Sen. Dodd’s new financial regulation plan includes a proposal for a federal super-agency which could help close troubled banks. But giving the federal government these vast new powers will only create more problems.  more

Many of our current financial regulations no longer reflect the realities of modern finance. Republicans need to put aside partisan bickering and work with Senator Dodd on passing a comprehensive financial reform package.  more

The premier of Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province raised heckles in his home country when he recently decided to leave Canada and travel to Florida for a complex heart operation.  more

A proposed protectionist tax in the Obama budget could cost consumers $10 to $12 billion in higher insurance premiums and make it harder for Americans in parts of the country susceptible to natural disasters from finding insurance at any price.  more

With record deficits and his own ambitious spending plans to pay for, President Obama is pushing for increased taxes on households earning more than $250,000 as well as on dividends and capital gains. But targeting the rich in this manner is a shortsighted way to raise revenue.  more

Conservatives should give the president’s proposed banking regulations serious consideration. While there are drawbacks, in many cases, the new rules may actually reduce the government’s role in the market.  more

Whatever long-term fiscal problems states face, most local governments have it even worse. But without resorting to extreme measures, there are still a few things local governments might do to get their fiscal houses into order.  more

Many states face severe fiscal challenges in the years ahead and will be forced to make tough choices on spending to balance their budgets.  more

Anyone afraid of big government has plenty of reasons to dislike the healthcare reforms likely to become law sometime early next year. But an honest look at it from a conservative, free market perspective reveals a few bright spots too.  more

The health bill coming out of Congress will likely mandate that insurers spend a large percentage of total premiums paying medical claims. This sounds like a common sense measure but will only squelch innovation.  more

The Senate’s healthcare legislation offers plenty for any free marketer to dislike. But one feature that’s gotten little attention — the introduction of centralized price control for health insurance policies — may rank as the new bill’s very worst feature.  more

AIG’s total debts will never be repaid. If the government wants to shield taxpayers and the rest of the insurance industry from the problems that AIG poses, it needs to break up the company.  more

Shares of the insurance company AIG fell 15 percent yesterday on a report that the company didn’t have the resources necessary to pay its likely claims. The government should call in its loans, break up the company, sell its holdings, and put AIG out of business once and for all.  more

With health insurance dominating the political debate, few Americans give much thought to automobile insurance. In Michigan, however, some new proposals may create more regulation and scare away insurers.  more

Conservatives have plenty of reasons to dislike the idea of a public health care option. At the same time, however, the reasonably modest proposals currently before Congress won’t, by themselves, result in a government healthcare takeover.  more

The Obama administration has helped reject plans to expand the National Flood Insurance Program which helps insure flood-prone homeowners. The program already has a $19 billion debt and no practical way to pay it back.  more

Some Democrats in Congress and their Big Labor allies at the AFL-CIO are pushing a tax proposal intended to reduce stock market speculation. The idea though would actually harm many small, individual investors.  more

Republicans should favor universal responsibility for paying ones’ own medical costs; that implies something similar to universal coverage.   more

Those looking for solutions to America’s health insurance bills can see a lot to admire in the auto insurance market. Auto coverage purchasers throughout the country have a wide choice of providers, a fair number of different options within those plans, and benefit from vigorous price competition in the market.  more

The Homeowners’ Defense Act, which will transform the federal government into the largest player in the reinsurance (insurance for insurance companies) market, as one of the worst ideas in Congress.  more