Author Archives: matt ohern

Rights and Wrongs of Interstate Tolling

Posted on January 20, 2016 by matt ohern

Now that Congress has added use-it-or-lose-it provisions to the federal pilot program that allows three states to each replace a worn-out Interstate highway using toll finance, interest in the subject is increasing. Last fall Missouri DOT held a workshop (at … Continue reading →

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A Poverty-Fighting Program That Pays Its Own Way

Posted on January 20, 2016 by matt ohern

People have lots of ideas about how to address poverty. Most of them don’t work, as the United States has learned from more than 50 years of building a welfare state. Ever-hopeful social reformers always have some bright new idea … Continue reading →

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EPA Accused of WOTUS Propaganda Violation

Posted on January 20, 2016 by matt ohern

“At issue here is whether EPA violated publicity or propaganda and anti-lobbying provisions…” regarding appropriations from Congress (GAO letter December 14, 2015, to U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe.) The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded EPA violated the ‘propaganda prohibition” of … Continue reading →

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State Leaders Must Act to Curb Federal Regulators

Posted on January 20, 2016 by matt ohern

The expanding power of federal regulators to dictate edicts from Washington would astonish the authors of our Constitution. Regulators who re-interpret laws passed years ago in ways never intended by Congress threaten the checks on executive branch power that have … Continue reading →

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Mad Max Coming to an Electric Grid Near You?

Posted on December 30, 2015 by matt ohern

Two years ago Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system of the Bowman Avenue Dam, a small structure used for flood control in Rye, N.Y., about 20 miles from New York City. The hackers never took control of the dam, and … Continue reading →

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