Publications -- Government

Aug 11, 1999

BA #304 – Secret Disservice: Covering Up Scientific Data Violates the Public's Right to Know

Policy makers often rely on scientific research, much of which is funded by the federal government, in making important policy decisions. Faulty research can result in bad policy.

Aug 10, 1999

BA #303 – Income Distribution

Almost daily, left-wing organizations - Citizens for Tax Justice and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities are two of the most prominent - have been publishing attacks on the House and Senate tax bills. Their analyses are often recycled in White House and Treasury Department statements and repeated by liberal reporters. The gist of the attacks can be summarized briefly: the tax cuts are nothing but give-aways to the rich.

Jun 30, 1999

BA #299 – The Collapsing Scientific Cornerstones of Global Warming Theory

In 1988, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, testified before the Senate that based on computer models and temperature measurements he was "99 percent sure . . the [human caused] greenhouse effect has been detected and it is changing our climate now."

Jun 30, 1999

BA #297 – Do We Need Mental Health Parity?

In 1996 Congress passed "mental health parity" legislation that required employers who had more than 50 employees and who included mental health coverage in their health insurance benefits to offer the same annual and lifetime benefits for mental health care as for standard health care such as surgery and physician visits. The law went into effect in 1998.

Jun 30, 1999

BA #296 – Would a Private Social Security System Be Good for the Disabled?

Social Security is not just a retirement system; it is social insurance that also provides disability income for individuals who are injured and cannot work, as well as a death benefit and survivors benefits for widows and widowers age 60 or older and children under age 18.

Jun 11, 1999

BA #295 – Making Medical Savings Accounts Better

In 1996 Congress created a demonstration project permitting small employers and the self-employed to establish tax-free Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs). However, congressional lawmakers imposed strict limits on who can purchase MSAs and undermined their ability to work properly.

Jun 11, 1999

BA #294 – Off Target with Gun Controls

In the emotional aftermath of recent school shootings, the Clinton Administration and Congress want to "do something" about these extremely rare events, even though preventing them is beyond the power of the federal government. The U.S. Senate passed S. 254, the Juvenile Accountability Act, last month and the House will consider similar legislation in June. The 648-page Senate bill includes a range of provisions, among them new controls on firearms. However, none of the proposed rules would have prevented the massacre in Colorado or any other past school shooting, nor would they do anything to prevent future incidents. Here is a look at some of the provisions.

Mar 24, 1999

BA #287 – The Truth about Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl has sparked a national debate over land-use policy. At least 19 states have established either state growth-management laws or task forces to protect farmland and open space. Dozens of cities and counties have adopted urban growth boundaries to contain development in existing areas and prevent the spread of urbanization to outlying and rural areas. The Clinton administration has proposed to make urban sprawl a federal issue.

Mar 22, 1999

BA #286 – Should the Federal Government Invest Social Security Trust Funds?

In his State of the Union address, President Clinton proposed that "we commit 60 percent of the budget surplus for the next 15 years to Social Security, investing a small portion in the private sector just as any private or state government pension would do."

Mar 01, 1999

ST #223 – Suing Gun Manufacturers: Hazardous to Our Health

The lawsuits against gun manufacturers are not just bad public policy, they are also dubious as matters of law. The courts have recognized that firearms are no different from many other potentially dangerous products and have consistently held that legislatures should decide whether guns should be legal and widely available.