Monthly Archives: March 2012
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Safer Communities at Less Cost Part I
Criminal justice reform: Defining the problem Other than Medicaid, which area of state spending has grown the fastest over the past two decades? Transportation? Education? Legal Fees? None of the above. Corrections spending has quadrupled over the past twenty years. With the highest incarceration rate in the world (nearly 2.3 … »
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Palm Oil – Fueling Economic Growth in the Developing World
Karla Jones | March 29, 2012 | Add a commentIn a decision that could have serious economic implications for Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries located within the narrow global band where oil palm is grown, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an initial ruling to restrict the importation of palm oil for use as an accepted biofuel. The … »
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ObamaCare Continues to Strain Small Business
Sean Riley | March 29, 2012 | 2 CommentsA Gallup Poll released in February found that nearly half of small business owners pointed to potential healthcare costs (48 percent) as a reason for not hiring new employees. Even though 23 percent of small employers at the beginning of 2011 indicated they’d hire, only 13 percent actually did. Meanwhile, … »
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New Report Highlights Hidden Problems of Government-Owned Networks
John Stephenson | March 28, 2012 | Add a commentA new report highlights the budgetary challenges facing local governments that build government-owned networks (GONs) to provide broadband. The report is a good read and useful for anyone interested in current issues in state and local broadband policy, and budgets and transparency. The report’s author is Joseph P. Fuhr, a professor … »
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Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act in Arizona
ALEC Blog Team | March 28, 2012 | Add a commentAn article ran in Arizona earlier this week detailing Arizona’s history with ALEC’s Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act—which preserves the right of patients to pay directly for medical care, and prohibits the government from penalizing residents and businesses for failing to purchase health insurance. “It does act as … »
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ALEC Response to Krugman’s Erroneous Claims – 3/27/12
ALEC Blog Team | March 27, 2012 | Add a commentContrary to a few politically-motivated and poorly researched editorials and blog posts, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) today is no longer involved with the private prison industry. Corrections Corporation of America is not, nor is any other private prison company, a member or supporter of ALEC. But even more … »
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All Cost No Benefit: EPA Proposes Carbon Dioxide Regulation for Power Plants
Todd Wynn | March 27, 2012 | 2 CommentsToday, the EPA has proposed a carbon dioxide standard for new power plants. The EPA blames carbon dioxide and other human emitted greenhouse gases for an increase in global temperature during the past 100 years. Unfortunately, this action is yet another EPA regulation that is essentially all cost and no … »
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The Right Solutions to Prison Problems: How Texas’ good policy is spreading across the nation
ALEC Blog Team | March 27, 2012 | Add a commentBy Representative Jerry Madden, TX For more than two decades, the motto shaping our criminal justice programs had been “tough on crime.” It is the mindset that led legislatures across the country to pass harsher sentencing laws, and led the United States to the highest incarceration rate in the world. … »
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Former Mississippi State Chair Defends ALEC
ALEC Blog Team | March 27, 2012 | Add a commentA former representative and ALEC State Chair for Mississippi, Jim Ellington wrote a great defense of ALEC in a Letter to the Editor at the Clarion Ledger: “The truth is, ALEC is founded on advancing the fundamental Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty. I believe the … »
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Health Care Freedom Makes a Big Impact in 2012
Christie Herrera | March 26, 2012 | Add a commentAs the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week challenging the federal health law, the states are continuing to promote ALEC’s Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act as a way to fight back against an unprecedented (and likely unconstitutional) individual mandate. This ALEC model protects the rights of … »
