PUBLICATIONS BY Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
Research
Commentary
Books
Media Appearances
2009 Research
November 10, 2009
The Oberstar Transportation Plan: A Costly Exercise in Lifestyle Modification
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2693)
The Surface Transportation Authorization Act would mark a dramatic, harmful change in federal transportation policy.
November 04, 2009
Rethink the Housing Tax Credit: Stimulus Plans Should Think Past the Needs of Special Interest
By Ronald D. Utt Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2680)
Replacing the expiring tax credit with a new one for which most members of America's financial elite would be eligible is a costly and unnecessary scheme.
October 01, 2009
Will Obama's High-Speed Rail Plan Become a Subsidy for Freight Railroads?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D
(WebMemo #2637)
Congress should strip costly and ineffective high-speed rail funding from the FY 2010 budget.
September 01, 2009
Will Obama's "Livability" Program Bring Britain's "Hobbit Homes" to America?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #2601)
Shortly after taking office President Obama announced his intention to develop federal policies to induce states and local communities to embrace "smart growth" land use strategies that would deter growth, crowd development, and discourage automobile use. As the evidence from other countries reveal, the creation of a federal land use policy will likely lead to a decline in housing quality, including house size.
July 10, 2009
Obama Administration's Plan to Coerce People out of Their Cars
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2536)
The Administration has formally embarked on an unprecedented and costly exercise in social engineering to alter the way Americans live and travel.
June 08, 2009
Federal Transportation Programs Shortchange Motorists: Update of a USDOT Study
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2283)
In contrast to motorists and commercial airlines, transit users pay no federal taxes or fees and instead benefit by receiving a share of the taxes paid by motorists and funding from general federal tax revenues. The subsidy data reveal that the federal cost of supporting rail and transit passengers is excessively high and that investing in roads would be more cost-effective.
June 02, 2009
Slouching Toward a "Huddled Masses" Housing Policy: Saving Energy with Higher Densities?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2281)
If President Obama and his subordinates are to be believed, this Administration is promising to impose unprecedented ("transformational") changes on the way Americans live, work, and travel in order to achieve a variety of environmental goals. But as the evidence to date indicates, many of these decisions will be based on flawed data that have been carelessly collected and calculated by the Department of Energy.
May 06, 2009
Correcting the Pervasive Inequities in Gas Tax Spending Should Be a Reauthorization Priority
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2269)
The federal highway program's allocation formula shortchanges states in the South and Great Lakes regions and benefits the slow-growing, high-income Northeast. The most effective remedy would be to turn back to the states the highway program and the right to collect and keep the federal fuel tax revenues and let the states use the money for surface transportation priorities of their own choosing.
April 14, 2009
President Obama's New Plan to Decide Where Americans Live and How They Travel
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2260)
President Barack Obama’s partnership between the Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development reflects an escalation in his apparent intent to re-energize and lead the Left’s longstanding war against America’s suburbs and could be used to distort federal transportation and housing cost data to coerce Americans to use more public transportation and move back into the cities and close-in suburbs.
March 05, 2009
Don't Regulate the Suburbs: America Needs a Housing Policy That Works
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2247)
As housing-price trends in the U.S. over the past decade reveal, the intensity of a region’s land-use regulations is a key factor in the region’s relative house-price inflation, affordability, and recent foreclosure experience. Areas with less land-use regulation consistently sustain housing prices that are affordable, while regions with greater regulations consistently sustain prices that are unaffordable to the majority of the citizens living in the region. Future federal housing-assistance programs should be linked to a requirement to lessen the burden of these regulations.
March 04, 2009
Stimulus Plan's Delayed Job Creation: Some Won't Get Jobs Until 2012 or Later
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2325)
The transportation components of the stimulus bill will do nothing to alleviate the immediate downward slide in economic activity—and little or nothing to support jobs during the current year.
February 25, 2009
12 Problems with the Obama Mortgage Stability Initiative Plan
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and David C. John
(WebMemo #2311)
President Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is unlikely this plan will provide any relief—short-term or long-term—to the beleaguered housing market.
February 05, 2009
The Economic Stimulus Package and the Limits of Infrastructure Jobs Creation
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2273)
Many in Congress have been arguing the need for more government spending to create new jobs to offset those lost and to jumpstart the economy, but a review of past such efforts reveals that the promise exceeds performance.
February 04, 2009
The Senate's Flawed 4 Percent Mortgage Refinance Plan
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., David C. John, and J. D. Foster, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2269)
The Senate Republicans' 4 percent housing stimulus and mortgage relief plan (proposed earlier by Chris Mayer and Glenn Hubbard of Columbia Business School) would be a costly initiative and a massive new government intervention in housing and finance markets that would yield few if any of the promised benefits.
January 22, 2009
Will Lobbyists Turn the Stimulus Package Into a Festival of Fiscal Greed?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2232)
As Congress and President Obama try to devise a fiscal stimulus package, and as the proposed spending for this package has risen from $300 billion to $825 billion, the taxpayers who fund the government’s operations are again under assault by the usual crowd of wealthy, influential constituents seeking a piece of what many expect will be massive volumes of new federal spending.
2008 Research
December 16, 2008
Learning from Japan: Infrastructure Spending Won't Boost the Economy
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2222)
The Japanese government implemented a massive program of infrastructure-focused stimulus spending during the 1990s, and the result was two decades of economic stagnation. Less ambitious infrastructure stimulus programs have been implemented in the United States over the past few decades, and numerous independent and government studies have concluded that these programs had little impact on economic activity or jobs.
December 09, 2008
Saving Detroit Automakers with an Advance Purchase of Cars and Trucks
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2163)
While bankruptcy is still the best bet for fundamental reform of the Big Three automakers, if Congress and the President insist on "helping" Detroit, the better bet for short-term relief is an advance cash purchase by the federal government of cars and light trucks manufactured by the American companies.
December 03, 2008
Transportation Policy: Getting the Facts Straight
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2148)
Many are recommending a substantial increase in federal transportation spending that would be funded by an equally substantial increase in the federal fuel tax. But such a shift would undermine our economic well being by limiting mobility and raising the cost of travel.
