Alabama
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Budgets/TaxesEconomicsFeaturedGovernment
The Great Truck Driver Shortage
by Daniel Sutter June 5, 2019The Alabama legislature lowered the minimum age for a truck driver’s (CDL) license to 18 for within-state transport to help alleviate a driver shortage the American Trucking Associations (ATA) says has existed since 2005.
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The Alabama legislature kicked off its new term with a special session to increase the gas tax, a result which seemed foreordained. Nonetheless, the gas tax raises interesting economic and political considerations.
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EconomicsEducationGovernmentPolitics
Will Student Loan Debt Crush Alabama’s Graduates?
by Daniel Sutter June 16, 2018Unfortunately, many recent college graduates report putting off buying cars or homes, saving for retirement, or marriage due to student loan debt.
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Budgets/TaxesEconomicsGovernmentInternet/Telecom
Sales Taxes and Alabama’s Future Economy
by Daniel Sutter June 14, 2018Presidential tweets and a Supreme Court case have reignited the question of taxing internet sales.
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Budgets/Taxes
Alabama Welfare Work Requirements Would Benefit Everyone, Including Families
by Jesse Hathaway January 24, 2018Self-reliance and prosperity reforms to Alabama’s welfare system would save taxpayers’ money and get people get back to work.
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Last spring Alabama’s legislature mandated coverage of autism therapy by health insurance plans. Such mandates provide benefits to people without spending our tax dollars, but threaten the viability of health insurance.
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Environment/EnergyFeatured
New EPA Emissions Report Threatens Alabama Industries
by Jeff Stier July 7, 2016Using a new methodology that seems to have been designed to produce exactly the conclusion it did, the EPA has now found that the nation’s methane emissions have been dramatically higher in recent years than previously thought. And for the EPA, this is a story with a villain: In a major departure from earlier studies, this year’s report claims the oil and gas industry is the nation’s chief methane culprit.
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Budgets/TaxesFeatured
Alabama’s Welfare Program is a Decade Behind Most of the Country
by Logan Pike April 20, 2016There have been numerous stories, rumors, and outright falsehoods reported in the media and by detractors regarding state Sen. Arthur Orr’s (R-Decatur) recently proposed welfare reform bill.