In early March, the polar bear could become the first species officially recognized by the U.S. government as threatened by global warming. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed to list the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) — even though U.S. polar bear populations aren't declining.
More than 20 years ago, climate scientists began to sound the alarm over the possibility that global temperatures were rising due to human activities, such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in order to study and better understand this potential threat.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed an agreement to outsource the administration of health, welfare and nutrition programs to a consortium led by the IBM Corporation and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. Under the 10-year contract, these companies will receive and process applications for benefits received by one in six Indiana residents and provide technological support to the state's Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a potent greenhouse gas, helps warm the climate. Absent water vapor, CO 2 and other natural greenhouse gases that trap a portion of the sun's radiation, the Earth would be about 60ºF colder than it is now — an icebox.
Critics complain that the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts gave the greatest tax relief to the wealthiest taxpayers. However, every major tax bill over the past 15 years — both Republican and Democrat — has increased the progressivity of the federal income tax system.
Over the last 25 years, the wage gap between Mexico and the United States has grown progressively wider, making U.S. jobs increasingly attractive. This is a major reason for the increasing influx of immigrants from Mexico to the United States.
It is increasingly clear that economic freedom, good governance and rule of law are key drivers in promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. In Sub-Saharan Africa, unfortunately, economic freedom and growth have trailed the rest of the world. One result is that the health of Sub-Saharan Africans is among the worst in the world. According to the World Economic Forum, a child born in Niger is 40 times more likely to die before her fifth birthday than a child born in the United Kingdom.
Rising oil and gasoline prices have many causes that are beyond the control of the U.S. government. However, government policies have contributed to higher prices by reducing domestic refining capacity, which has limited the supply of gasoline. No new oil refineries have been built in the United States for almost 30 years, and many refineries have closed.
In 2005, more than one-fifth (22.4 percent) of Hispanics 16 through 24 years of age were dropouts, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This means they were not enrolled in school, and had not graduated from high school or passed General Educational Development (GED) tests.
Texas is at the forefront of a blossoming nationwide charter school movement. Although charter schools are publicly funded, they are free of some of the regulations that burden public schools and are managed independently. Charter schools are subject to the state's accountability system, including the annual Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).
Over the next 25 years American taxpayers will face a fiscal tsunami. The first of the baby boomers will be eligible for early retirement beginning next year, and will be eligible for Medicare in 2011. The last of the Baby Boom generation, born in 1964, will reach normal retirement age (67 years) in 2031. Most baby boomers are approaching their peak earning years when they have the greatest capacity to save for retirement.
The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally designed to tax wealthy households who paid little income tax due to deductions and credits they claimed. However, today's AMT is hitting more and more middle-class households in spite of temporary fixes (such as raising the threshold of income not subject to the AMT). The last temporary patch expired at the end of 2006.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new federal standard for ozone air pollution that is much stricter than the current limit. If the proposal is adopted, the EPA will reclassify most regions of the United States as “nonattainment” areas. This means they violate the EPA standard and will be required to implement costly measures to comply with the new limits. Cities unable to meet the new standard could face federal restrictions on development, road-building and construction of new commercial and industrial facilities.
In the wake of the August 1, 2007, Minneapolis bridge collapse, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, proposed a 5-cents-per-gallon increase in the federal excise tax on gasoline. Oberstar believes the hike would raise $25 billion over three years for critical bridge repairs across the United States. But his proposal flies in the face of growing public concern over sustained high gas prices.
During this presidential election season, candidates are urging Americans to radically overhaul our “broken” health care system. Before accepting the premise that the system is broken, consider the impressive evidence from the largest ever international study of cancer survival rates. The data show that cancer patients live longer in the United States than anywhere else on the globe.
Despite claims that there is a health insurance crisis in the United States, the proportion of Americans without health coverage has changed little in the past decade. The increase in the number of uninsured is largely due to immigration and population growth — and to individual choice.
Americans are living longer and are healthier than previous generations, yet the number of workers receiving disability benefits is increasing. In fact, disability is the fastest-rising component of Social Security — growing at nearly twice the rate of spending on retirement benefits.
The 48 countries south of the Sahara desert in Africa make up the most impoverished and diseased region of the world. Although wealthy countries have poured more than $450 billion of development assistance (in 2003 dollars) into the region since 1980, nearly half the population lives on less than $1 per day, the average life expectancy is only 46 years and nearly one-third of children are underweight and malnourished. Despite its noble intent, aid has not rescued Sub-Saharan Africa from poverty. In many cases, it has undermined development, propped up dictators and fueled corruption.
A new technology called "smart" metering and innovative residential pricing plans have the potential to revolutionize the electric power industry and reduce monthly electricity bills for many consumers. Utilities in the states that have deregulated electric power have the strongest market incentives to implement these new features, and customers in some states are beginning to reap the benefits.
There is growing bipartisan political support for increased use of ethanol. An energy bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate would increase mandated ethanol use in blended fuels from 8 billion gallons to 36 billion gallons. Concern about global warming and the desire to improve air quality are stoking the demand for government action.
High gasoline prices and concern about energy security are driving entrepreneurs to explore a variety of ways to produce transportation fuels. For example, researchers are experimenting with technologies to turn turkey, chicken and pig litter, and used tires, into gasoline. On the less exotic side, Congress is pushing ethanol.
The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which covers 6.7 million children and adults, will expire in September. SCHIP consists of 50 different federal-state health plans for children (and in some states adults) in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Typically, families with incomes above the poverty level, but no more than 200 percent of poverty, are eligible.
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is an income tax monstrosity that denies middle-to-high-income people deductions that would otherwise be legitimate. The AMT requires an increasing number of taxpayers to compute their tax liability under the standard tax rules. Then, they compute it under the AMT. Then, they pay the greater of the two; minimum does not mean minimal.
Policymakers are debating changes to the state's Medicaid program – the joint federal-state health care program for the poor – and discussing ways to provide coverage to the state's large uninsured population through the private insurance market. Medicaid now takes 26 percent of the state budget, double the portion it consumed a little more than a decade ago.
Since 1975, total spending on health care in the United States has doubled, and it now comprises one-sixth of the U.S. economy, or about $2.2 trillion. By 2016, some projections show total health spending almost doubling to $4.1 trillion and consuming one-fifth of the nation's gross domestic product.