October 23, 2008
Is America's Infrastructure "Crisis" Just Another Crisis for Socialism?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2111)
As the recent history of both federal and state transportation policy reveal, government’s ownership and operation of roads and transit have contributed to deteriorating service and quality in both, and throwing more money at these programs will do little to alter this sad state of affairs.
October 17, 2008
Bridge Repair Mismanagement Undermines Highway Safety
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2104)
In the months since the fatal collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, safety concerns about the nation’s 600,000 bridges have become a leading symbol of what many contend is America's crumbling infrastructure. And while design flaws—not a lack of money—may have been the chief cause of the collapse, many have used the tragedy to justify more government spending on the nation's infrastructure, including bridges.
October 09, 2008
Highway Trust Fund Inequities Will Get Worse in Future Years
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2100)
As a consequence of flaws in the highway trust formula, many states consistently receive less than they pay in while others consistently receive more. There's a simple way out of this mess, even though it would be unpopular with Members of Congress.
September 03, 2008
Congress Undermines America's Infrastructure by Looting the Highway Trust Fund
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #2046)
Recent projections by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office reveal that the highway trust fund will run out of money during FY 2009. Unless the fund is replenished soon, federal spending on highways could decline significantly as the fund reverts to a spend-as-you-earn basis until a permanent remedy is enacted. Until then, one solution is to re-concentrate the fund’s focus on highway investment and safety by abandoning the many low priority and non-transportation diversions that now encumber the federal program.
August 07, 2008
Land Use Deregulation Should Be Part of Any Housing Reform Plan
By Wendell Cox and Ronald Utt
(WebMemo #2014)
In a time when there are increasing concerns about the rising cost of living over everything from gas prices to food prices, policymakers should hasten to dismantle the excessive land use regulations that say "no" to the next generation of American homeowners.
July 28, 2008
How States Can Improve Their Transportation Systems and Relieve Traffic Congestion
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2165)
Voters' refusal to support tax increases to fund more road spending reflects, in part, their lack of confidence that federal and state officials would use additional tax resources effectively to provide better transportation. Unless federal, state, and local officials take steps to improve management of transportation operations and restore voter confidence, voter skepticism will persist as congestion and safety standards worsen.
July 22, 2008
No Taxpayer Bailout for the Earmarked Highway Bill
By Ron Utt
(WebMemo #2001)
With the highway trust fund expected to be empty when the current highway legislation expires next year, the current spending gap should be filled by cutting spending, not raising taxes.
June 16, 2008
Ending Pervasive Inequities in Gas Tax Burdens
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2143)
Halfhearted efforts to fix the federal highway program’s allocation formula have yielded little or no benefit to losing states. With its original goals fulfilled in the early 1980s, the program has become a vast spoils system. The best course would be to turn the program and the right to collect and keep the federal fuel tax revenues back to the states.
June 09, 2008
H.R. 6003 Would Be the Costliest Bailout in Amtrak's 40 Years of Federal Subsidies
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #1949)
This June, Members of the House of Representatives will be asked to support or reject the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 6003), an Amtrak reauthorization bill that would substantially increase taxpayer subsidies beyond the extremely generous levels already provided.
April 22, 2008
The Subprime Mortgage Market Collapse: A Primer on the Causes and Possible Solutions
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2127)
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market has created depression-like conditions in the housing market and driven the economy to the brink of recession, but many of those who call for more federal regulation fail to recognize that earlier and more comprehensive regulatory efforts did little to deter housing market problems and in some cases may have made them worse.
April 22, 2008
Executive Summary: The Subprime Mortgage Market Collapse: A Primer on the Causes and Possible Solutions
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #2127)
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market has created depression-like conditions in the housing market and driven the economy to the brink of recession, but many of those who call for more federal regulation fail to recognize that earlier and more comprehensive regulatory efforts did little to deter housing market problems and in some cases may have made them worse.
April 03, 2008
Subprime Mortgage Problems: A Quick Tour Through the Rubble
By Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #1881)
Proposals for new federal spending and credit programs would greatly expand the role of government in the economy while doing little to alleviate the distress caused by the financial crisis.
April 02, 2008
More Transportation Spending: False Promises of Prosperity and Job Creation
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2121)
With the economy slowing and job growth declining, lobbyists are urging Congress to spend more on transportation to stimulate the economy, but creating jobs is not the same as creating value. Spending money on nearly anything will contribute to a job, but whether that job leads to the creation of products and services of broad public value is another question.
February 25, 2008
Dulles Rail Boondoggle Exposes Flaws in Federal Transportation Policy
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1824)
This $5.1 billion project would do little to relieve congestion, pollution, or energy use.
February 07, 2008
President's Homeownership Proposals Should Be Sent Back to the Drawing Board
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1802)
Expanding the federal government's role in the mortgage market would encourage more irresponsible behavior.
January 30, 2008
The Transportation Commission's Proposed 200 Percent Gas Tax Increase: One of Several Bad Ideas in Its Report
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2103)
The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission has recommended raising the gasoline tax by 218 percent over the next five years to fund new road, transit, administrative, and environmental initiatives. By rejecting the commission’s counterproductive recommendations and focusing instead on ending wasteful diversions from the highway trust fund, Congress could redeploy an estimated $19.3 billion to general-purpose roads.
2007 Research
November 14, 2007
H.R. 3915 Would Impose New Burdens and Limits on Moderate Income Borrowers
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1703)
H.R.3915 would make borrowing tougher for moderate income families and delay the housing market recovery that is now struggling to get underway.
October 23, 2007
National Heritage Areas: Costly Economic Development Schemes that Threaten Property Rights
By Cheryl Chumley and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D
(Backgrounder #2080)
Rather expand federal involvement in local affairs, Congress should limit existing National Heritage Areas to their initial federal funding caps and enforce the statutory requirement that they become financially self-sufficient within 15 years. Congress should also encourage local communities to establish their own heritage-based tourist and economic development programs that are independent of federal oversight and funding.
