Reason Foundation Commentaries
- President Obama's Top Five Health Care Lies
Tony Soprano Care
Shikha Dalmia
July 2, 2009 - Lift Restrictions on School Outsourcing in California
Other states and school districts are saving millions by contracting out non-instructional support services
Lisa Snell
June 30, 2009 - Government to Examine Exclusive Cell Phone Deals
Should the FCC regulate who can sell an iPhone?
Steven Titch
June 30, 2009 - Regulation Proposals Could Lead to JP Morgan Mae and Citi Mac
The White House regulation proposal will inadvertently turn private companies into government sponsored entities
Anthony Randazzo
June 25, 2009 - California Must Control State Pension and Benefit Costs
Currently facing an unfunded liability of over $48 billion for state retiree health and dental benefits
Adam Summers
June 22, 2009 - The Myth of Financial Deregulation
Government action caused the economic crisis, not the free market
Anthony Randazzo
June 22, 2009 - Can the U.S. Copy Spain's High-Speed Rail System?
In America, the reality of high-speed rail will fall far short of the hype
Samuel Staley
June 19, 2009 - Medicare Is Not the Model for Health Care Reform
The "public option" health care plan will not be financially sustainable
Shikha Dalmia
June 18, 2009 - Get Real About Bakersfield City Pensions
Bakersfield has nearly $100 million in unfunded pension liabilities
Adrian Moore
June 18, 2009 - Do the Economics of Piracy Demand the Privatization of the Sea?
Privately controlled waters would generate new solutions
Veronique de Rugy
June 16, 2009 - Are Charters a Drain on Traditional Public Schools?
Charters are a legitimate part of the public school system
Lisa Snell
June 12, 2009 - Who Do Charters Educate?
The numbers prove that charters help disadvantaged students
Lisa Snell
June 11, 2009 - Congress Is Hiding Cap-and-Trade Energy Price Increases
Central fact of the cap-and-trade proposal is that it will increase the price of energy
Ronald Bailey
June 10, 2009 - Massive, Expensive Expansion of the Pell Grant Program
President Obama wants to make college grants into an entitlement. Bad idea.
Michael C. Moynihan
June 10, 2009 - The Beginning of the End of Private Health Insurance
How President Obama's public health insurance option will quickly evolve into the only option
Ronald Bailey
June 10, 2009 - How Much Freedom Do Charter Schools Deserve?
Oakland owes a lot to its charter schools
June 10, 2009 - Is America Following the Policies that Caused Japan's "Lost Decade"?
Federal government is repeating many of the same mistakes that created Japan's Lost Decade
Anthony Randazzo, Michael Flynn and Adam Summers
June 10, 2009 - Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Without Reducing Mobility
Focusing on cutting vehicle miles traveled is the wrong approach
Robert Poole
June 9, 2009 - California: Harbinger of Fiscal Doom
What the Golden State's bleak future means for America
Brian Doherty
June 3, 2009 - Obama's Betrayal on Don't Ask Don't Tell
The president's forgotten civil rights promise
Shikha Dalmia
June 3, 2009 - The Federal Deficit Grows and Grows
President Obama's first budget promises "fiscal responsibility"—and delivers the opposite.
