog DetailThe 65 percent solution
Can states solve their public education problems by directing a higher percentage of…
Read Blog DetailProsperity or Portland?
Remove Portland’s Business Income Tax to improve the city’s economy Summary The City…
Read Blog DetailThe Case for Price Gouging
Summary Proposed legislation against “price gouging” is a bad idea. Rising prices in…
Read Blog DetailThe Convention Center Hotel Hustle
The Portland Development Commission is close to spending millions of public dollars to…
Read Blog DetailFreedom Fuel: How and Why Biodiesel Policy Should Reflect Freedom
Two years ago my family began making our own homemade diesel out of…
Read Blog DetailKatrina’s children
Hurricane Katrina’s 372,000 displaced school children have become pawns in a political game…
Read Blog DetailHow Not to Fight Meth
Oregon recently became the first state to require prescriptions for medications whose ingredients…
Read Blog DetailMeth laws need a good dose of sanity
Summary Oregon is repeating Prohibition-era mistakes with the state’s new meth laws. Regulating…
Read Blog DetailSuspending Flawed Policy in Katrina’s Wake
Hurricane Katrina’s devastation is throwing a spotlight on federal regulations that could get…
Read Blog DetailThe Wapato Refugee Center
Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Guisto has suggested using the new and unused Wapato…
Read Blog DetailNot with my money
Imagine your door bell ringing at dinner time. It’s a politician asking for…
Read Blog DetailOregonians Are Losers
Willamette Week recently touted Oregon’s congressional delegation as “winners” for bringing home $2.7…
Read Blog DetailIn Defense of Wal-Mart
Recently, there has been a lot of debate around Wal-Mart’s plans to open…
Read Blog DetailSubsidized Science
This week US Senate Majority leader Bill Frist took a position in favor…
Read Blog DetailFreedom requires real free markets
Summary A Fourth of July flea market is a fitting celebration for the…
Read Blog DetailLegislators: Go Home!
This week, the Oregon State Legislature will meet for the 200th calendar day…
Read Blog DetailSocialized Medicine: A powerful symbol of national identity?
Summary Canada’s single-payer health care system was dealt a near-fatal blow in June…
Read Blog DetailHybrid Tax Credits Promote Inefficiency
Companies buying hybrid gas-electric cars might be saving more on their taxes than…
Read Blog DetailForcing people to be good
Summary Proponents of new and more extensive laws against discrimination seem to lack…
Read Blog DetailSun City Retirements
A recent front-page photograph in The Oregonian featured two retired public school teachers,…
Read Blog DetailThe Lost Liberty Hotel
Government action often has unintended negative consequences. Of course, these consequences are generally…
Read Blog DetailA License to Kill (Competition)
Summary Occupational licensing boards often make licensing requirements arbitrarily difficult, limiting the competition…
Read Blog DetailIs Your Home Up For Grabs?
Last week “the Supreme Court put a big UP FOR GRABS sign on…
Read Blog DetailCongress Tilts at Windmills
Last Thursday, the Senate approved an energy plan requiring large utilities to generate…
Read Blog DetailOregon Unemployment Insurance Overpayments
Summary Fraudulent unemployment insurance claims cost Oregon taxpayers $76.3 million in 2003, or…
Read Blog DetailCourt Faults Canadian Health Care System
The Canadian Supreme Court recently dealt a serious blow to the notion that…
Read Blog DetailPortland Business Tax Unfair
Last year, Inc. magazine rated Portland the nation’s eighth worst metro area in…
Read Blog DetailTaxing Business Taxes Us
Critics are complaining that corporations pay less than their fare share of taxes…
Read Blog DetailTime for Social Security Reform is Now
As the debate over Social Security reform heats up, one area of disagreement…
Read Blog DetailTreat all businesses as special
Oregon food processors are the latest business interests flocking to Salem seeking tax…
Read Blog DetailMust this Teacher be Fired?
Summary Oregon’s teacher certification process keeps accomplished individuals from teaching their subjects in…
Read Blog DetailBuy Local First?
The opposition to globalization and free trade is now evident in a new…
Read Blog DetailDon’t Tax Broadcasters
Not too many years ago, the Public Broadcasting Service asked this provocative question:…
Read Blog DetailDeconsolidate Oregon’s School Districts
Summary Consolidating school districts sounds like a good idea, but in reality costs…
Read Blog DetailPrice Gouging is Not the Problem
Summary Imposing price controls to protect consumers is one of the worst things…
Read Blog DetailThe $13,000 Student
It’s not hard to understand why many parents and students believe that Oregon’s…
Read Blog DetailProperty Rights Defended Before Court
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that will…
Read Blog DetailBigger Isn’t More Efficient
Oregon’s Education Service Districts administer state and federal programs and provide services such…
Read Blog DetailDoes Oregon Deserve a D in Money Management?
A new national report card funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that…
Read Blog DetailPublic School Monopoly Fails Latino Children
Summary Both nationwide and in Oregon, Latino students score far below their white…
Read Blog DetailGive Workers the Choice to Save
If no changes are made to the Social Security system, it will be…
Read Blog DetailCredibility Must Be Earned
Everyone agrees that the Oregon Legislature has a credibility problem. The Oregonian described…
Read Blog DetailJob Seekers Need Wheels to Wealth
Summary Many public policies are designed to “get people out of their cars,”…
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