Featured Articles
Mandating Insurance Not the Answer
By Marc Kilmer
Should the state government force you to buy something just because you live within the borders of Ohio? Most people would be opposed to such an intrusive government mandate, and you have yet to find the Ohio government attempting this. That could all change, however, if the Healthcare Coverage Initiative Advisory Group gets its way. They want to force you to buy health insurance and punish you if you do not. But this heavy-handed government mandate is not workable and will not address our health care problems.
Toll Road Lease Holds Promise
Toll Road News
reports, "With a bid of $12.8 billion an Abertis/Citi team has been
selected as
the concessionaire in a 75 year lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike....
Discussing the result at a news conference Governor Ed Rendell was
enthusiastic, saying he'll strongly urge the legislature to pass the
required legislation because it's a 'slam dunk'."
In
Paving
the Way to Prosperity, or a Slush Fund?, Buckeye Institute
Adjunct Scholar Geoffrey F. Segal writes, "A public-private partnership
would allow the state to lease the turnpike to a private company using
what is called a 'concession agreement.' Experience in other states and
around the world suggests that an agreement could generate between $4
and $6 billion in new revenues for Ohio. Even after the state pays off
existing debt on the turnpike, it would still have at least $3.3
billion to invest in new projects."
The Diversity of the "Uninsured"
"Health-care spending in America tops $2 trillion and accounts for 17 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Yet 47 million Americans are uninsured..." according to the Akron Beacon-Journal.
In Who are Ohio's Uninsured?, Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "As is clear once you look at the numbers, the uninsured are a diverse group. While there are certainly many Ohioans who want insurance but cannot afford it, there are more Ohioans who choose to go without insurance or who are only uninsured for a short period of time. It is irresponsible for politicians and the media to use the idea of a monolithic 'uninsured' to push for increased spending on government health programs. The real picture of the uninsured shows that all the talk of a 'crisis' is empty rhetoric."
Oil Tax is a Bad Idea
The Coshocton Tribune reports, "Soaring gas prices have led to cries for a variety of answers, from Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain's suggestion to suspend the federal gas tax this summer to President Bush's call to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and some offshore waters that are now off limits to oil development. Others have suggested a windfall profits tax on oil companies, although some economists say that might actually hurt supply. Oil companies say they're not to blame for spiking fuel prices, and their earnings, measured against revenue, are in line with other industries."
In
Congress's Answer to
High Gas Prices: Raise Taxes!, Buckeye Institute
President David Hansen writes, "In 1980, President Carter signed a
windfall profit tax that was really just an excise tax on gasoline, in
response to the gas crisis of the 1970s and the removal of price caps
price controls on the energy industry. The Congressional
Research Service found that by the time the tax was repealed in 1988 it
helped reduced domestic production by roughly 3 to 6 percent, which
thereby increased oil imports by 8 to 16 percent."
