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Sub-local forms of governments (private community associations, business improvement districts, etc) have been on the rise throughout America the past thirty years.   Sub-local governments can specialize and otherwise more effectively address urban problems that have defied the efforts of conventional city governments.  Professor Nelson joins us on the podcast to discuss what the rise in more localized systems means for city and urban governance and the provision of public goods at various levels of government.

Robert Nelson is a Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and a Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Center. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Nelson worked in a variety of government posts addressing public policy in the areas of the environment, industry, and land use policy.

 
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Episode 13: Exploring TABOR

November 2, 2009

TABOR (the Taxpayers Bill of Rights) is on the ballot in two states (Maine and Washington) this week for the first time since it was enacted in 1992 in Colorado by voters.  TABOR limits state spending from increasing faster than the growth of state population plus inflation in any given year.  On this podcast we discuss the orgins of TABOR in California in the 1970s, where Colorado is now after 20 years of TABOR, and what the passage of TABOR in one or both of these states will mean for nation.

Joining us to discuss TABOR is Jonathan Williams, Director of the Tax and Fiscal Policy task force for the American Legislative Exchange Council and a co-author of Rich States, Poor States. Mr. Williams has been working in both Maine and Washington to discuss the benefits of TABOR.

 
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Over the last 10 years spending has gone up dramatically at both the federal and state level.  The progression of spending as a percentage of GDP over the last decade has risen from 18% to over 26%.  This trend is not only true for the federal government, but also in many states.  In this episode  Dr. Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, joins us to discuss the dangers of the spending addiction, fiscal federalism, unfunded mandates to the states, and provides recommendations to state policy makers on unique ways to gain revenue.

Dr.  de Rugy’s research interests include tax competition, financial privacy, spending, and fiscal sovereignty issues.  She holds a Ph.D.  in Economics from the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

Related Research:

 
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This week we talk with the Tax Foundation to discuss their interesting and telling new publication the “2010 State Business Tax Climate Index.”   The Index measures the competitiveness of the 50 states’ tax systems and ranks them accordingly based on the taxes that matter most to businesses and business investment: corporate income, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes.  Tune in to find out which states come out on top and bottom, and what policy makers can do to boost their ranking.

Joining us to discuss the findings of the Index is author Dr. Kail Padgitt.  Dr. Padgitt holds a Ph.D and Master’s degree in economics from George Mason University concentrating on the areas of Public Economics, Industrial Organization and Experimental Economics. Kail has taught Public Choice and International Economics at George Mason University.

Related Materials:

 
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Episode 10: Economic Update – Trends in the States

September 24, 2009

Dr. Yandle joins us from Capitol Hill to discuss the latest news in the economy and trends happening in the states as a result of the recession.  In this podcast we discuss: signs of the recession ending, unemployment outlook in the US, what states will be the leaders in pulling us out of recession, explanation [...]

 
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Episode 9: Can New Jersey Reverse Course?

September 10, 2009

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University recently released the study, “Institutions Matter: Can New Jersey Reverse Course?” by Eileen Norcross and Frederic Sautet.  They examine the current dire strait of the Garden State’s public finances and discuss how the state created its fiscal crisis. The study includes an examination of [...]

 
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Episode 8: Taxing Sin, A Look Into Excise Taxes

August 28, 2009

With state revenues dwindling many states turned to excise taxes to decrease budget gaps. Close to a dozen states increased their cigarette taxes. According to Stateline.org, “New York, New Jersey and North Carolina raised both tobacco and alcohol taxes. Kentucky and Massachusetts ended the sales tax exemption of alcoholic beverages, while Colorado ended its sales tax break on cigarettes.” Often sin [...]

 
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Episode 7: Resources at Your Fingertips, State Policy Network

August 20, 2009

As the old saying goes, knowledge is power.  States are often the breeding ground for innovation when it comes to developing new ideas  for public policy local think-tanks are an important piece of the puzzle.  Established in 1992, the  State Policy Network is a network of state-based public policy think tanks throughout the country that [...]

 
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Episode 6: Red, Red Wine: Interstate Wine Shipping

August 12, 2009

Many states are still revising their wine shipping laws in 2009 to conform to a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that said states cannot discriminate against out-of-state sellers when regulating direct-to-consumer wine shipment.  This podcast discusses some of the changes states have seen since the 2005 decision, the economics behind wine e-commerce, how direct [...]

 
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Episode 5: Homeland Security & Federalism

August 5, 2009

Local governments have historically played a key role in homeland security that most of us living in the early 21st century wouldn’t recognize. In this episode we discuss where and how we draw the line between homeland security functions and which are the responsibility of the federal governments and and the responsibility of state [...]

 
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