A failure to increase publicly funded agricultural research and development (R&D) will likely have long-term consequences for the sustainability of US agriculture in a competitive global environment and for the natural resources on which it depends.

Where Obama went wrong on education – and what Romney needs to say

Using fair-market valuation, Nevada PERS’ unfunded liabilities would rise from about $10 billion to almost $41 billion. Shifting PERS to a defined-contribution, 401(k)-type structure would ensure that benefit obligations are fully funded going forward and that everyone is clear regarding the pensions promises the government has made and its ability to fulfill them.

The problem of coverage for pre-existing conditions remains relatively small and limited to the individual health insurance market, despite exaggerated claims used to advance passage of the Affordable Care Act. Nevertheless, too many people still remained at risk of falling through the cracks of protective measures provided by HIPAA, COBRA, and state-run high risk pools.

The US government has funded agricultural disaster aid programs for nearly a century, mainly on an ad hoc basis between 1970 and 2008. The new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program for crops is the budgetary and economic-efficiency elephant in the disaster aid policy room.

Roger Scruton discusses why the environmental movement fits well under the umbrella of conservatism through his new book,  How to Think Seriously About the Planet.

When President Obama unveiled his new strategic guidance in January, highlighted by a pivot to Asia, many assumed (incorrectly) that the Navy and Air Force would reap the benefits. But if the president's own 2013 defense budget request did not make it clear to policymakers already, the release of the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan confirms this is a pivot in name only.

Nebraska's CB plans are innovative and could be a model for other states to follow as they try and bring their budgets and pensions under control. Yet there are other, more transparent and taxpayer-friendly ways Nebraska could construct the pension system.