Publications

Up until now, establishment Washington has assumed that any personal account option for Social Security would involve at most 2 percentage points or so of the 12.4% Social Security payroll tax. But earlier this year, IPI published a plan offering a progressive personal account option for Social Security which involves a much larger personal account option, averaging 6.4 percentage points. That plan has now been officially scored by the Chief Actuary of Social Security regarding how it would impact Social Security, and in particular the long term financial deficits of that program.

A conservative, Republican governor in Alabama is championing a massive new tax-and-spend scheme, replete with class warfare rhetoric and hidden taxes. This represents a complete departure from the tax cuts and fiscal discipline that have been a hallmark of conservative philosophy and Republican aspirations for decades.

Puerto Rico faces a daunting economic challenge at the beginning of the 21st century. The Mainland and Puerto Rico must enter into a new contract that rejects the failed policies of the past. Through the tax, regulatory and fiscal reforms proposed in this study, Puerto Rico can become a thriving international center of commerce and innovation, to the benefit of both the Island and the Mainland.

In the debate of legalizing the reimportation of prescription drugs into the U.S., some advocates claim that reimportation is a free trade issue, and that attempts to prevent reimportation are barriers against free trade. But manufacturers of such goods must preserve their ability to price discriminate, according to Dr. Richard Epstein. Price discrimination allows the "low demanders" to participate in the market. The result of large scale reimportation would be to restrict needed sales of drugs overseas, and would sap the incentive to innovate new products. Imposing statutory restrictions on reimportation is an effective substitute for a valid, if ineffective, contractual restraint on alienation that makes sense in light of the basic domestic decision to grant the full patent monopoly.

Proponents claim that legalizing prescription drug reimportation from overseas countries will lower the cost of drugs to U.S. consumers, and some proponents claim that allowing reimportation is a "free trade" issue. But reimportation is a Trojan Horse for importing the deficient regulatory regimes of foreign countries, rather than importing their prices.

The issue is safety. Twice the Secretaries of Health and Human Services have been unable to determine that U.S. consumers would be safe with large-scale prescription drug reimportation. Reasons for opposing prescription drug reimportation include: 1) U.S. Government agencies recognize the danger of illegal imports, 2) drug counterfeiting is rampant outside the U.S., 3) Canada isn't safe either, 4) it's all authorities can do to monitor the safety of drugs within the U.S., much less worrying about drugs from overseas, and 5) trial lawyers will sue pharmaceutical manufacturers for not ensuring the safety of their products, even when they have no control over them.

A well-designed personal account option for Social Security would be substantial, highly progressive, and would provide a broad array of benefits and advantages for working people across the board, including low-income workers, minorities, and others. This study provides a concrete, specific and detailed proposal for reform that delivers on the promise of a true personal account option.

Texas has an education problem, not just an education-funding problem. The current “Robin Hood” school finance system is but one fact of Texas’ education problem.

Americans are increasingly buying U.S.-made prescription drugs from Canada and other countries and bringing (i.e., reimporting) them back to the U.S. However, reimporting these drugs is breaking U.S. law. Should drug companies continue to sell to vendors who knowingly break the law and may put patients at risk? Reimportation is creating several ethical dilemmas for prescription drug manufacturers.

Driven by an insatiable appetite for tax revenue, states are attempting to impose “business activity taxes” on businesses that have no clearly-defined presence within the state. A clear, legal definition of nexus is needed so that businesses can understand when and where they can expect to be taxed. Such a definition is a legitimate role for the federal government in facilitating interstate commerce, and not a violation of federalism.