Veronique de Rugy
June 1, 2009 - California's Silent Big Spenders
Political class refuses to explain why the state requires hysterical spending growth
Matt Welch
May 29, 2009 - Dear GOP: Please Choose Liberty
Even non-Republicans need a strong opposition
Shikha Dalmia
May 20, 2009 - President Obama's Energy Plans Have a History of Failure
Alternative energy subsidies make their biggest comeback since Jimmy Carter
Ronald Bailey
May 20, 2009 - Waxman's Cap-and-Trade Plan Functions Like a Tax Increase
Proponents need to stop pretending cap-and-trade will cost nothing and create tons of jobs
Ronald Bailey
May 20, 2009 - Video: Privatization in the Age of Obama
How governments can cut costs and improve services through privatization
May 19, 2009 - Recognizing the Limits of Transit-Oriented Development
Examining whether or not transit and light rail stations drive economic development
Samuel Staley
May 18, 2009 - Put the Patients' Welfare First in Hospital Privatization Dispute
Legislature sacrificed psychiatric patients' well-being to retain legacy jobs on state payroll
Leonard Gilroy and Anthony Randazzo
May 14, 2009 - Reason.tv Video: Hasta La Vista, Arnold
What California's Budget Mess Means for America
Nick Gillespie and Ted Balaker
May 14, 2009 - The Economic Impact of President Obama's Health Care Tactics
No major industrialized economy with universal health care has performed better than the U.S. in the last decade
Shikha Dalmia
May 6, 2009 - High-Speed Rail Plans Should Be Called Moderate-Speed Rail
True high-speed rail would cost tens or hundreds of billions more
Robert Poole
May 5, 2009 - High-Speed Rail Won't Help the Masses
High ticket prices and too few stops and stations will make them trains for the wealthy
Samuel Staley
May 1, 2009 - Collapse of Midway Deal "Not a Setback for Privatization"
MuniNet Guide Interview with Reason's Leonard Gilroy
Leonard Gilroy
April 30, 2009 - Meddling Congress Wants to Set Your Pay
It started with CEOs, now Congress wants to tell bank tellers and janitors how much they can make too
Anthony Randazzo
April 29, 2009 - Seattle's Long-Range Plan To Beat Traffic Congestion
Expanding capacity, toll roads and private capital are keys to mobility
Samuel Staley
April 24, 2009 - Hospital Privatization Isn't a Scary Proposition, Patients Should Come First
Letter to the Editor
Leonard Gilroy
April 23, 2009 - Port Privatization Trend Growing
More ports looking to public-private partnerships to fund improvements and expansion
Shirley Ybarra
April 23, 2009 - Getting California Back on Track
Rip up the government's credit cards, institute a spending limit, and prioritize programs based on effectiveness
Adam Summers
April 22, 2009 - Nothing to Toast in California's Proposed 'Dime a Drink' Tax
False claims about alcohol's costs and lost wages are being used to push tax increases
Edward Stringham
April 20, 2009 - President Obama Fails the Kids in the DC Voucher Program
Ignoring the program's big successes, Congress and Obama pay off the teachers' unions
Shikha Dalmia
April 20, 2009 - Feds Should Allow the Market to Work Freely
The consequences of federal intervention in the financial system
Anthony Randazzo and J. Dustin Pope
April 16, 2009 - Roanoke Schools Embrace Privatization to Cut Costs, Focus on Education
Privatizing transportation will free up money for classroom
Leonard Gilroy
April 14, 2009 - Illinois Government Should Shop Around
Council on efficient government would bring common-sense budgeting to state
Leonard Gilroy and Kate Campaigne
April 9, 2009 - State Governments Face Deficits and Fiscal Trouble Because of Spending
From 2002 to 2007, state spending rose 50 percent faster than inflation
Adam Summers and Michael Flynn
April 9, 2009 - Cap-and-Trade Handouts
"The largest corporate welfare program ever enacted in the history of the United States"
Ronald Bailey
April 9, 2009 - California Wants to Ban Your Big Screen TV
This nanny state plan arrives in the name of energy efficiency
Steven Titch
April 9, 2009 - GM Should Run To Bankruptcy Court
By avoiding bankruptcy, GM only risks trading union demands for federal tyranny
Shikha Dalmia
April 2, 2009 - India's Faulty Exceptionalism
India isn't suffering during this global slowdown, but needs more openness to trade
Shikha Dalmia
April 1, 2009 - Adding More Transparency to Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Projects
Ways to de-politicize the process
Robert Poole
March 31, 2009 - Rolling Out TARP II
Creating an unnecessarily subsidized market in toxic assets
Anthony Randazzo
March 27, 2009 - California's High Taxes and Burdensome Regulations Drive People and Businesses Away
State's credit rating is worst in nation and businesses say it is the worst place for entrepreneurship
Adam Summers
March 26, 2009 - Government Officials Say Sweeping Financial Overhaul Is Coming
New financial regulations could make things worse if Congress isn't careful
Anthony Randazzo
March 23, 2009 - Making Sure the Broadband Stimulus Money Isn't Wasted
How to find the areas not being served, and unlikely to get high-speed Internet services
Steven Titch
March 20, 2009 - Even During the Recession Private Companies Are Investing In Ports
Private sector is driving modernization efforts
Shirley Ybarra
March 19, 2009 - The Inconsistencies In President Obama's Education Plans
The rhetoric on charter schools, firing bad teachers and merit pay sounds good, but where is the follow through?
