Inflation continues to be the top concern for American voters going into the midterm elections. But rather than advancing responsible policies that will tame inflation, the federal government continues to pursue tax and spending plans that will raise the federal deficit, undermine growth, and do nothing to lower prices.
Read the full story
Borrowers in thirteen states who have student debt canceled under the Biden administration’s plan may still be taxed hundreds of dollars next year on their forgiven loans.
Read the full story
Some states are making money from unclaimed property that people may not know the states have.
South Dakota is one of the few states that send profits from abandoned property to their general budget. About 3% of the state’s general fund revenues come from unclaimed property, according to state budget officials. Some states, including Wyoming and Wisconsin, hold on to the property indefinitely.
Read the full story
When American citizens look to Washington, D.C., they find much to be disappointed in and even less to believe in. The fundamental problem is that the federal government has, through its regulatory and spending powers, usurped much of the governing authority for the republic.
Read the full story
People are moving to Arizona in droves, especially the Phoenix area.
Last year, the Phoenix metro area took the top spot nationwide in terms of the number of people moving to the city compared to the rate at which people were leaving the city, according to a study conducted by Allied.
Meanwhile, Arizona as a whole was a popular state for people to move to, even outside of the Phoenix metro area; it ranked fifth among inbound states in the country last year. States that ranked ahead of Arizona on the list included: South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida. Meanwhile, Arizona ranked ahead of Texas on the list.
Read the full story
Despite calls for increased regulation of the tech industry, Congress has yet to pass any major legislation, leaving it up to the states to take action curbing tech companies’ power and influence.
Meanwhile, state legislatures have introduced and enacted legislation on data privacy, antitrust, and content moderation, while state attorneys general have issued a number of legal challenges alleging anticompetitive business practices.
Read the full story
Red states are leading economic growth in the U.S., a new report by the U. S. Commerce Department shows, with South Dakota, Texas and Utah reporting the highest growth.
The report is based on 2020 fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data and February 2021 unemployment rates.
Real GDP increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2020. Real GDP for the U.S. as a whole increased at an annual rate of 4.3%. The percent change in real GDP in the fourth quarter ranged from 9.9% in South Dakota to 1.2% in the District of Columbia.
Read the full story
Most states aren’t adequately prepared to distribute the leading coronavirus vaccine, especially to rural areas, once it is approved for public use, according to a ProPublica analysis of state plans.
Pfizer announced Monday that the coronavirus vaccine it is developing was more than 90% effective and did not produce safety concerns during its large-scale trial. But, as the vaccine approached Food and Drug Administration approval, a ProPublica investigation found that states aren’t ready to administer the delivery of the vaccine to vast swaths of their populations.
“Early, when we don’t have lots of doses, I frankly do not anticipate that vaccine will be widely available in every rural community,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s V
Read the full story
by Nathan Jenson U.S. states and cities hand out tens of billions in taxpayer dollars every year to companies as economic incentives. These businesses are supposed to use the money, typically distributed through economic development programs, to open new facilities, create jobs and generate tax revenue. But all too often that’s not what happens, as I’ve learned after doing research on the use of tax incentives to spur economic development in cities and states across the country, particularly in Texas. Recent scandals involving economic development programs in New Jersey, Baltimore and elsewhere illustrate just what’s wrong with these programs – and why I believe it’s time to end this waste of taxpayer dollars once and for all. Economic development 101 Many states, counties and cities have economic development agencies tasked with facilitating investment in their communities. These agencies undertake a variety of valuable activities, from gathering data to training small businesses owners. Yet one of their most high-profile activities is the use of tax and other incentives to entice companies to invest in their communities, generating local jobs and expanding the tax base. Estimates of how much is spent on such incentives range from US$45 billion to $80 billion…
Read the full story
News flash: People move out of states with high tax burdens, more regulations and fewer jobs to states with fewer taxes and regulations and more jobs. The former tend to be in Democratic-controlled states, while the latter tend to be in Republican-controlled states. That report comes last week from Mark J. Perry at AEIdeas, a public policy blog from American Enterprise Institute, a think tank. Perry is a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus. He is known as the creator and editor of the economics blog Carpe Diem. Perry refers to a Carpe Diem post he made last month in which he studied household moving data from North American Moving Services’ US Migration Report for 2017. Measures included economic performance, business climate (right to work, for example), business climate and individual taxes. The top five outbound states (where people leave) are: Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Michigan. Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey tied for the worst at 38 percent inbound but 62 percent outbound. The top five inbound states (which gain population) are: Arizona, Idaho, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. For example, in 2017, Tennessee had an inbound rate of 58 percent…
Read the full story