Publication Date: Monday, February 22, 2010

A U.S. Government Accountability Act report released last week showed prevailing wage requirements built into the Recovery Act meant only a fraction of homes were updated last year that were supposed to be. The Department of Labor spent most of last year coming up with prevailing wages for each of the 3,000 counties in the US, releasing a report in September -- at which point many counties started the program.

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Publication Date: Monday, February 22, 2010

In the debate over health care in Washington, D.C., President Obama correctly contends that a lack of competition in the health insurance marketplace keeps prices high, although he proposes a government-run insurance company to offer this competition. Republicans counter that the only thing currently preventing more competition is states refusing to let their residents buy policies across state lines. Interestingly, a Democrat in Annapolis has authored legislation that may take Marylanders a step closer to enjoying the benefits of health insurance competition.

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Publication Date: Sunday, February 21, 2010

Maryland is the latest state to join the so-called "Race to the Top" education reform competition-the U.S. Department of Education's $4 billion competitive grant program that aims to encourage states to enact various policies, like stronger charter school laws, teacher tenure reforms, and adopting national standards and tests, to receive more federal funding.

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Publication Date: Friday, February 19, 2010

The Pew Center on the States released earlier this week "The Trillion Dollar Gap: Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the Roads to Reform." It should have been called "The Road to Serfdom" like the Hayek classic.

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Publication Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

On January 19, Governor O'Malley unveiled his Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal. Here are a few facts about his proposal:The proposed budget is $32 billion, up from $28.1 billion in 2007.

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