October 23, 2007
Executive Summary: National Heritage Areas: Costly Economic Development Schemes that Threaten Property Rights
By Cheryl Chumley and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D
(Executive Summary #2080)
Executive Summary: Rather expand federal involvement in local affairs, Congress should limit existing National Heritage Areas to their initial federal funding caps and enforce the statutory requirement that they become financially self-sufficient within 15 years. Congress should also encourage local communities to establish their own heritage-based tourist and economic development programs that are independent of federal oversight and funding.
October 22, 2007
National Heritage Areas: Costly Economic Development Schemes That Threaten Property Rights
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and Cheryl Chumley
(WebMemo #1671)
If enacted, H.R. 1483 would cost taxpayers an additional $135 million, jeopardize the property rights of private citizens, and distract the NPS from its core mission.
October 16, 2007
Washington Metro Needs Reform, Not a Federal Bailout
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1665)
Congress should link the continuation of existing federal subsidies to management and labor reforms at the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority.
October 09, 2007
Restoring Regional Equity to the Federal Highway Trust Fund
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2074)
Flaws in the highway program's allocation formula shortchange states in the South and Great Lakes regions. For several donor states, these misallocations cost them more than $100 million annually. The most effective way to resolve these flaws would be to turn the highway program and the right to collect and keep the federal fuel tax revenues back to the states.
September 20, 2007
Congress Should Link Amtrak's Generous Subsidy to Improved Performance
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2072)
Amtrak fails to fill half of its seats on any given day, and ridership has remained largely unchanged since 2005, yet Amtrak receives the highest federal subsidy of all modes of transportation: $210.31 per passenger per 1,000 miles. Congress should cap Amtrak’s subsidy at $900 million for FY 2008 and condition future subsidies on steady improvement in Amtrak’s ridership.
September 20, 2007
Executive Summary: Congress Should Link Amtrak's Generous Subsidy to Improved Performance
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #2072)
Executive Summary: Amtrak fails to fill half of its seats on any given day, and ridership has remained largely unchanged since 2005, yet Amtrak receives the highest federal subsidy of all modes of transportation: $210.31 per passenger per 1,000 miles. Congress should cap Amtrak’s subsidy at $900 million for FY 2008 and condition future subsidies on steady improvement in Amtrak’s ridership.
September 19, 2007
Continuing the Effort to Curb Excessive FAA Salary Costs
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1622)
The President should veto legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration if the bill overturns a contract settlement with air traffic controllers that saves taxpayers billions of dollars.
September 10, 2007
The Subprime Mortgage Situation: Bailout Not the Right Solution
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and David C. John
(WebMemo #1604)
The government's response should be limited to dealing with the immediate problem and should not become a vehicle for expanded housing programs or pushing other agendas. With a few key modifications, the President’s proposal could meet that standard.
June 27, 2007
Federal Farm Subsidy Programs: How to Discourage Congressional Conflicts of Interest
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2045)
Members of Congress who receive federal farm subsidies should (1) declare them in annual financial disclosures and recuse themselves from voting on legislation that would directly benefit them financially or (2) agree not to accept them and provide the public with detailed information on family members who will benefit financially from their vote in support of farm subsidies.
May 15, 2007
The Water Resources Development Act of 2007: A Pork Fest for Wealthy Beach-Front Property Owners
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1458)
Congress appears intent on diverting taxpayer dollars from the most important responsibilities of the Army Corps of Engineers to finance water-sports and other low-priority schemes.
April 18, 2007
Another Federal Assault on Property Rights: The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(Backgrounder #2025)
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act (H.R. 319, S. 289), which would threaten the rights of property owners while largely benefiting well-to-do estate owners by facilitating exclusionary policies; in contrast, a voluntary compact among the affected states and communities to cooperate on protecting historic sites would require minimal federal involvement and no federal funding.
March 15, 2007
The Congressional Earmark Moratorium: Will It Last the Year?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2016)
Courage and leadership matter most in establishing a pattern of fiscal responsibility in Washington. The leadership on both sides of the aisle needs to ensure that the moratorium on earmarks is not circumvented by backdoor maneuvering, and the President should insist that the moratorium be extended to future years and be prepared to veto any bills that contain earmarks.
February 01, 2007
States Vote to Strengthen Property Rights
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2002)
More than 29 states have responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London ruling, which makes it easier for government to use eminent domain to take private property for economic development purposes, with laws and constitutional amendments to prohibit Kelo-type takings. Congress should follow their examples by passing legislation to protect property rights.
January 22, 2007
Housing Affordability: Smart Growth Abuses Are Creating a "Rent Belt" of High-Cost Areas
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1999)
Housing affordability problems are concentrated in regions where anti-growth land-use regulations have limited the supply of building lots. High-cost housing encourages business and households to move elsewhere and undermines the regional economy. The solution is to attack the root cause of the affordability problem (restrictive land-use regulations) and increase the supply of building lots.
January 22, 2007
Housing Affordability: Smart Growth Abuses Are Creating a
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1999)
Housing affordability problems are concentrated in regions where anti-growth land-use regulations have limited the supply of building lots. High-cost housing encourages business and households to move elsewhere and undermines the regional economy. The solution is to attack the root cause of the affordability problem (restrictive land-use regulations) and increase the supply of building lots
January 10, 2007
Rush Hour: How States Can Reduce Congestion Through Performance-Based Transportation Programs
By Wendell Cox, Alan E. Pisarski, and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.,
(Backgrounder #1995)
One by one, government programs in a growing number of states are becoming subject to performance-based systems to ensure that unresponsive bureaucracies are held accountable to the same standards of performance that have always been common in the private sector, where the difference between success and failure is often a matter of survival.
January 03, 2007
Memo to the New Congressional Leadership: How to Improve Proposals for Congressional Earmark and Lobbying Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1296)
Any serious earmark reform must require extensive reporting and transparency so as to expose the link between earmarks and campaign contributions. Anything less would not restore integrity to the legislative process.
