By Robert F. Sanchez, JMI Policy Director
“Let the people vote!” That was the media’s hue and cry when the Legislature rebuffed Governor Crist’s plea to pass a constitutional amendment barring oil drilling in Florida waters. As House Speaker Larry Cretul noted, calling an emergency special session was unnecessary. Florida law already bans offshore drilling, and …

Read Full Post

By J. Robert McClure III, PhD., JMI President & CEO
We have heard much about the Tea Party movement since its inception. Many credit Rick Santelli’s rant against bailouts, government spending and self-dealing politicians on CNBC from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade as the spark for this influential movement. Since its inception, however, …

Read Full Post

By Thomas Perrin, JMI Public Affairs Director
Today is the big day for candidates who have been scrapping it out in their respective primary races. There are still a lot of unknowns, but let’s look at some of the facts we do know:
-During this election cycle, voter registration has shifted slightly towards independents, who grew by …

Read Full Post

By Rachel Procaccini, JMI Volunteer & Chiles High School Senior
This past month I was invited to attend the Friedman Economics Luncheon for rising high school seniors hosted by the James Madison Institute. Given my interest in political functioning, I found the subject of economics very intriguing.
Florida State University Professor Dr. James Gwartney was interviewed and …

Read Full Post

By Robert F. Sanchez, JMI Policy Director
Voters can be forgiven if they think they’re getting mixed signals about the importance of going to the polls. Examples:
In Missouri earlier this month, 71 percent of the voters approved Proposition C, which would prohibit the government from enforcing any requirement that everyone purchase health insurance. The voters’ verdict …

Read Full Post

By Dr. J. Robert McClure III, JMI President & CEO
Last month, Governor Crist called for a special session for the expressed purpose of putting an amendment on the November 2010 ballot to enshrine into our Constitution a ban on drilling in Florida waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Let’s be clear: there is already a …

Read Full Post

By Bill Mattox, JMI Resident Fellow
Everywhere you turn these days, Americans appear to be taking a renewed interest in the founding of our country and in the guiding principles included in the U.S. Constitution.  From new civics classes to grass-roots tea parties to TV shows about Constitutional principles, Founding Fathers Fever is definitely sweeping America.
Interestingly, …

Read Full Post

 By Francisco Gonzalez, JMI Development Director
With an ailing economy, more and more people are out of work. Some are part of the 11 percent of Floridians looking for work. But many others don’t even factor into the unemployment numbers because they’ve simply stop looking for work. Maybe they aren’t unemployed. Maybe they are fun-employed.
This is …

Read Full Post

By Ryan Gorham, State Policy Network Leadership Development Intern and former JMI Intern
Hundreds have been flocking to Panhandle beaches for photo-ops and a good wagging of their finger. Not the tourism Florida was looking for, but this is the sight that has graced our beaches recently.  As politicians and bureaucrats have postured and focused on …

Read Full Post

By DJ Menz, JMI Intern and Florida State University Graduate in International Affairs with Economics Concentration
Much recent debate centers on our rising federal deficits. Fiscal conservatives urge austerity and point to Greece as the poster child for the disastrous effects of irresponsible government spending and unsustainable entitlements.
Meanwhile, political liberals echo Keynesian theories, suggesting that what we …

Read Full Post