Vermont

Global usage of natural gas continues to grow rapidly. Gas is an essential low-cost, non-polluting fuel for heating, cooking, industrial use, and generation of electrical power. But states in New England, New York, and some nations seek to curtail the use of natural gas.

As states compete to attract new residents and increase their tax bases, two very different strategies have come to the forefront.

Burlington Telecom (BT) is a failure and proof that government municipal projects simply don’t work.

Burlington Telecom is a failure. What was supposed to answer many Burlingtonians’ growing frustrations with their phone and cable companies has morphed into a boondoggle that has cost taxpayers more than $26 million.

John and Donny continue their weekly exploration of think tanks across the country in episode #53 of the In The Tank Podcast. This weekly podcast features (as always) interviews, debates, and roundtable discussions that explore the work of think tanks across the country. The show is available for download as part of the Heartland Daily Podcast every Friday. Today’s podcast features work from the Manhattan Institute, the Ethan Allen Institute, and the Pacific Research Institute.

In November 2016, Colorado voters will decide on a new ballot measure, a state constitutional amendment that would create “ColoradoCare,” a new single-payer, government-run health care system in Colorado. Colorado would be the second state — Vermont was the first — to attempt the creation of a single-payer health care system. Single-payer systems face major obstacles that make implementation difficult, if not impossible.

Darcie Johnston of Vermonters for Health Care Freedom discusses Governor Peter Shumlin’s recent announcement he would abandon plans to implement single-payer health care in Vermont. Shumlin has based his last three campaigns in large part on his single-payer advocacy, and he managed to get Vermont closer than probably any state has ever come to embracing fully government-run health care.

Managing Editor of Health Care News, Sean Parnell, talks with a Fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, John Graham, in today’s Heartland Daily Podcast. In this episode, Parnell and Graham discuss a few health care related issues that have been in the news recently.

The solution to government interference restricting innovation in the tech sector isn’t more government. But that’s exactly what governments proffer all the time.

John McClaughry, Vice President of the Ethan Allen Institute, discusses Vermont’s health care exchange struggles.