The Heartland Institute

Listen, Subscribe to our Podcasts

Get news, views, and interviews on the top public policy issues of the day! Heartland offers a series of weekly podcasts -- you can listen from the Audio pages or subscribe via iTunes at the links below.

Budget and Tax
Audio | iTunes

Environment and Climate
Audio | iTunes

Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate
Audio | iTunes

Health Care
Audio | iTunes

InfoTech and Telecom
Audio | iTunes

Legal Reform
Audio | iTunes

School Reform
Audio | iTunes

What's New

Cold is Deadlier than Heat, Despite Summertime Media Frenzy

James M. Taylor - July 29, 2010

Reaction to President Obama's Education Reform Speech to National Urban League

Ben Boychuk, Robert Holland, Robert Enlow, and Neal McCluskey - July 29, 2010

Cap-and-Trade's Market Failure

Joseph Bast - July 28, 2010

Online Gambling Tax Could Hit the Jackpot

Eli Lehrer - July 28, 2010

Which Industries Are Regualted?

James Johnston - July 17, 1996

Bast: Building a Better Business Climate

Joseph L. Bast - July 27, 2010

Global Warming Will Deter, Not Encourage, Illegal Immigration

James M. Taylor - July 27, 2010

Kids Too Dumb To Learn?

Marc Oestreich - June 27, 2010

Lone Economic Star

Eli Lehrer - August 27, 2010

Parents, Not Governments for Schools

Marc Oestreich - July 27, 2010

Sales Tax Holidays: Politically Expedient but Poor Tax Policy

Mark Robyn, Micah Cohen and Joseph Henchman - July 26, 2010

Arizona Tax Hike Fails to Generate Expected Revenue

Byron Schlomach - July 29, 2010

Attracting Businesses During the Great Recession

Joseph L. Bast - July 26, 2010

CO Taxpayers See “Beautiful Sunset” as Referendum C Expires

Rachael Slobodien - July 26, 2010

Milwaukee Teachers Union Holding Out for Federal Cash

Brien Farley - July 26, 2010

School Reformers Argue Merits of Common Core Standards

Ben Boychuk - July 26, 2010

Taylor Challenges Kerry's Arctic Ice Prediction

James M. Taylor - July 26, 2010

In Connecticut, Some Government Pensions Pay More Than Governor Earns

Sarah McIntosh - July 24, 2010

Minnesota Off-Road Recreation Spending Under Attack

Nick Baker - July 24, 2010

Bank Repos Could Top One Million, Putting More Pressure on Home Prices

Steve Stanek - July 23, 2010

See More What's New ...

Upcoming Events

Milton Friedman Legacy Luncheon
Friday, July 30, 2010
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Petterino's
150 North Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois
Join The Heartland Institute as we honor Milton Friedman's legacy with a buffet lunch and keynote address by Richard Timberlake.
Freedom Action National Conference
August 12-14, 2010
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
On August 12, the forces of Freedom return to Valley Forge to regroup, train, and rekindle the spirit of Freedom for the coming battles. The Freedom Action NationalConference will feature experts on the U.S. Constitution and states' rights; speakers on global warming, sustainable development, property rights, health reform, and more; and grassroots activists.
Heartland Institute's Sixth Emerging Issues Forum
Thursday, September 16, 2010
7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
University Club
Chicago, Illinois
Join Heartland staff and policy experts, elected officials from across the country, and others as we discuss the top emerging public policy issues of the day.
Heartland Institute's 26th Anniversary Benefit Dinner
Thursday, September 16, 2010
evening
Hilton Chicago Hotel
Chicago, Illinois
The Heartland Institute’s 26th Anniversary Benefit Dinner will be held on Thursday, September 16 at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue.
Federalist Society's 2010 National Lawyers Convention
Thursday, November 18 -
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Mayflower Hotel
Washington, DC
Details coming soon at www.fed-soc.org

About The Heartland Institute

Three new videos describe Heartland’s origin, growth, and impact and feature salutes from state and national elected officials and think tank leaders.

