State governments across the country have enacted movie production incentives (MPIs), most commonly through tax credits, in an attempt to lure that business to their states. While the expenditures on these tax incentives are easily quantifiable, the same cannot be said for the benefits that their supporters claim are produced.
Inspect What You Expect
During my previous career in the Marine Corps, one of my superiors offered the following advice when supervising subordinates: “Inspect what you expect.” In other words, do more than just assign a task and then assume it will be accomplished without any follow-up. After all, Marines are trained that a leader is ultimately responsible for whatever happens – or fails to happen – under his or her watch. Therefore, while the proverbial ball may be dropped by a lower-level assignee, the proverbial buck stops at the corner office.
Bah Humbug! You’re A Mean One, Uncle Sam
The Christmas season may be long departed, but the Grinch (in the form of Uncle Sam) is working hard to dampen the magic of the holiday season by stealing the gift of a free market system right out from under the noses of U.S. taxpayers.
Court Rules on Net Neutrality
In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Broadband Policy Statement to define the principles of an “open Internet” in response to claims that Internet service providers were unfairly restricting access to content. The FCC stated that an individual should have an unrestricted ability to access lawful Internet content, run applications and use desired services and connect legal devices to the network. The statement also called for competition among network providers, application and service providers as well as content providers.
ARC Gets Earmark Boost
Those pork-barrel spenders are at it again. This time, they increased the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by 23 percent, from $64.6 million to $80 million, in H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on January 17, 2014.
Obama of the Thousand Days
Yes, it’s happened again, twice in a matter of days. The Obama administration has made major changes to Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without Congressional approval. Based on a Galen Institute list of administrative changes to ACA, the first change occurred on April 19, 2011 when a Medicare Advantage “patch” was created to […]
STELA Takes Center Stage at Hearing
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology is slated to hold a hearing on the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA) on March 12, 2014. This hearing opens a window of opportunity to discuss outdated regulatory schemes, such as retransmission consent agreements, and must-carry provisions of the Cable Act […]
The ObamaCare Python
On February 12, 2014, the Obama Administration released the final regulation for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer-shared healthcare insurance responsibility provisions. This regulation again delays the employer mandate and changes the healthcare reform law without Congressional approval. But it also contains a provision, which truly demonstrates how pernicious ACA, better known as ObamaCare, is […]
A Continued Push for Net Neutrality
Proponents of net neutrality are once again working towards imposing net neutrality rules and regulations over the Internet. The Internet has thrived in an open and competitive market to become a vital part of society and the global economy. There has been incredible growth in both the speed and quality of the web, largely because […]
The Article One President Strikes Again
On Monday afternoon the Obama administration issued the final regulation for the implementation of the employer-shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The regulation again delays the employer mandate to provide health insurance to employees and corresponding fines for non-compliance until 2015 or 2016, depending on the size of the employer. Here’s […]