R Street Institute

Low-Energy Fridays: A Montana Court Decision Shows Why Courts Can’t Solve Climate Change

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:30:00 +0000

This month, a Montana District Court judge ruled on Held vs. Montana, a suit brought by 16 young people who claimed the state’s greenhouse gas emissions presented “an unreasonable risk of harm.” As originally filed, the lawsuit was stunning in the breadth of its demands. It sought the invalidation of a variety of statutes that...

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Radio: Congress Doesn’t Take Funding the Government Seriously

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 22:02:59 +0000

It’s looking more and more like Congress will pass a continuing resolution instead of doing its job and passing appropriations bills to fund the government. But we have a month till the deadline… so we can expect a lot of political theatre before then. James Wallner from the R Street Institute breaks down how all...

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The Protecting Kids On Social Media Act Is A Terrible Alternative To KOSA

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 18:50:06 +0000

Third, verification mechanisms will invariably stumble when dealing with a variety of non-traditional families. It’s unclear how age verification and parent/guardian consent will function for children with different last names than a parent, those in foster care, and those whose guardians are other relatives. Children who, unfortunately, don’t have an obvious caregiver to act as...

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Top Misconceptions in Tobacco Harm Reduction – 2023

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:58:08 +0000

On August 15, Brian King, Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), acknowledged that there are opportunities for the CTP to educate consumers about the relative risks of tobacco products. By communicating that some tobacco products carry less risk with them than traditional cigarettes—such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS),...

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The moral (and political) panic over technology

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 17:27:41 +0000

Moral and cultural panics about what the future is going to bring is… well, it’s just part of the human condition. Just like every generation thinks the one that came before it is out of touch, and the one that comes after it is bringing about the destruction of the world, people are prone to...

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Coalition Calls on White House to End Wasteful Pentagon Wishlist Requirement

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:52:14 +0000

August 30, 2023 President of the United StatesThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: We, the undersigned good governance, foreign policy, faith, and taxpayer groups write to request that you urge Congress to repeal the statutory requirements for unfunded priority lists (UPLs). These extra-budgetary wish lists threaten national security...

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A credibility crisis for climate efforts

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:42:59 +0000

It is now common to encounter headlines about corporations embroiled in controversy for failing in their climate pledges. This is unsurprising, as many corporations make lofty climate commitments. But a deeper dive reveals a recurring problem: fraudulent carbon offsets. And because it will be difficult to meet ambitious global climate targets without carbon offsets, we...

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Red Tape Podcast, Episode 8 – Build high where it’s dry

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Red Tape is the newest R Street podcast about the country’s biggest problems and the surprising ways that governments (and regular people) often get in the way of solving them. It was produced in partnership with Pod People. Listen wherever you find podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and learn more about the podcast here. Episode description: What do California...

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Milwaukee Tax and Pension Deal a Step in the Right Direction

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 09:34:00 +0000

The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are set to close their underfunded pension funds and join the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), a long-awaited move designed to shore up workers’ pensions and better manage taxpayer funds. The change comes after state lawmakers this year enacted a comprehensive overhaul to the way Wisconsin provides financial support to...

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Awash in debt, feds should look to Georgia for pointers

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 23:00:00 +0000

In the latest national humiliation, one of the big three credit ratings agencies—Fitch Ratings—downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. The ratings “are forward-looking opinions on the relative ability of an entity or obligation to meet financial commitments,” according to Fitch. In short, they’re like credit scores for peons like you and...

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