According to the U.S. Supreme Court, “Our constitutional structure does not permit this [U.S. Supreme] Court to rewrite the statute that Congress has enacted.” Furthermore, “The Court declines the Government’s invitation to override Congress’ considered choice by rewriting the words of the statute.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor continues to hammer EPA...
Today, more than 3,300 at-risk Virginia children receive more than $10.6 million in scholarships from the Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit to attend a better school. Want to know how it works? More than 210,000 Virginians have watched this short video laying it all out — and telling you how...
The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy today released a poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategies showing strong support in all areas of the state for a work requirement for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. By a 68 to 22 percent margin, Virginia voters support a work requirement for those receiving...
If Governor Ralph Northam is looking for a place to build legislative consensus, here’s one place to start: Support for pre-k programs aimed at better preparing at-risk four-year-olds for kindergarten and beyond. True, conservatives remain skeptical about building massive universal government-run pre-k programs, as should liberals: In a “universal” program,...
The recent debate over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline has highlighted the growing divide in Virginia over how to approach our Commonwealth’s energy needs. While reasonable people can debate the most prudent energy mix (natural gas vs. coal vs. oil vs. nuclear vs. renewables), there can be...
How transparent and accountable should Economic Development Authorities be to the public?That’s the fundamental issue raised by Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, who submitted a bill that would require local government approval for all EDA grants and budgets. That bill was defeated by one vote in the Senate’s local government committee,...
(Editor’s note: This is a follow up to the article on this “frog story” in our last issue here.) On Jan. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear and decide whether the U. S. Department of Interior (DOI) and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have boundless...
Controversies over the performance of relatively new express toll lane (ETL) projects are still simmering on both coasts, with Seattle and northern Virginia as cases in point. In the first, the year-old ETLs on congested I-405 face possible legislative termination for not quite meeting promised performance improvements. And just about...
A new study by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy shows that the overall finances of Virginia hospitals have substantially improved between the numbers published in 2016 (for FY 2015) and those in December 2017 (for FY 2016). The study may be found by clicking here. Using numbers posted...
The Jefferson Journal: A Growing Economy Needs Regional Bank De-Regulation
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform is hobbling Virginia’s regional banks and, in turn, hurting economic growth in the Commonwealth. In fact, Virginia has missed out on nearly $18 billion in annual GDP growth due to the improperly calibrated regulations on regional banks under Dodd-Frank. It’s time to change it.
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