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Pension Funds Should Focus on Funding Retirement Benefits, Not Politics
Pension boards prioritizing social change do a disservice to the workers expecting pensions and to the taxpayers responsible for unfunded pension debt.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Education Plan Would Hurt Charter Schools
The presidential candidate calls for more money for government-run schools and more regulations for private and charter schools.
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Why a Vaping Ban Would Be Terrible for Public Health
A vaping ban in California, or nationwide, would disastrously force legal adult vapers to buy products on the dangerous black market, increase vaping-related deaths and drive up traditional cigarette smoking rates.
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Infographic: How North Carolina School Finance Works
The state doles out staffing positions, which limits local control and causes inequities, and its funds come with strings attached.
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Where Do Gas Taxes Go? States Divert Fuel Taxes to Schools, Police, and Fish Barrier Removal
Five states are diverting over one-third of their total fuel tax revenue to non-road uses and an additional five states diverting at least one-quarter of their gas tax money.
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Public Pension Plans Are Seeing Low Investment Returns—It’s the New Normal
Whether through tax increases or diverting money from other programs, taxpayers get stuck with pension debt.
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Why We Should Stop Comparing High-Speed Rail In California and the US to China
Given the rule of law, the need to protect property and defend workers’ rights, high-speed rail projects in the United States will never achieve the ruthless efficiency of those in China. And that’s a good thing.
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The Teachers Retirement System of Texas Is Increasingly Relying on Risky Investments
TRS, an already-unhealthy pension plan with $46 billion in unfunded liabilities, needs to lower the rate of return it expects to generate from investments.
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California State Auditor Ranks 471 Cities On Financial Health, Finds 18 at High-Risk
Overall, more than half of California's cities were listed as being at a moderate to high risk of experiencing fiscal distress.
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Massachusetts’ Legislation for Marijuana-Impaired Driving Needs Some Work
Some of the state's recommendations have little or no connection to driving impaired by THC.
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Consideration of XBRL and Structured Disclosures by Municipal Issuers
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board should accept and display Inline XBRL disclosures.
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Illinois Has More Governments Than Any Other State, Now Looking to Consolidate
Illinois has a disproportionate number of local governments and pension systems.
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How Level 4 Automated Vehicles May Impact Other Travel Modes
Estimating how intercity car, bus and air travel might change when autonomous vehicles are a viable option.
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State Takeovers Are Not the Best Solution When a District Is In Financial or Academic Distress
A growing number of school districts are finding success in giving principals the flexibility to make decisions through student-based budgeting.
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Nevada’s Flawed Marijuana Licensing Process Leads to Corruption and Lawsuits
Nevada’s mishandling of marijuana licensing is sadly the predictable result of a flawed regulatory structure and is likely to be repeated elsewhere.
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Replacing Gas Taxes With Tolls Would Improve Fairness, Quality of Highways
An increasingly major problem with the fuel tax is states diverting gas tax money intended to maintain roads to non-roadway purposes.
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Why the FDA Shouldn’t Ban or Overregulate E-Cigarette Products
If every conventional cigarette smoker in the U.S. switched to e-cigarettes, 6.6 million fewer current smokers would die premature deaths, a study showed.
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Public Pension Plan Designs Are the Problem, Not Pensions Themselves
If you build a pension system with risk management in mind, you can avoid the common pitfalls that have led to the over $1 trillion in U.S. public pension debt.
