This paper examines the federally subsidized crop insurance program. Under this program, the federal government subsidizes about 60 percent of the premiums farmers pay for private insurance to protect them against financial losses due to drops in the value of their crops.

Growing attention to federal deficits indicates that Congress will more carefully scrutinize  the efficiency of taxpayer support for farm programs. What constitutes an efficient use of taxpayer money, however, is open to various interpretations. 

Two months ago, the House adopted a budget resolution that outlines the Republican majority's ambitious plans to slow the growth of federal entitlement spending. If implemented properly, entitlement spending restraint can address the long-term fiscal imbalance in a way that promotes economic growth and freedom.

President Barack Obama has been on a tour of college campuses touting proposals to lower student loan repayments for college graduates. He hopes to rekindle the enthusiasm of young voters, who in 2008 favored him over Sen. John McCain by more than two-to-one.

Ironically, these same young Americans...

Breaking windows will stimulate the economy, according to a leading public pension advocacy group. Skeptical? The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has not literally endorsed breaking windows, but a report recently published by the organization relies on the same economic fallacy.According to NIRS-whose membership consists principally of...

A new report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) argues that one of the greatest mistakes the United States can make is to imagine that Iranian activities in a given arena--the nuclear program, for example--are isolated from Iranian undertakings in another. The report examines those other areas

On April 13, 2012, the US Department of the Treasury released new cost estimates for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Looking principally at actual and projected contractual cash flows, the document concludes that: "Overall, the government is now expected to at least break even on its financial stability programs and may realize a positive return." 

The president took an extra week to develop his budget, but the extra time was apparently not enough to yield Medicare policies that could produce real savings. Competitive bidding offers a better solution, but only if we are willing to give it a chance.