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Budgets/Taxes · Education · Environment/Energy · FIRE · Health Care · Podcast

Heartland Institute’s Weekly Podcasts

Welcome back to the Heartland’s podcasts. This week, listen to a discussion on Marketplace Fairness Act. Click the links below to listen, and subscribe on iTunes so you get the latest podcasts as soon as they are produced. (Search for “Heartland Institute” in the iTunes store.)

ON EDUCATION:  Louisiana’s new statewide voucher program for poor and middle-class families has, like most school-choice programs, been subject to lawsuits since it passed. An attorney for the state’s teachers union recently contacted 95 private schools set to accept vouchers, threatening them with lawsuits if they accepted state funds through the voucher. Joining the School Reform News podcast to discuss the legal and political questions at stake is Bill Maurer, the Institute for Justice’s lead attorney on the case representing families who want the vouchers available to their children. Listen here.

ON TECHNOLOGY: Ryan Radia discuss the brief filed in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Communication Commission’s 2011 “Preserving the Open Internet” Order. Listen here.

ON ENVIRONMENT: Townhall.com columnist Marita Noon explains why alternative energy is hamstringing the U.S. economy. Listen here.

ON BUDGET:  Momentum appears to be building in Congress for the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to collect sales tax from online sales even when a retailer has no physical presence in the state. Heartland Institute Government Relations Director John Nothdurft tells us what’s happening and explains some of the problems with the proposal. Listen here.

ON HEALTH CARE: Benjamin Domenech talks with block grant expert John Mashburn about Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare reform. Listen here.

ON FINANCE: As president of the Public Service Research Foundation, David Denholm has spent many years studying the impact of unions on government policies. He says the recent bankruptcy of Stockton, California, could be just a taste of things to come, as retirement obligations strangle municipal finances and put municipal bonds at risk. Listen here.

— Keely Drukala

Keely Drukala is Heartland’s New Media Specialist. She is responsible for online marketing, media, and other video and audio products. Prior to joining Heartland in 2007, Keely worked as office manager for the Cook County Republican Party. She co-chaired the 2006 Cook County Republican Convention, the first county convention in more than 20 years. In 2007, Keely ran for Illinois State Representative, and although unsuccessful, she was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune over the incumbent. Keely received a dual bachelor’s of arts degree in international politics and international communications from the American University of Paris. Keely is a Northern California native but has lived in Chicago since 2005.