Lisa Snell
March 18, 2009 - Fear Is the Economy's Biggest Problem Right Now
Obama has followed Bush and Paulson's lead using fear to push bailouts and policies
Anthony Randazzo
March 6, 2009 - Second National Commission Gets It Mostly Right
Commission offers a series of valuable policy proposals
Robert Poole
February 28, 2009 - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Failure
If the California governor is the face of "moderate" Republicanism, the party is even more doomed than the 2008 elections suggest
Matt Welch
February 28, 2009 - Innovative Solutions Needed to Fix L.A.’s Budget
L.A. should follow Chicago's lead on public-private partnerships
Adam Summers
February 23, 2009 - Sharpening the Budget Saw in Virginia
Arizona bill offers a blueprint for right-sizing state government
Leonard Gilroy
February 17, 2009 - State Budget Crises Arrive Like Clockwork
Lawmakers once again turn to cigarette taxes to balance their budgets
Michael Flynn
February 11, 2009 - The Great Union Debate
Card check: unions' salvation?
Shikha Dalmia
February 6, 2009 - What's So Smart About Investing in the Smart Grid?
It makes no sense to throw $4.5 billion at electric power infrastructure
Ronald Bailey
February 6, 2009 - Government Intervention Might Delay the Economic Recovery
Every recession contains the seeds of its own regeneration
Shikha Dalmia
February 4, 2009 - The Benefits of Tax Cuts and Alternatives to Stimulus Spending
Seven steps Congress should take to end the recession and jumpstart the economy
Anthony Randazzo
February 4, 2009 - A National Infrastructure Bank?
Proposed bank can fill a niche, but current proposal needs to be refocused
Robert Poole
February 3, 2009 - Stimulus Plan Expands Government More Than It Stimulates
Bill funds 31 new programs or agencies at a cost of over $136 billion
Anthony Randazzo
February 2, 2009 - The Fallacy of "Fiscal Stimulus"
Stimulus during the Great Depression delivered an unemployment rate of 25 percent
Adam Summers
February 2, 2009 - Thomas Frank Is Wrong About Toll Roads
Public-private partnerships focus on most-needed infrastructure, unlike pork that is baked into government spending
Robert Poole
January 29, 2009 - President Obama's Fuel Economy Standard Follies
Politicians want you to pay more when you drive. They just won't admit it.
Ronald Bailey
January 27, 2009 - Transportation Spending Won't Stimulate Economy
Infrastructure projects aren't really ready-to-go and using private sector financing could save taxpayers hundreds of billions
Shirley Ybarra and Anthony Randazzo
January 27, 2009 - Huge Stimulus Plan Won't Change the Education System's Status Quo
Throwing money at failing schools won't boost test scores or graduation rates
Lisa Snell
January 27, 2009 - USDA Tries Pricing and Trading Environmental Benefits
Bringing ecosystem services out of the political realm and into the market would be welcome news
Skaidra Smith-Heisters
January 26, 2009 - California's Spending Addiction
What caused the deficit? State spending has increased 92 percent in 10 years
Adam Summers
January 26, 2009 - Bush Was Big Government Disaster
He expanded the state, and the sense that the state is incompetent.
Nick Gillespie
January 24, 2009 - Detroit Bets Its Future on Washington
Carmakers seek to please Congress instead of customers
Shikha Dalmia and Henry Payne
January 24, 2009 - Obama Needs to Push for Online Stimulus Transparency
Government may have already spent $8.4 trillion in bailouts and stimulus, where did it all go?
Anthony Randazzo
January 21, 2009 - The Five Core Principles President Obama Should Follow
Calls for massive stimulus package will make Obama's first 100 days even more critical
Samuel Staley
January 20, 2009 - Examining Sprawl in Europe and America
Europeans are moving to the suburbs too
Wendell Cox
January 16, 2009 - Florida Benefitting from Prison Privatization
Applying competition to corrections delivers cost savings, accountability
Leonard Gilroy
January 16, 2009 - No Biofuels Bailout
Farm energy pork wastes money and harms the environment
Ronald Bailey
January 13, 2009 - Practical Reasons Why Stimulus Spending Doesn't Work
Tax cuts are much preferable way to stimulate economic growth
Anthony Randazzo
January 8, 2009 - Making Sure Infrastructure Stimulus Isn't Pork Parade
There were 6,371 earmarks in the last highway bill
Samuel Staley and Adrian Moore
January 7, 2009 - Funding System for Roads and Bridges Is Broken
Gas tax should be replaced by direct user fees
Adrian Moore
January 5, 2009 - Time to Consider Tolling the Interstates
Tolls could play a critical role in reconstructing and modernizing Interstates
Robert Poole
January 1, 2009
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