FISCAL - Opinion Editorials - Independence Institute

Washington Voters Rein in Big Gov’t 0
- December 29, 2010
by Barry Poulson In the November election, Washington citizens approved Initiative I-1053 by a more than 64 percent margin, requiring that “Legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval.” In other words, Washingtonians have elected to reign in their legislature’s ability to further tax them through a
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Federal Pay Freeze Should Precede a Larger Fiscal Conversation 0
- December 16, 2010
by Barry Fagin As a long-time, hard-working federal employee who gives up a lot to work where he does, I have just one thing to say about the proposed federal employee pay freeze. I think it’s a terrific idea. Well, maybe not exactly terrific, particularly if you think about how little difference it would actually
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Why Colorado Should Shift to a Defined Contribution Retiree Health Plan 0
- September 28, 2010
By Barry W. Poulson, Ph.D. Colorado taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1 billion in unfunded liabilities incurred in the defined benefit retiree health plan administered by the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA). An additional $79 million in unfunded liabilities was incurred in 2008, reflecting both a rapid growth in retiree benefits and
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Affordable Housing Should Mean a House You Can Afford 0
- August 26, 2010
By Barry Poulson Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper recently signed on to “Take Root Denver,” a new affordable housing campaign sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, a “government sponsored enterprise” more commonly known as Freddie Mac. Hickenlooper touts this as a new program to assist residents with calling Denver “home sweet home.” But the
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Public Employee Benefits Are Out of Sync with Economic Reality 0
- August 20, 2010
By Barry Fagin “Hypocrite! You’re always writing about how government needs to be smaller. But you work for a government institution! Why don’t you write about that?” I get e-mails like this from time to time, I assume from someone who hasn’t read a lot of my columns and instead just typed my name into
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Washington Should Reform Itself First 0
- July 13, 2010
By Barry W. Poulson In a May 12 Denver Post editorial, “Reforming Wall Street is Essential,” President Barack Obama makes the case for Senator Chris Dodd’s financial reform bill (what the president calls “Wall Street reforms”). The president argues that the financial crisis was caused by irresponsible practices on Wall Street, that the Dodd bill
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