There's Nothing Mainstream
About Old Media

In his opening essay for the May-June issue of The Heartlander, Heartland President Joseph Bast explains how "Liberal bias and incompetence are killing the old media." Rather than lament the old media's demise, Bast celebrates the rise of the new media: "Best of all, most of the new media is free of the suffocating conceit and arrogance of the liberal old media that makes most news stories unreliable and every opinion editorial predictable. If the price of the rise of new media is the death of the old, then I say it is a bargain."

PolicyBot is a search engine and database containing more than 23,000 studies and commentaries from more than 350 think tanks and advocacy groups. It’s free, fast, and comprehensive. Just click here to begin your search!

Reply to Our Critics

Our Reply to Sourcewatch and Other Critics
Rebutting the most common attacks against The Heartland Institute and its mission, funding and donors, and members and staff.

Ten Ways Consumer-Driven Health Care Is a Proven Success

The consumer-driven health care revolution has only just begun. In this new Policy Study for The Heartland Institute, Greg Scandlen offers 10 reasons why consumer-driven health care is a proven success. Each of these reasons helps explain why the movement will continue to grow.
Also of note: The Obama Health Plan: Rationing, Higher Taxes, and Lower Quality Care, in which Peter Ferrara explains how ObamaCare would result in less health care for consumers and higher taxes for all ... and offers a patient-empowering alternative plan.

Health Care

Health Care News
Offering real-time information on health care policy, interactive features, audio, video, and social media tools.
Ten Ways Consumer-Driven Health Care Is a Proven Success
Heartland Policy Study by Greg Scandlen
The Obama Health Plan: Rationing, Higher Taxes, and Lower Quality Care
Heartland Policy Study by Peter Ferrara
Consumers for Health Care Choices
Directed by Greg Scandlen, Consumers for Health Care Choices is dedicated to putting consumers in the driver’s seat of the health care system.
More Choices, Better Health
Offers a new way to speed up access to experimental drugs.
Health Care on PolicyBot
Contains thousands of articles and reports on free-market health care reform, sorted by topic and keyword
10 Principles of Health Care Policy
A 32-page booklet explaining the real problems facing health care in America and the way to solve them.

Global Warming

Fourth International Conference on Climate Change
(2010, Chicago, IL) Richard Lindzen, Scott Denning, Don Easterbrook, S. Fred Singer, and more than 70 additional speakers addressed this event! Video and PowerPoints are now posted.
Climate Change Reconsidered
The 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) was released on June 2.
Global Warming Facts
The Heartland Institute's Web site devoted to exposing and countering the alarmist rhetoric that dominates the debate over climate change.
Climate Change on PolicyBot
contains thousands of articles and reports on climate change, sorted by topic and keyword
Michael Crichton Was Right!
Michael Crichton’s State of Fear is a devastating critique of radical environmentalism in general and global warming alarmism in particular.
Let's Debate the Science!
Learn more about our ads in the Washington Post.
First International Conference on Climate Change
(2008, New York City) Proceedings of the first major conference on global warming devoted to realism and true scientific debate.
Second International Conference on Climate Change
(2009, New York City) Proceedings of the largest conference ever held questioning whether global warming is really a crisis.
Third International Conference on Climate Change
(2009, Washington, DC) Proceedings of the successful conference challenging global warming alarmism in the nation’s capitol.

Photo Galleries

Great photographs from the 2009 President's Council Retreat, health care roundtables, and other Heartland events!

Now Playing
Fourth International Conference on Climate Change
May 16-18, 2010
Chicago, Illinois

We've posted video and audio of each speaker at the conference, as well as PowerPoint presentations and other proceedings.
Program and PowerPoint Proceedings
Video Proceedings
Audio Proceedings
Conference Schedule (summary)
Conference Schedule (detail)
Conference Program (with speaker bios and cosponsor info)

Rick Santelli to Congress:
Stop Spending

Can the message be any clearer? Will Congress and the Obama administration listen? Rick Santelli pleads with them to do so in this June 28, 2010 Sqawk Box episode.