2006 Research
December 14, 2006
Will New Congress Be Santa to Taxpayers and Grinch to Lobbyists?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and Brian M. Riedl
(WebMemo #1287)
Congress cuts out earmarks, marking a big victory for citizen-activists and fiscal restraint.
November 08, 2006
How Minority Leader Pelosi Can Use the Lame Duck Session to Restore Integrity to the Federal Budget Process
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1249)
Reject earmarks to demonstrate a firm commitment to integrity in budgeting.
September 13, 2006
Congress Considers Costly Bailouts for Amtrak, Metro
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1211)
The President should threaten to veto costly and irresponsible bailouts of Amtrak and Washington's Metro system.
September 05, 2006
Will the Senate Raid the Treasury for Amtrak?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1956)
Because Amtrak’s most recent annual report reveals that financial and operational problems continue to worsen, the railroad’s new board and management should begin to eliminate some of its more wasteful routes: first, the Sunset Limited, with its $433 subsidy per passenger, followed by the Silver Service, with total losses exceeding $100 million in 2005.
July 19, 2006
Improving the Performance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1167)
The extensive flooding of New Orleans caused by several breaks in the levee system during Hurricane Katrina led to an extensive debate about the performance of the Army Corps of Engineers in protecting Americans from natural disasters.
July 17, 2006
H.R. 3496: The Biggest Pork Barrel Earmark in History?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1163)
Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) is requesting the House of Representatives to consider an amendment (H.R. 3496, as revised) to the Deep Water Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761) that would divert $1.5 billion of federal revenues earned through offshore drilling to subsidize the deeply troubled Metro transit system serving the nation's capital and his congressional district.
June 27, 2006
Third-Quarter Report Card for Congress: Improvement Needed
By Brian M. Riedl, Ronald D. Utt. Ph.D., and Alison Acosta Fraser
(Backgrounder #1947)
There is no reason why Members of Congress cannot raise their performance measures on key domestic policy issues, many of which have already made some progress through the legislative process. Over the past few weeks, Members have shown exceptional resolve on a number of controversial issues. If they maintain this pace, they could easily complete the needed work.
June 05, 2006
A Costly Delay: Air Traffic Controllers' Expensive New Strategy
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1113)
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on fiscal responsibility and the integrity of the existing federal statutes that bind and guide them. At issue is legislation (H.R. 5449) from a bipartisan group of Members to change federal law to boost the
May 16, 2006
Winning the Fight to Curb Excessive FAA Salary Costs
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1078)
In September 2005, the existing contract between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the air traffic controllers expired and discussions over its replacement began in earnest.
May 03, 2006
Springtime for Amtrak and America
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1932)
Because Amtrak's most recent annual report reveals that financial and operational problems continue to worsen, the railroad's new board and management should begin to eliminate some of its more wasteful routes: first, the Sunset Limited, with its $433 subsidy per passenger, followed by the Silver Service, with total losses exceeding $100 million in 2005.
April 27, 2006
Executive Summary: A Primer on Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Congressional Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1924)
Executive Summary: Growing evidence linking earmarks to bribes from lobbyists and their clients has encouraged Congress to enact reforms, but many of these proposals would make only cosmetic changes. Much more transparency is needed, and stiffer reporting requirements should be imposed on lobbyists, their clients, and the Members of Congress and congressional staff that they contact.
April 27, 2006
A Primer on Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Congressional Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1924)
Growing evidence linking earmarks to bribes from lobbyists and their clients has encouraged Congress to enact reforms, but many of these proposals would make only cosmetic changes. Much more transparency is needed, and stiffer reporting requirements should be imposed on lobbyists, their clients, and the Members of Congress and congressional staff that they contact.
April 25, 2006
Senators Should Derail Mississippi's "Railroad to Nowhere"
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and Brian M. Riedl
(WebMemo #1048)
A questionable earmark wilts under strong scrutiny.
April 24, 2006
Reining in Excessive FAA Salary Costs
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1927)
The Federal Aviation Administration should continue to resist the air traffic controllers' demands for a contract that would increase total compensation to over $200,000 by the last year in the contract and build on its past privatization efforts by developing legislation to privatize the entire air traffic control system, as many other countries have done.
March 07, 2006
Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Congressional Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1008)
Because of the regrettable actions of a few, Congress is now considering significant reforms that would curb the influence of lobbyists and discourage the use of wasteful earmarks.
2005 Research
December 22, 2005
Bait-and-Switch on Alaska Bridges Undermine Congress's Credibility—Again
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #951)
The two Bridges to Nowhere live.
December 01, 2005
Property Rights Protection Get Bogged Down
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #927)
While there's much talk about firming up property rights, there's been little legislation passed.
November 15, 2005
Leadership Change Could Put Passenger Rail Back on Track
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #916)
Amtrak's board finally lost patience with Gunn's lack of progress in improving service and reducing losses. This is encouraging.
November 04, 2005
The Army Corps of Engineers: Reallocating Its Spending to Offset Reconstruction Costs in New Orleans
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1892)
The Army Corps of Engineers¹ annual budget should be reallocated to shift spending priorities to the repair and upgrade of New Orleans¹ levees. The estimated cost of rebuilding to withstand a Category 5 hurricane (between
$4.1 billion and $5.1 billion) could be met by devoting just 10 percent of current Corps spending to the project over the next 10 years.
November 03, 2005
Senate Scheduled to Vote for More Wasteful Transportation Spending
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #909)
At a time of fiscal crisis, boosting federal subsidies to money-losing and mediocre Amtrak makes no sense.
October 20, 2005
The Bridge to Nowhere: A National Embarrassment
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #889)
In the face of opposition from leadership, Sen. Tom Coburn puts forward a gutsy amendment.
September 28, 2005
After Weeks of Confusion, the Right Course for Evacuee Housing Assistance
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #866)
Yes to vouchers, no to remote and isolated trailer parks.
September 21, 2005
Pelosi Leads the Way on Highway Bill Give-Back
By Andrew M. Grossman and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #852)
Politics makes strange bedfellows, but apparently hurricanes have far stranger effects.
