Public Interest Institute

Election Day 2008: A Cultural Crossroads
In November voters across the nation will be voting on various initiatives and referendums that will provide a current snapshot of America’s soul. The majority of ballot measures across the various states this fall tend to focus on social rather than fiscal issues.

No Income Tax: The Key to Economic Growth ...States without an income tax experience greater levels of economic success and are more attractive to individuals looking for a place to live and businesses looking for a place to locate.

Core Curriculum or "Gore" Curriculum? Teaching Our Children Propaganda
...Are students learning scientific facts or political propaganda? If they are not required to memorize basic scientific principles, how are they to evaluate complex issues? Further, students should not be required to publicly support specific policy positions, for a grade...

Is Iowa Making Good Use of its Higher-Education Dollars?
When compared with its neighbors, Iowa has relatively high per-capita government spending on higher education. Yet the cost of a college education to consumers has risen sharply in Iowa, while the proportion of Iowa adults with a college degree remains below the national average.

Don't Cut that Grass! Don't Smoke that Cigarette! Or Build that Bonfire!
Driving gasoline burning cars is bad, but cutting your grass is worse, according to officials in California's San Joaquin Valley. A study shows that trees and plants in the Valley produce four times more hydrocarbons, at 360 tons per day, than cars and trucks...

Using Federalism to Reform Education: Reagan Style
- In order to reform education, we need to follow Reagan’s direction, which in reality is the correct constitutional direction to follow. Continuing the status quo of educational policy is not only unfair to children and taxpayers, but it is dangerous to our national identity and security.

The Importance of Elections and the Electoral College
... The Electoral College forces candidates to appeal to a multitude of constituencies. The system rejects candidates that can appeal to only particular factions or enclaves. The Electoral College buttresses the two-party system and nudges candidates to the political center. Essentially, it is a system designed to support those who can unite and lead...

Marriage is Worth Constitutional Protection
“What was once an important debate over the nature, purpose, and legal status of marriage has emerged as a critical national issue, the resolution of which will shape the future of our society and the course of constitutional government in the United States,”..

Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Peritoneal Mesothelioma