Archives: Cronyism / Articles

Archives: Cronyism / Articles

  • Statement on Stephen Moore’s Selection to Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors image

    Statement on Stephen Moore’s Selection to Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors

    WASHINGTON, D.C. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) commends and supports Stephen Moore’s selection to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. As a champion for market-driven solutions and an expert…

  • Supreme Court Hearing Oral Arguments Regarding Public Sector Union Dues image

    Supreme Court Hearing Oral Arguments Regarding Public Sector Union Dues

    The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the case of Janus v. AFSCME, a case very similar to one that has already been heard by eight of the nine…

  • Victory for Free Speech and Donor Privacy image

    Victory for Free Speech and Donor Privacy

    After years of litigation,  US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on October 26 that the Justice Department has entered into settlements in two cases brought by conservative groups whose tax-exempt status…

  • State of the State: Delaware image

    State of the State: Delaware

    Governor Carney's agenda resists overall spending reductions, advocates for higher taxes and neglects other needed policy reforms (such as worker’s compensation and worker freedom). With a legislature unlikely to circumvent the lackluster agenda of the new governor, don’t expect Delaware’s economic outlook to break through the median anytime soon.

  • State of the State: Ohio image

    State of the State: Ohio

    A renewed focus on reforms-rather than government micromanagement-can ensure the governor’s homestretch is one of continued economic renewal.

  • State of the State: Utah image

    State of the State: Utah

    The governor cautioned against “altering our tax policies in any way that could damage our robust economic engine.” He also advised that the “best way to ensure ongoing growth of education funding is to continue to grow our economy. Failure to take into account how tax rates affect business investment won’t help us make good policy decisions.” Indeed, the relatively low top marginal personal and corporate income tax rates (18th and 11th lowest, respectively) are partly responsible for Utah holding the top economic outlook for 10 consecutive years.

  • State of the State: Michigan image

    State of the State: Michigan

    Fortunately, the governor recognizes that the government can best enable growth by removing artificial obstacles to entrepreneurs: “Over the last few years we dumped the dumbest tax in America, we cut needless regulations, we started paying down our long-term debt, we started saving for the future, we laid the groundwork for success we have today so our businesses could create jobs. We create the environment for job creation, we don’t create those jobs.”

  • State of the State: North Carolina image

    State of the State: North Carolina

    Democratic Governor Roy Cooper began his first State of the State address highlighting the shared interests of all Tar Heel State citizens, but quickly turned to lambast certain Republican-sponsored policies…

  • State of the State: Florida image

    State of the State: Florida

    Ceaseless efforts crafting pro-growth tax and fiscal policies have created a prosperous and competitive economic environment in the Sunshine State. Even brighter times lie ahead should lawmakers let economic resources…

  • State of the State: Hawaii image

    State of the State: Hawaii

    One of the highest personal income tax rates in the nation and the highest sales tax burden in the nation, and forced unionization all contribute to Hawaii’s 42nd place economic outlook ranking according to ALEC’s annual Rich States, Poor States publication.

  • Taxing Free Speech image

    Taxing Free Speech

    Why should a small business owner be required to fund advertising for his competitors? David Gersenson and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are demanding an answer from the Sleeping…

  • State of the State: New York image

    State of the State: New York

    Governor Cuomo’s discussion of important issues such as tax relief certainly is encouraging. However, picking winners and losers with taxpayer dollars and increasing spending will not help New York’s economy to thrive. Instead, legislators should focus on a continued reduction of the state’s burdensome corporate and personal income taxes. An unshackling of the ingenuity and dreams of New Yorkers will fuel a better life for all.

  • Setting the Record Straight on Open Contracting image

    Setting the Record Straight on Open Contracting

    An interesting exchange occurred in the Wisconsin Senate last Wednesday. During discussion of a bill that would prohibit the state of Wisconsin or political subdivisions from requiring Project Labor…

  • State of the State: Maryland image

    State of the State: Maryland

    "It is encouraging that Governor Hogan is looking for ways to reduce tax burdens on hard-working taxpayers, which is a welcome departure from tax-happy past administrations that even taxed rain."

  • State of the State: New Mexico image

    State of the State: New Mexico

    In short, it’s not that things in New Mexico are getting worse; they’re just stuck in low gear. According to ALEC’s Rich States, Poor States, economic performance remains in the bottom third of all states; economic outlook is stuck at 34th place nationally, just one spot better than back in 2010. This lackluster outlook persisted during the energy boom years of 2010-2013. In fact, from 2004-2014, only ten states had lower gross domestic product growth than New Mexico. It’s no surprise that the state experienced negative domestic migration in 2016 for the fourth consecutive year in a row.

  • State of the State: Colorado image

    State of the State: Colorado

    The governor wasted no time Thursday evening demanding more dollars be squeezed from the wallets of Colorado taxpayers.

  • New Study Exposes Cronyism within State Pensions image

    New Study Exposes Cronyism within State Pensions

    The ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform just released Keeping the Promise: Getting Politics Out of Pensions, the second publication in the Keeping the Promise series on public pension…

  • VIDEO: Jonathan Williams on The Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal Live image

    VIDEO: Jonathan Williams on The Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal Live

    It's time to drain the government pension swamp.

  • Nickel and Diming Innovation to Death image

    Nickel and Diming Innovation to Death

    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is creating a new tax on Transportation Networking Companies (TNCs) to the tune of $0.20 per ride. Of the $0.20, five cents, or a full jitney nickel, will go to none other than the taxi industry itself.

  • For Economic Opportunity, the Redder the Better image

    For Economic Opportunity, the Redder the Better

    Many of America’s bluest states are deep in the red thanks to tried-and-failed progressive policies. The Illinois General Assembly can’t pass a long-term budget deal, leading to significant losses…