Free Republic

When it comes to making their state’s economy more competitive, governors have a wide variety of policy options available. But which governors have the best track record on economic growth? The Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors analyzes each governor’s fiscal policies from January 2012 to August 2014. Governors who keep tax rates competitive and maintain reasonable levels of spending received an “A,” while governors who increased taxes and spending received an “F.” In this report, four governors earned an “A” for pro-growth policies: Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina, Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas, Governor Paul...

Apparently, some teacher’s union officials have taken too much public school math. michigan outline “On a Saturday in May, members of the Michigan Education Association held a walk in Midland bringing attention to public school funding,” the Michigan-based Mackinac Center reports in the organization’s July/August report. “They claim education funding is down nearly $19 million in the greater Midland area in the last four years.” “MEA president Steve Cook has claimed that Michigan’s public school budget has been cut by $1 billion. The problem is that these claims are not true.” “State spending on public education actually increased $800 million...

How many people are actually locked up in the United States? Well, as it turns out, it’s hard to say. Inconsistent and fragmentary data has made piecing together the “whole pie” of U.S. federal, state, local and other types of confinement data difficult. Lucky for us, the Prison Policy Initiative has released a comprehensive graphic that aggregates the available information and helps to explain the complicated and expansive U.S. correctional system. From the collected data, the Initiative found that the incarceration system in this country “hold[s] more than 2.4 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile...

In March 2013, Anthony Brasfield released a dozen heart-shaped balloons in the air as a romantic gesture for his girlfriend. After a Florida Highway Patrol officer spotted the gesture, Brasfield was charged with polluting to harm humans, animals and plants—a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. While some criminal laws and sanctions are necessary to protect safety and ensure justice, America’s criminal code includes many activities that Americans and business owners have little way of knowing are crimes. As a result, law-abiding individuals and businesses spend innumerable hours and dollars fending off criminal prosecution for...

There are more than 1.5 million Americans under the supervision of state and federal correctional facilities, at a cost of more than $30,000 per prisoner every year. While some criminal laws and sanctions are necessary to protect safety and ensure justice, criminalized actions now include many normal, everyday activities that average Americans and business owners have little way of knowing are crimes. As a result, well-meaning, law-abiding American citizens and business owners spend innumerable hours and dollars fending off criminal prosecution for actions they never suspected were illegal, and states spend millions incarcerating nonthreatening individuals. States cannot afford the budgetary...

Every year in North America, 300,000 water main breaks threaten the safety of our communities and place enormous financial burdens on states already struggling to balance budgets. Decisions on how to deal with the estimated $3.8 trillion worth of necessary upgrades to our nation’s water infrastructure will have profound fiscal impacts on the states for years to come. However, there is a simple solution: opeWatermain_breakn and competitive procurement practices. Dr. Bonner Cohen discusses this idea in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s newest State Factor, “Lowering Costs in Water Infrastructure through Procurement Reform: A Strategy for State Governments.” Competition is a...

An old adage cautions, “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Such is the case with the now famous, “California Comeback.” Faced with a large budget deficit, California passed tax increases on the wealthy, balanced the budget, generated a massive surplus and seemingly solved the state’s fiscal woes. The problem? In the surplus claim, California only counts revenues that will go into the $96.3 billion budget this fiscal year. This is an increase of $9.3 billion from just two years ago. However, the state’s unfunded pension liability debt is not calculated into the budget. There are...

"A thug in prison cannot shoot your sister" --Ben Wattenberg NEW YORK (MainStreet)—When Lenin Peace Prize recipient Angela Davis is in accord with former Ron Paul staffer Gary North, is it not logical to think that soon the sun might explode? Currently, there is no sign of the apocalypse, even though...

GAINESVILLE, Ga.—Weeks after his election as Georgia governor in 2010, Nathan Deal was pulled aside by a conservative state lawmaker with urgent business to discuss. Rep. Jay Neal, a small-town pastor, said he had the seeds of a plan to cut Georgia's swelling prison population, which was costing taxpayers over $1 billion a year. The governor-elect didn't let Mr. Neal get far. Associated Press Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has led the drive to reduce prison populations in his state. "The minute I mentioned what I wanted to do, he jumped in with what he wanted to do," Mr. Neal recalled....

(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Congressman Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10) today released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s dismissal of Republican efforts to provide a solution to the looming fiscal cliff: “Democrats have basically told Republicans to either raise taxes, or go to hell,” said Broun. “Forcing us to choose between hurting families and small businesses or going off the fiscal cliff is not only counter-productive – it simply doesn’t make sense for righting our nation’s fiscal crisis. The Democrats’ math just doesn’t add up; there is no way to tax our way out of this mess. Even if they...

