Last week, American Consumer Institute CEO and President Steve Pociask published an op-ed in Real Clear Policy, highlighting the new reforms that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has brought to the Postal Service. In less than four months, DeJoy has been able to implement meaningful reform, despite being delayed due to over-politicization and misinformation. Specifically, Pociask points […]
Taxation
Silver Lining in the Postal Service’s Dismal Q3 Financials
Last week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) released their Q3 financials, posting a staggering net loss of $2.2 billion. Unsurprisingly, the USPS continues to hemorrhage funds and is not yet independently sustainable without serious intervention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, system costs have grown, as product demand has shifted. To become economically viable, it is […]
Coalition Opposes Continuing Taxpayer Funded Energy Subsidies
Today, ACI joined twenty-three other nonprofit organizations in opposition to extending production tax credits and investment tax credits that are used to subsidize solar and wind energy. The intent of the subsidies was to give initial support these “infant” industries. Now, after years of support and an established foothold for these industries, solar and wind […]
Coalition Letter Supports Efforts to Help in the Economic Recovery from COVID
ACI joined a large coalition of groups in support of the expansion of full expensing provisions in the U.S. tax code. The CREATE JOBS Act proposes to allow business investments, Research and Development, and capital expenditures in rental and commercial structures to be fully expensed, rather than depreciated. That provision will act as an bold […]
Inside Sources: States Misuse Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Funds
States across the United States misuse funds that are extracted from a landmark, multi-jurisdiction legal settlement reached with tobacco companies in November of 1998. Attorneys general for 46 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico entered into the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The settlement promises the federal and state governments billions […]
ACI Joins Coalition in Opposition to Special Interest Corporate Subsidies
Today, ACI signed onto a coalition letter in opposition to the “Moving Forward Act.” The Act would renew investment/production tax credits and subsidize well-capitalized, politically connected corporations at the expense of struggling consumers. The full letter is available online.
Hoarding Uranium Fixes a Problem that Doesn’t Exist
Nuclear power represents an unparalleled opportunity to provide stable and reliable emissions-free energy. However, plans to pour $150 million in taxpayer money into the domestic mining industry resolve a supply chain problem that doesn’t exist. To support the nuclear industry and the benefits it provides, the federal government needs to fix the nuclear waste problem […]
Post Office Reports Staggering Loss Despite Increased Revenues
“Newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will inherit a Post Office with continual losses, and with a business plan that is so fundamentally flawed that USPS leadership has refused to address this problem. Hopefully, DeJoy can use his considerable experience in logistics to restore USPS to an agency that will keep delivering for consumers and […]
The Economic Standard — COVID Bailout for the Postal Service: A First-Class Mistake
As the Beltway grapples with reviving the American economy amidst Coronavirus, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is asking for $85 billion in government bailout money to weather this crisis. But the costs inflicted by the virus are just a drop in the bucket when compared to USPS’s decades-long financial troubles. Rather than pouring billions of […]
D.C. Has Two Choices When It Comes to Soda Taxes
Since 2015, cities across the U.S. have taxed soda to promote public health, often with disastrous results. While soda taxes show people do consume less of it, the results ultimately don’t pan out, as consumers simply switch their habits to other, equally unhealthy options. To make matters worse, soda taxes fall harder on poor families. […]