September 16, 2005
How to Turn the President's Gulf Coast Pledge into Reality
By Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., Alison Acosta Fraser, Dan Lips, Robert M. Moffit, Ph.D., and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #848)
Private investment, direct assistance to individuals, and sound economics are the basis of recovery.
September 15, 2005
Congress Faces Pressure to Surrender Pork for Flood Relief
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #841)
The plan to redirect highway bill pork to a higher cause gathers steam.
September 09, 2005
President's Bold Action on Davis-Bacon Will Aid the Relief Effort
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #836)
By suspending David-Bacon, the President has strengthened relief efforts.
September 02, 2005
The Katrina Relief Effort: Congress Should Redirect Highway Earmark Funding to a Higher Purpose
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #832)
In the face of genuine need, don't these expensive earmarks seem comparatively frivolous?
June 29, 2005
Kelo Backlash Could Lead to Restoration of Property Rights Lost to Smart Growth and Eminent Domain Abuses
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #781)
A bad decision may end up reinvigorating property rights.
June 29, 2005
The Katrina Relief Effort: Members of Congress Should Redirect Highway Earmarks to a Higher Purpose
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #781)
The region hit by Katrina needs infrastructure more than communities need frivolous earmarks.
June 20, 2005
Time to Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1861)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac control as much as half of the nation's residential mortgage market. Rather than enhance their influence and market penetration, Congress should revoke their $2.25 billion lines of credit with the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve's authority to buy their debt, thereby forcing them to compete with other financial institutions.
June 15, 2005
A Serendipitous Flaw: Could Bad Brakes Lead to Fundamental Reform of Amtrak?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #764)
Amtrak's own ineptitude, along with an unexpected equipment failure, may finally force reform of the troubled railroad.
May 09, 2005
Using the Veto Threat to Impose Reform on the Highway Reauthorization Bill
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #741)
As the Senate this week considers its version of legislation to reauthorize the federal highway program, Senators will be confronted with a number of opportunities to improve or worsen the traffic congestion
April 25, 2005
Can Both Sides of the Sprawl Debate Find Common Ground on Property Rights?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #730)
The backlash against restrictive zoning.
April 11, 2005
Getting Urban Transit Systems Focused on Cost and Service
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #717)
How to put an end to transit's burden on taxpayers.
April 06, 2005
Rethinking a Highway Bill Veto: What Would President Andrew Jackson Do?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #709)
Pork barrel spending should make the highway bill veto bait.
March 16, 2005
Amtrak Bankruptcy: It's Time
By Keith Miller and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #689)
It is time for Amtrak to declare bankruptcy and get itself reorganized for a better future
March 07, 2005
Congress Gets Another Chance to Improve America's Transportation: Should It Be Its Last?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #9999)
Turn back the highway program to the states or to allow states to voluntarily opt out.
February 07, 2005
The President's Proposal to De-Fund Amtrak will Force the Railroad to Adopt Needed Reforms
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #655)
Maybe now Amtrak will get its act together.
February 07, 2005
President's Plan to Consolidate Federal Economic Development Programs Is Long Overdue
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #656)
With over 1,000 earmarks are at stake, the President makes a move.
February 01, 2005
Time for Congress to End the Regional Inequities in the Federal Highway Program
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #645)
The federal highway program shortchanges many states
2004 Research
November 10, 2004
Is Pork Barrel Spending Ready to Explode? The Anatomy of an Earmark
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #608)
Lobbyists devise a new strategy to push pork-barrel spending.
July 28, 2004
The EPA Withdraws Inaccurate Smart Growth–Traffic Congestion Report
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1782)
The EPA's Characteristics and Performance of Regional Transportation Systems report was so deeply flawed that the agency was forced to withdraw it within two months of its release. Both Congress and the President should launch formal investigations into EPA analytical quality and integrity.
July 19, 2004
Can Canada Teach Us How to Hold The Line on Amtrak Funding
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #539)
Congress should limit Amtrak funding to $900 million and demand that Amtrak adopt improvements that have worked in Canada.
July 07, 2004
Congress's Risky Zero Down Payment Plan Will Undermine FHA's Soundness and Discourage Self-Reliance
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #529)
The Zero Downpayment Act could cost taxpayers a bundle, evidence from similar programs shows.
May 20, 2004
A Note to House and Senate Conferees About the Highway Reauthorization Bill
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D
(Backgrounder #1756)
When considering the Transportation Equity Act (H.R. 3550), the following areas will require conferees' attention: earmarks, tolling restrictions, private-activity bonds, performance accountability, and the reopening trigger. Conferees should carefully consider the impact of these priority areas and whether they allow or disallow greater state spending flexibility.
May 18, 2004
Opportunities for Private Sector Participation in Surface Transportation Investment and Operations
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Testimony #9999)
Testimony of Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., before House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs on May 18, 2004
May 05, 2004
Federal Spending Creates Few Jobs, Less Value
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #497)
Most studies find that federal spending creates few job.
April 15, 2004
Highways and Jobs: The Uneven Record of Federal Spending and Job Creation
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(Backgrounder #1747)
The findings of decades of independent studies cast serious doubt on advocates' claims for the federal highway program's job-creation potential. Even the one substantive study (commissioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation) to assert much of an impact on job creation reveals that many proponents of highway spending exaggerate its ability to predict the number of jobs created by additional spending.
March 05, 2004
Putting an End to Drive-By Lootings: An Open Letter to the President on the Highway Bill
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #439)
At the heart of a new highway funding program should be a new management system that imposes quantitative performance goals on federal and state transportation officials and that redirects spending to benefit the motorists who fund the system with their fuel taxes.
February 27, 2004
More Corporate Welfare Embedded in the Farm Bill
By Charli Coon and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #436)
Among the many troubling aspects of the costly farm bill were a series of provisions to provide even more federal subsidies to rural electric cooperatives. These should be repealed.
