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Public Policy
How Should We React When State and Local Governments Get More of Our Money?: Dissecting the Upside of Higher State and Local Government Tax Revenues
First Quarter of 2016 Sees Tax Revenues Rise 3.1% Since Same Time Last Year The amount of tax revenues being brought in by state and local governments is important, as it may indicate the direction of the economy through increased economic activity, it may reflect...
What is a ‘Business Friendly’ Tax Policy?
State Adjustments to Tax Structures Offer Mixed Results The Urban Institute's Norton Francis recently issued a brief outlining how states use changes to the tax structure to foster economic development. Each state uses their own particular mix of taxes to generate...
Featured Conference: Brookings/Brandeis/Washington University 5th Annual Municipal Finance Conference
On July 12, 2016, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings Institution, the Rosenberg Institute of Global Finance at Brandeis International Business School, and Olin Business School at Washington University St. Louis are teaming together to...
Featured Conference: Federal Trade Commission’s ‘Something New Under the Sun’
FTC's June Conference Looks at Competition and Consumer Protection in Burgeoning Solar Industry The Federal Trade Commission is holding a one-day workshop in Washington D.C. on June 21, 2016, to tackle some of the issues present in solar energy. With solar, consumers...
Court Review of Public Pension Reform: The Latest Ruling Emphasizes Consensual Agreement Over Legislatively Mandated Changes
by James E. Spiotto* Over the last eight years, over 45 states and numerous local governments have instituted some form of pension reform which many times included increasing contributions and reducing benefits. Over the last four years, there have been over 18 state...
Laboratories of Democracy: Oregon’s Mileage-Tax
by Jeffrey L Garceau In 2006, MuniNet Guide featured an article on a pilot program in Oregon testing an alternative means of taxing drivers for using Oregon’s roads. The participants had a global positioning device installed in their car, which determined the mileage...
The Democracy Experiment: Will the Controversial New California Law Loosen the Voter Registration Process?
By Jeffrey L Garceau California’s New Motor Voter Act, passed into law last October, makes it the second state to implement an opt-out system for voter registration. In March 2015, Oregon became the first state to pass such a law. All other states require specific...
Is Obamacare Fraying Our Healthcare Safety Net
by guest contributor Shelley Michelson “A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” Mahatma Gandhi The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA,” “ACA” a/k/a Obamacare) is providing a unique set of challenges for the nation's...