Generic - Nov 2020

After months of waiting, Council of Economic Advisors member Janet Yellen has revealed the administration’s cost estimates of the Kyoto Protocol. She claims that the cost of the agreement to the average American family would be no more than $110 annually.1 This figure, however, remains controversial and differs greatly from the analyses of responsible economic forecasting firms, such as WEFA, Inc., that put the impact to American families at $2,700.2

Every high school civics student knows that two-thirds of the U.S. Senate must ratify any treaty before it becomes law. However, the Clinton administration is attempting to bypass the Constitution, encouraging state and local governments to implement the Kyoto Protocol, the recently-negotiated global warming treaty, before submitting it to the Senate.

Urban ozone smog has declined nationwide for over a decade, with particularly strong gains in the Northeast (see chart1). Despite such improvements in air quality, the standard for ozone has been tightened, escalating fears among many states that increasing controls on local sources of ozone smog will fail to achieve compliance.

"Life is better here," claims a new advertisement for a telecommunications company. The slogan conjures images of individuals free of hassles and ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century with technology as an ally. Unfortunately, today’s laws and regulations stand in the way. Life certainly would be better if American consumers could save more than $85.1 billion over the course of the next five years. Sound farfetched? Sadly, it would only require the introduction of a dose of common sense to federal telecommunications policy.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is America’s number one killer, causing or contributing to more than 750,000 deaths each year. Over half of American adults have borderline or high cholesterol levels, which contribute to CHD. Studies have shown that certain types of fiber (as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet) can help lower one’s cholesterol levels and therefore reduce one’s risk of heart disease.

Consumers have an economic interest in the widespread use of strong encryption. Unfortunately, under the current political environment, either Congress or the administration may implement dangerous restrictions on the development, sales and use of this technology. Liberty is at stake, both economic and civil.

If the U.S. Congress approves bailing out the financially troubled Asian nations and replenishing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for future bailouts, American taxpayers will be footing the bill for the mistakes of other countries.

The Ohio Legislature is expected to consider legislation to reduce telecommunications access fees. These fees flow between various telecommunications providers in order to transfer telephone calls between different companies' networks. For example, long distance companies pay a fee to local telephone companies to bring a long distance call all the way to a consumer's home - usually the last portion of that call travels over a local telephone company's network.