February 13, 2004
Yes, Mr. President, Veto the Highway Bill
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1725)
The current highway bill is a poster child for profligate spending, expected to be loaded with pork-barrel earmarks, multimillion-dollar boondoggles unrelated to improving mobility, and regional inequities that each year ship billions of dollars from the South to the North. It is an ideal target for a veto to show that the President is serious about restraining federal spending.
February 02, 2004
President's Surface Transportation Budget Proposal Holds the Line on Spending
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph. D.
(WebMemo #409)
President Bush's proposal to fund federal highway and transit programs at $257 billion over the next six-year reauthorization period will ensure that the impact of federal transportation spending on the deficit is limited through FY2009.
2003 Research
December 05, 2003
American Dream Downpayment Act: Fiscally Irresponsible and Redundant to Existing Homeownership Programs
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #378)
The House of Representatives is considering the American Dream Downpayment Act. Although encouraging home ownership is a useful policy goal from a variety of perspectives, policies to promote it should be ones that create opportunity and encourage individuals to save, not seek handouts.
November 21, 2003
Proposal to Turn the Federal Highway Program Back to the States Would Relieve Traffic Congestion
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1709)
Congress has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to reform the federal highway and transit program to give greater responsibility and decision-making to the states and metropolitan areas that are confronting costly congestion and growing repair backlogs. The proposed Transportation Empowerment Act is a good place to start and, combined with other proposed legislation like the Freeing Alternatives for Speedy Transportation Act, will lead to greater mobility without increasing taxes.
November 07, 2003
Have the Tax Cuts Saved America from Eurosclerosis?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1702)
With several European governments (notably France and Germany) now realizing that holding the line on tax increases is not enough and that tax cuts are essential to achieving high rates of economic growth, American presidential candidates embracing the bankrupt policies of Old Europe will find themselves out of step and isolated from the mainstream debate about the future of the American economy.
September 30, 2003
Obesity and Life Styles: Is it the Hamburger or your House?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #343)
In a sustained effort to undermine America's preference for suburban living and promote land use regulations that force families into higher density housing, anti-suburban activists have attempted to link the suburbs with whatever social or health concerns are in the news. Their case is weak.
September 24, 2003
End the Unions' Costly Monopoly of the Air Traffic Control System
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #340)
By threatening to use his veto against legislation that would protect federal air traffic controllers from competition, President George W. Bush succeeded in getting House and Senate conferees to endorse his management reform program.
September 19, 2003
Sprawl and Obesity: A Flawed Connection
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #337)
A new report from Smart Growth America and the Surface Transportation Policy Project, Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl, links growing obesity concerns with sprawl. The report's findings, however, fall short of supporting this conclusion. This is another attempt to create a national crisis requiring land use restrictions.
September 11, 2003
Closing the Spending Gap Between Contending Transportation Reauthorization Proposals
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1688)
Recent proposals by the Bush Administration and some Members of Congress to use tolls and other user fees to supplement revenues from the existing federal fuel tax could raise billions of additional dollars to construct new road capacity throughout the United States, targeting resources to places that need it the most and limiting the burden of paying for the improvement to just those who benefit.
September 10, 2003
Transit Advocates Want the Working Poor to Use Bikes and Buses, Not Cars _
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1687)
The federal transportation program has suffered from an advanced case of mission creep over the past several decades and now spends tens of billions of dollars each year on marginal projects that benefit only a small fraction of the traveling public. This year's reauthorization is a good place to start restoring balance to the program and begin funding projects that people actually want to use, such as more road capacity.
September 10, 2003
Executive Summary:Transit Advocates Want the Working Poor to Use Bikes and Buses, Not Cars
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1687)
Executive Summary: The federal transportation program has suffered from an advanced case of mission creep over the past several decades and now spends tens of billions of dollars each year on marginal projects that benefit only a small fraction of the traveling public. This year's reauthorization is a good place to start restoring balance to the program and begin funding projects that people actually want to use, such as more road capacity.
July 17, 2003
Istook Draws the Line on Amtrak
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #317)
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation passed an appropriations bill that limits Amtrak's FY 2004 federal subsidy to $560 million – about the same amount as it got in FY 2001.
July 07, 2003
House Appropriators Undermine the President's Competitive Contracting Program
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Memorandum #890)
An amendment attached to the Interior Department spending bill for FY 2004 would forbid DOI managers from spending money on cost studies (as directed by the Office of Management and Budget) to determine what employees do and at what cost. America's taxpayers and park visitors deserve better: If this provision is included in the final appropriations bill, President Bush should veto it.
June 20, 2003
Will Congress Protect the Unionized Government Monopoly at the FAA?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Memorandum #887)
In response to House and Senate passage of FAA bills that protect government workers from competition, the White House has threatened to veto any bill that includes such prohibitions on the President's ability to manage the federal work force effectively on behalf of taxpayers and service users. President Bush should carry out that threat if Congress fails to remove the offending prohibitions in conference.
June 19, 2003
The Case for RESPA Reform
By James L. Gattuso and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #299)
For the vast majority, financing a home will be the largest—and most complex—single financial transaction they will ever make. Unfortunately, both this complexity and cost of this transaction is made larger by federal regulation.
May 22, 2003
New Highway Proposal Fights Congestion with Fee-Based Express Lanes
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Memorandum #882)
New highway reform legislation introduced in Congress in early 2003 could add tens of billions of dollars of new investment to our highway system without raising taxes. Called the Freeing Alternatives for Speedy Transportation (FAST) Act, H.R. 1767 promises one of the most significant improvements in the federal highway program since it was created in 1956.
May 09, 2003
The 2001 Tax Cut Did Make a Difference
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1653)
To ensure that the U.S. maintains its leadership position as the specter haunting a stagnant Europe, Congress should this year enact a significant tax relief of the type and magnitude recommended by the President.
April 09, 2003
Does Sprawl Breed Violence? A Debate
By Ronald Utt
(WebMemo #255)
Besides having the most murders, rapes, and assaults per capita of any developed nation, the United States is also home to 76 percent of all serial killers.
April 07, 2003
Reauthorization of TEA-21
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1643)
Congress and the President should allow the troubled federal highway program to die a quiet death when the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) expires on September 30, 2003.
