Reason Foundation

April 27, 2017

Top Story

Congress Can Avoid a Government Shutdown and Save Thousands of E-Cigarette Businesses

'Regulations prevent these much safer products from competing with cigarettes - the deadliest consumer product on the market.'

Brian Fojtik

The continuing resolution that funds the federal government expires next Friday. This early in the Trump administration, Congress appears likely to pass an omnibus revenue bill to avoid a government shutdown.

Right now, leaders from both parties are negotiating terms of that agreement. Including a change to the predicate date in FDA e-cigarette regulations would preserve thousands of small businesses, save American jobs and help smokers quit. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) are pushing language that addresses the problem.

It’s a simple fix that won’t cost taxpayers a dime.

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Arizona Reforms Second Public Safety Pension Plan

Reform of corrections, probation officer pension plan follows on heels of 2016 police & fire pension reform, using similar collaborative process

Leonard Gilroy, Anthony Randazzo, Pete Constant

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law today pension reform legislation (Senate Bill 1442), passed with strong bipartisan and labor support, that will put Arizona's struggling Corrections Officer Retirement Plan (CORP) on a path to financial solvency. CORP covers all state and local corrections, detention and probation officers statewide, but has accumulated at least $1.4 billion in unfunded liabilities since 2000 and stands at only 53% funded today. Overall, the CORP pension reform effort is expected to shift approximately 90% of new hires into a defined contribution retirement plan and nearly eliminate the potential for new unfunded liabilities once the current pension debt is paid off.

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Air Traffic Control Newsletter #142

The many reasons ATC should be corporatized

Robert Poole

In this issue:

• The many reasons ATC should be corporatized
• Airways New Zealand and its ATC reform legacy
• Could an ATC corporation go bankrupt?
• Why business jet people oppose corporatization
• FAA forecast shows only moderate ATC growth
• Control tower competition in Europe
• News Notes
• Quotable Quotes

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Surface Transportation News #162

Misinformation on public-private partnerships

Robert Poole

In this issue:

• Misinformation on public-private partnerships
• Possible consequences of autonomous vehicles
• Unrealistic ideas about Interstate tolling
• Express toll lanes progress and setbacks
• Vehicle miles of travel continue climbing
• Truck automation making progress
• Upcoming Transportation Conferences
• News Notes
• Quotable Quotes

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Fitch Ratings Tracks the Growth of Managed Lanes in the US

The important differences between high-occupancy toll lanes and Express Lanes.

Robert Poole

Across America, a natural experiment is under way between high-occupancy toll lanes and Express Toll Lanes. 

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Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges for U.S. Marine Aquaculture Development

Aquaculture already produces half of the seafood that humans consume and that percentage continues to rise.

Arthur Wardle, Julian Morris

In many parts of the world, including the United States, overfishing has depleted wild fish stocks. Several oceanic regions adjacent to the U.S. are already being fished to their maximum sustainable potential. The World Bank projects a nearly 50% increase in worldwide food fish consumption between 2006 and 2030. The U.S. alone will likely need an additional 15 million tons of food fish by the end of the century.

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Why Vice Taxes Continue to Persist

Michael Thom

By their nature, public policies have always contained an element of paternalism—the notion that policymakers more than citizens know what is best for the society and, perhaps, the individual. Although some paternalistic approaches are motivated by religious or moral beliefs, and progressive thought itself has always had a strong foundation in paternalism, the growing popularity of behavioral economics has sparked new, seemingly objective, rationales for policies that aim to reduce the incidence of activities that policymakers have deemed “wrong” for society. Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sugar, and marijuana are only four of innumerable examples of the state’s efforts to “nudge” citizens toward “better” choices. But vice taxes illustrate the pitfalls and failures of that approach to public policy and to taxes in particular.

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Pension Reform Newsletter - March 2017

The "Trump Bump" and investment returns, target date funds, hedge fund misinformation, Dallas pension crisis, and more

Leonard Gilroy, Anthony Randazzo

In This Issue:

• Beware the Trump Bump
• New Report Examines Target Date Funds
• Concerns Over Hedge Fund Hobgoblins Based on Misinformation
• Considering Proposed Paths Forward in the Dallas Pension Crisis

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