Rick's Revolt
On CNBC February 19, 2009 Rick Santelli -- in the Chicago pits -- denounces the Obama "stimulus" package and calls for a "tea party" on the shores of Lake Michigan in July.
Free-Market Responses
Comments by Heartland and others on the credit crisis and bail out
Economist Jim Johnston on the Bailout
Johnston is a policy advisor to and senior fellow for The Heartland Institute and a founding member of its Board of Directors.
BeyondBailouts.org
Calling for real financial reform and no reckless spending.

Heartland 50-State Report Cards

Property & Casualty Insurance
A 50-state analysis of costly insurance regulations. Updated in May 2010.
State Public Pension Crisis
A 50-state analysis of state pension plans for public-sector workers, ranking all 50 states and every major public employee pension plan in the country, and offering suggestions for reform.
Welfare Reform after Ten Years
A 50-state analysis of anti-poverty success and welfare reform policies.
Choice & Education Across the States
A 50-state analysis of the most important elements of school choice.

Critiques of the Field Museum's
Climate Change Exhibit

Heartland Policy Advisor Norm Rogers and Patrick J. Michaels of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University don't have much positive to say about the Field Museum of Chicago's new exhibit on climate change. They found the exhibit "preachy" and "alarmist," among other things.
Patrick J. Michaels
Norm Rogers

Seven Theories of
Climate Change

Joseph L. Bast, president of The Heartland Institute, summarizes seven theories, anthropogenic global warming (AGW) plus six others that do not claim man-made emissions are a cuase of climate change. Each theory described in Seven Theories of Climate Change is plausible and sheds light on some aspects of climate change that were hidden or obscured by too great a focus on the AGW theory.

Ten Principles of
Privatization

Finances are tight for state and local governments across the country. “Creative budgeting” is no longer sufficient to hide the need to cut spending. But we have the experiences of governments in the United States and around the world to learn from. In Ten Principles of Privatization, the Reason Foundation's Leonard Gilroy and Adrian Moore capture the best practices that have emerged from those experiences.

Join Us at the Pub!

The Freedom Pub is a place where freedom-lovers from around the world can share ideas and news, watch videos, and learn about upcoming events. Create your own page and blog, share videos, and a whole lot more. This is where freedom is discovered and spreads. Become a member today!

Tea Party Tool Box

This summer, millions of Americans will attend Tea Party events and march in the streets to take their country back. To support their efforts, The Heartland Institute is making available free copies of booklets that present in plain English what needs to be done to reform health care, state budgets, schools, environmental policy, and more. You can read these booklets online, download, them, or ask for free copies. (read more)

The Cap & Trade Handbook

James M. Taylor, senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute, explains in the brief, colorfully illustrated Cap & Trade Handbook that cap-and-trade legislation would be enormously costly and is entirely unnecessary. So if not cap-and-trade, what should be done about global warming? He offers five suggestions.

Global Warming:
Facts versus Faith

"The politicization of science is tantamount to killing it," writes Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham in Global Warming: Facts versus Faith. "It is our collective responsibility to champion the use of responsible science to inform politicians. There are hopeful signs that some true believers are beginning to harbor doubts about anthropogenic global warming. We can only hope the focus of the discussion returns to scientific evidence before we have perpetrated an economic disaster on ourselves and generations to come."

Get Connected!

Connect with The Heartland Institute by visiting our blog, or click here to visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

For Heartlanders Only

The Legislative Forum
We deliver what elected officials need.
Heartland Donors
Donors to The Heartland Institute receive a variety of benefits, including discounts on events, conference calls with policy experts, and invitations to special events. Enter the Donor's Suite to learn more about these benefits and to get access to in-depth quarterly performance reports.