April 07, 2003
bg1643: Executive Summary: Reauthorization of TEA-21
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1643)
bg1643: Executive Summary: Reauthorization of TEA-21: A Primer on Reforming the Federal Highway and Transit Programs
2002 Research
September 05, 2002
Census Shows Commuters are Rejecting Transit
By Ronald D. Utt and Wendell Cox
(Executive Memorandum #832)
Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that over the past decade, 39 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas experienced a decline in the share of commuters using public transit--buses, rail, and subways--to get to work.
July 10, 2002
Time to Ink the Veto Pen
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and Christopher B. Summers
(Backgrounder #1566)
With the last remnants of spending restraint fading fast in Congress, fiscal discipline will be restored only if the White House declares a defined limit on government spending for the next fiscal year. The President should make it clear that he will exercise his veto authority.
June 25, 2002
Amtrak Gets More Than Its Fair Share of Federal Funding
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D. and Wendell Cox
(WebMemo #118)
Amtrak and its supporters frequently argue that a key reason for Amtrak's manifest deficiencies is the "unfair treatment it receives within the federal budget." Adjusted for the generous rounding process applied by Amtrak's management in estimating shares, the figures show that Amtrak actually did not fare so badly in comparison with the other modes.
June 25, 2002
House Committee Votes Tax on Moderate Income Homebuyers
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #119)
The House Financial Services Committee voted last week to risk the solvency of the FHA mortgage insurance program and tax moderate-income homebuyers in order to spend the money on new subsidized rental housing program layered on top of the several that already exist.
June 05, 2002
2002 Supplemental Spending Bill
By Brian M. Riedl with Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #107)
The $34 billion Senate FY 2002 Supplemental spending bill to enhance Homeland Security has been abused by many Senators to provide unnecessary spending to privileged constituents. Most of these questionable add-ons have absolutely nothing to do with national defense. In a number of cases, the Senate has reduced spending for legitimate security and anti-terrorism objectives requested by the President in order to make way for a costly wish list of special-interest projects.
May 30, 2002
Will Sprawl Gobble Up America's Land?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1556)
Although federal data on land use reveal such concerns to be misplaced--only 5.2 percent of the continental United States is defined as "developed"--so-called smart growth and new urbanist advocates remain undeterred in their effort to impose costly and constraining limits on how individuals may develop and use their private property.
May 30, 2002
BG1556es: Will Sprawl Gobble Up America's Land?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1556)
BG1556es: Will Sprawl Gobble Up America's Land? Federal Data Reveal Development's Trivial Impact
May 13, 2002
BG1547ES: Amtrak's Impending Collapse Offers Opportunity for Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1547)
BG1547ES: Amtrak's Impending Collapse Offers One-Time Opportunity for Reform
May 13, 2002
Amtrak's Impending Collapse Offers Opportunity for Reform
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1547)
Congress and the Administration should end their 30-year obsession with trying to prove that socialism can be made to work and instead welcome the opportunity to review and consider the many innovative proposals that might be adopted as remedies for America's ailing rail service.
March 15, 2002
Can Congress Be Embarrassed into Ending Wasteful Pork-Barrel Spending?
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., and Christopher B. Summers
(Backgrounder #1527)
Congress is spending taxpayer dollars on incumbents' reelection campaigns.
March 07, 2002
Opportunities to Improve Passenger Rail Service
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Testimony #9999)
Congress and the Administration should welcome the opportunity to review and consider the many innovative proposals that might be adopted as remedies for America's ailing passenger rail service.
2001 Research
November 13, 2001
Lobbyists Continue to Use Tragedy to Raid Taxpayers
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1502)
In the aftermath of September 11, Politicians are rushing to grab federal funds for states affected by the attacks.
November 08, 2001
Lobbyists Continue to Use Tragedy to Raid American Taxpayers
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(WebMemo #55)
Ordinary Americans saw the terrorist atacks of September 11th as a challenge demanding a sacrifice of themselves for the good of others. However, many of Washington's elites saw an opportunity to sacrifice others for the good of themselves, or of their influential constituents.
October 22, 2001
Lessons on How NOT to Stimulate the Economy
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1495)
Although Congress is split over whether the stimulus package should be comprised of tax cuts or spending increases or some combination of both, lessons derived from such past efforts at home and abroad demonstrate that strategies relying on increased spending will fail. Indeed, such lessons also suggest that such strategies make things worse by diverting scarce resources away from productive use in the private sector.
October 02, 2001
Lobbyists Use Tragedy to Raid American Taxpayers
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #781)
Ordinary Americans saw the terrorist atacks of September 11th as a challenge demanding a sacrifice of themselves for the good of others. However, many of Washington's elites saw an opportunity to sacrifice others for the good of themselves, or of their influential constituents.
October 02, 2001
Proposed Amtrak Bailout Would Bust the Budget
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1482)
Given the many successes experienced both at home and abroad, the Bush Administration should be open to any proposals for private-participation in fixing the ailing passenger rail service.
August 08, 2001
New Tax Law Boosts School Construction with Public-Private Partnerships
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1463)
Public-private partnerships offer the prospect of building less expensive, higher quality schools in shorter periods of time than is currently possible through traditional public-sector management and funding.
June 29, 2001
Putting the Brakes on Sprawl
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt and Wendell Cox
(WebMemo #20)
History could well show that shortly after ending red-lining, which suppressed minority home ownership rates, cities began green-lining, through imposition of growth areas, with virtually the same effect. There is much more at stake here than urban planning.
June 25, 2001
Improving Govt Performance Through Competition
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1452)
President George Bush's proposal to revive and expand the federal government's program of competitive contracting is a refreshing change from the official disinterest that characterized the program for the past 12 years.
June 25, 2001
BG1452ES: Improving Govt Performance Through Competition
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1452)
BG1452ES: Improving Government Performance Through Competitive Contracting
April 06, 2001
Smart Growth, Housing Costs, and Homeownership
By Wendell Cox and Dr. Ronald D. Utt,
(Backgrounder #1426)
Governments can foster effective solutions to sprawl-created problems by resisting demands to impose coercive growth control policies and by clearing away the aging regulatory impedimenta that often direct development into unattractive patterns and directions.