Harmony Public Schools appears to have cracked the code. The charter school system, with 38 campuses across Texas and more than 23,000 students, regularly produces students who excel at math, science and engineering. And they do it on a shoestring. Harmony's five schools in Austin spent $7,923 per student in 2010-11 on operating expenses, almost $1,600 less than the Austin school district and about $800 less than the statewide average. Harmony's schools have also consistently beat the rest of the state on standardized test scores even while educating about the same proportion of students considered at risk of dropping out....

Wisconsin wasn’t the only place in America voting on the blue social model last night, and Wisconsin wasn’t the only place where the blue social model took it on the chin. As reported here yesterday, voters in San Diego and San Jose, California (both among the largest ten cities in the United States) had referendums on the ballot that would cut pension costs. The results of those votes are in this morning, and both measures were passed by overwhelming majorities. In San Diego, 68 percent of voters supported the cuts. In San Jose, 71 percent voted against Big Blue.

.........In California, signatures have been gathered for a voter initiative, "Stop Special Interests," on the November ballot that, if passed, would break the umbilical cord between the state treasury and union treasuries. In California, among others, the state deducts union dues from public employee paychecks and sends these directly to the unions, thus saving them the need to persuade public employees to sign up to let the union bosses use their money in elections. This is the umbilical cord and the California unions have used it to become the most powerful special interest in Sacramento, having great influence over the...

The Wife's fingers fly clickity-clack over the calculator keypad as she works on our taxes. When she gets on a roll she makes that thing sound like Fred Astaire with an Uzi. I hear the occasional muttered expletive or plaintive sigh and that's when I want to give her a hug, but I dare not. The Wife is not to be messed with at tax time. This ritual is played out in millions of American homes - death and taxes, right? But in our home the burden falls fully on The Wife because I'm incapable of performing this basic function...

MADISON — What’s in a “surplus” or a “balanced budget”? The better question might be: What’s not? As the economy improves and tax revenue rebounds, politicians nationwide are touting balanced budgets — even surpluses — as proof their states are on a positive fiscal track. The problem, fiscal analysts say, is that for virtually any state, those reports are little more than a thin veil, masking deep-rooted financial problems. Seeking balance  For years, states have relied on accounting gimmicks, pension-plan deferments and help from the federal government to keep budgets balanced, Eileen Norcross, a senior research fellow at George Mason...

One month ago Ohio voted with its heart against reforms portrayed as an attack on public workers. Ohio, DC, and New York union bosses spent more than $30 million drenching the airwaves in images of sad firefighters, sad police officers, and evil Republicans, convincing voters to overlook a broken status quo.A month later, how are local governments celebrating the union victory on Issue 2?Middletown is laying off 9 firefighters, despite the city’s police and fire budgets both increasing by nearly 1/3 in the past decade. In Hamilton, a $5.9 million death tax haul will delay the inevitable: Inflation coupled with...

WATCH: Heartbreaking Video Of Italian Minister Bursting Into Tears While Announcing Pension Reforms Joe Weisenthal Dec. 4, 2011, 5:05 PM We're not sure exactly what Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero saying, but obviously announcing reforms to pension systems is an emotional subject, as it means more pain for seniors on fixed incomes. (via Hugo Dixon). A commenter translates part of her statement: "I'm sorry. The people who work have no more money to give you. As a result, the pension age will go to 62 years old for woman, and 65 years old for man. No longer can we afford to...

The Gloria Steinem generation convinced women that they were not doing jobs. Women were told they were being slaves to their families, and not getting paid for it. In lousy economic times, these newly learned old skills give women a bigger choice of where to spend money. They can cut corners by mending, canning, and growing a garden. They have the power and flexibility to fill their pantries and not depend on the government or stores in difficult times.

President Obama wants to spend $3.7 trillion next year and $5.7 trillion in 2021. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) wants to spend $3.6 trillion next year and $4.7 trillion in 2021. The Republican Study Committee (RSC) wants to spend $3.6 trillion next year and $4.2 trillion in 2021. Rand Paul wants to spend $3.7 trillion next year and $3.4 trillion in 2016. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has a "People's Budget" outline that, in keeping with representing a math-averse nation, doesn't include anything as straightforward as a series of annual-outlay numbers, though it does promise that outlays and revenues in 2021...

Gov. Kasich explains how Ohio turned its greatest fiscal shortfall into a structurally balanced budget, all while cutting taxes for every Ohioan.