14 Million Hours Needed to Comply with Vending Machine Regulation
14 Million Hours Needed to Comply with Vending Machine Regulation
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Long before the health care legislation passed, there were concerns about the number of jobs it would destroy and the state budgets it would bust. Now that it has been signed into law, unintended consequences from the bill continue to come to light. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released estimates that it...
By Chris Andriesen
The Wisconsin/Illinois Jobs Spat
The Wisconsin/Illinois Jobs Spat
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is engaged in a jobs spat with Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker. Walker had questioned the wisdom of committing Wisconsin to additional “high speed rail” boondoogle spending (read why he’s right on the policy merits); Governor Quinn responded by trying to woo a Wisconsin-based rail firm to Illinois. Beyond targeted campaigns to win over one company or another...
By Chris Andriesen
Obamacare Waivers
Obamacare Waivers
by Kate Piercy Bureaucracy deciding who gets exemptions from a law and who does not: Here is the list of the lucky 111 groups (including unions and health care providers) exempt from the burden of the Obama administration’s onerous health care plan, buried six clicks deep on the Health and Human Services website and posted last Friday. Nice...
By Chris Andriesen
Sunshine Standard – Model transparency language
Sunshine Standard – Model transparency language
by Kate Piercy All interested in government transparency, check out this new website,sunshinestandard.org, created by Sunshine Review. The website aims to provide citizens and elected officials with model legislation and tools to launch reforms and expand the amount of information available about government. As Michael Barnhart of Sunshine Review explains, “State and local governments, and school districts,...
By Chris Andriesen
AARP Cites Obamacare When Increasing Employee Health Care Costs
AARP Cites Obamacare When Increasing Employee Health Care Costs
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson While some of the provisions of the massive federal health care legislation don’t go into effect for some time, their impact is already being seen across the country. Last month, McDonald’s, the United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund, and 29 other firms, representing nearly one million workers, received waivers from the Department of Health...
By Chris Andriesen
Most Voters Want Health Care Impact Investigated
Most Voters Want Health Care Impact Investigated
by Kate Piercy A recent Rasmussen Reports national survey found ambivalence among voters about House Republican plans to investigate the Obama administration – unless the subject of the probe is the unpopular national health care bill. Scott Rasmussen remarked about the findings, saying, “Voters want Congress to focus on substance, not distractions. Congressional questioning about policy...
By Chris Andriesen
NYC Loses Its Schools Chief
NYC Loses Its Schools Chief
by Collin Hitt The head of New York City’s schools is leaving after eight largely successful years. Replacing Joel Klein as Chacellor – that’s what they call their superintendent in NYC – will be publishing exec Cathie Black. During Klein’s tenure, the percentage of poor fourth graders scoring as proficient in reading on the Nation’s Report Card...
By Chris Andriesen
Unions’ Preferred Rating for Teachers: NR
Unions’ Preferred Rating for Teachers: NR
by Dan Proft Amid the contentious debate as to how we improve public education in America, there is one reality to which all parties subscribe: there is no substitute for a quality teacher in the classroom. The scholarship on teacher quality is clear. It is the most important school-related factor in student achievement. Some studies...
By Chris Andriesen
More and More Federal Employees Earning $150k a Year
More and More Federal Employees Earning $150k a Year
by Wesley Fox The Institute has previously put the spotlight on excessive salaries for Illinois state employees, but now it appears federal employees are also being paid quite generously. According to USAToday the number of federal employees earning $150,000 or more has grown tenfold since 2005. In 2010, approximately 82,034 federal workers earned $150,000 or more, compared to only 7,420...
By Chris Andriesen
Most Local Tax Increases on Ballot Lose Tuesday
Most Local Tax Increases on Ballot Lose Tuesday
by Wesley Fox While many experts are trying to interpret the results of the election in Illinois, they might have an easier time determining the people’s views on taxes. In this year’s election there were dozens of referenda on the ballot asking voters if they support or oppose local sales and/or property tax increases. Of the...
By Chris Andriesen
Illinois to Start Paying Interest on Loan from Federal Government
Illinois to Start Paying Interest on Loan from Federal Government
by Wesley Fox According to the Rockford Register Star, Illinois will soon have to pay interest charges on the $2.2 billion it borrowed from the federal government. Illinois took out the loan to help pay out unemployment benefits after the state unemployment fund ran dry. Beginning on January 1st, the federal government will begin charging interest...
By Chris Andriesen
New TIF in the Loop
New TIF in the Loop
by Kate Piercy The city of Chicago has just approved 6 million dollars in tax increment financing (TIF) for Accretive Health Inc. “to pay for job training and the build-out costs” of a new facility, which will be located at 231 South LaSalle Street. By law, TIFs are intended to promote economic development in blighted areas,...
By Chris Andriesen
Gridlock is good for spending restraint
Gridlock is good for spending restraint
by Ashley Muchow Mercatus Center Research Fellow, Matthew Mitchell, has charted the impact united U.S. governments have had on spending under political combinations dating back to 1953. Over the past two years, a united U.S. government has reached average annual spending levels beyond any that of any administration in the history of the United States. Since the Obama administration...
By Chris Andriesen