April 06, 2001
BG1426ES: Smart Growth, Housing Costs, and Homeownership
By Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1426)
BG1426ES: Smart Growth, Housing Costs, and Homeownership
February 23, 2001
End of the Line For Amtrak's Current Management
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1412)
When Amtrak releases its much-delayed financial report for fiscal year (FY) 2000 (which ended October 31, 2000), it is expected to show operating losses of $944 million for the year--a new record of red ink for the deeply troubled service.
2000 Research
August 28, 2000
New Amtrak Boondoggle May Outdo All Others
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1392)
Legislation now before Congress proposes to dedicate as much as $16 billion of future budget surpluses to prop up Amtrak, America's federally chartered and subsidized passenger rail service.
August 16, 2000
Classroom Modernization Promotes Unwarranted Intrusion
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #692)
Graham-Shaw bill provides a better approach
May 08, 2000
Flawed Federal Land Use Report Encourages Unnecessary Spending
By Wendell Cox and Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1368)
Flawed Federal Land Use Report Encourages Unnecessary Spending
February 11, 2000
Congress Has the Better Plan to Facilitate Public School Construction
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #650)
Congress, Not the President, Has the Better Plan to Facilitate Public School Construction
February 02, 2000
Senate Should Not Take FAA Spending Off Budget
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #647)
Senate Should Not Take FAA Spending Off Budget
1999 Research
September 24, 1999
BG1327ES: Improving Security at the Dept of Energy's Weapons Labs
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1327)
BG1327ES: Improving Security at the Department of Energy's Weapons Labs
September 24, 1999
Improving Security at the Dept of Energy's Weapons Labs
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1327)
Revelations that China may have illegally acquired advanced nuclear weapons and radar technology provoked the Clinton Administration and Members of Congress to propose ways to enhance security at the labs.
September 07, 1999
Improving Security at DOE Weapons Labs
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #622)
Inquiries have uncovered long-standing security deficiencies at weapons laboratories funded and managed by the DOE.
August 04, 1999
How the Senate's Tax Bill Would Facilitate Infrastructure Privatization
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #618)
Much of the debate surrounding the tax bills now before Congress focuses on the magnitude of the proposed tax cuts, their impact on a family's taxes, and the President's threat of a veto.
July 09, 1999
Moving Aviation Trust Fund Off Budget Undermines the Budget Process
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt and Gregg Van Helmond
(Backgrounder #1305)
The House passed H.R. 1000 to reauthorize the FAA through fiscal year (FY) 2004 and to increase significantly federal spending in support of commercial aviation.
June 04, 1999
BG1289ES: FAA Reauthorization: Time to Chart A Course for Privatizing Airports
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1289)
BG1289ES: FAA Reauthorization: Time to Chart A Course for Privatizing Airports
June 04, 1999
FAA Reauthorization: Time to Chart A Course for Privatizing Airports
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1289)
The FAA's authorization expired in 1996, and since then Congress has granted several temporary extensions as it tries to work out its differences with the President and between competing proposals over the level of funding for the agency.
April 02, 1999
BG1266ES: Congressional Earmarks and Spending Undermine Decisionmaking
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1266)
BG1266ES: How Congressional Earmarks and Pork-Barrel Spending Undermine State and Local Decisionmaking
April 02, 1999
Congressional Earmarks and Spending Undermine Decisionmaking
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1266)
Governments have long used the power to tax and spend to favor certain constituencies with special benefits over and above what a system based on a formula or need would provide.
February 23, 1999
Partnerships Aid Public School Construction
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1257)
One of the school construction bills introduced in the 105th Congress, however, offers an innovative approach to public school renovation and construction.
February 23, 1999
BG1257es: Partnerships Aid Public School Construction
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1257es)
How Public-Private Partnerships Can Facilitate Public School Construction
1998 Research
October 07, 1998
President's "Emergency" Spending Requests Target the Surplus
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #554)
President's "Emergency" Spending Requests
October 02, 1998
Cities in Denial: The False Promise
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1223)
The question of whether to subsidize a professional sports facility is a contentious one wherever raised.
October 02, 1998
BG1223es: Cities in Denial
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1223)
BG1223es: Cities in Denial: The False Promise of Subsidized Tourist and Entertainment Complexes
September 01, 1998
BG1216es: What to Do About the Cities
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1216)
BG1216es: What to Do About the Cities
September 01, 1998
What to Do About the Cities
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1216)
After four or five decades of failure, it is time for government to get out of the way and give urban citizens free rein in devising strategies to save their cities.
July 30, 1998
Expanding the Authority of Federal Home Loan Banks
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #544)
Expanding the Authority of Federal Home Loan Banks is Unnecessary and Risky
July 27, 1998
New Surplus Projections
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1208)
New Surplus Projections Will Allow Deep Cuts and Social Security Reform
July 16, 1998
Why Raising the FHA Mortgage Insurance
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #541)
Why Raising the FHA Mortgage Insurance Limit Would Be Bad Policy
June 04, 1998
Time For Congress To End Highest Tax Burden in History
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #EM529)
Time For Congress To End Highest Tax Burden in History
May 15, 1998
Congress Should Buy Amtrak
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1179)
Despite 27 years of federal subsidies amounting to more than $30 billion (in 1998 dollars), Amtrak's financial condition today is as bad as it ever has been.
May 15, 1998
BG1179ES: Congress Should Accept Industry Offers
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Summary #1179)
BG1179ES: Congress Should Accept Industry Offers to Buy Amtrak
March 31, 1998
Why Moving Transportation Trust Funds
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D. and Geoffrey Freeman
(Executive Memorandum #519)
Why Moving Transportation Trust Funds
March 27, 1998
Transit Pork Has Few Passengers
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #518)
Transit Pork Has Few Passengers
March 26, 1998
Why Highway Demonstration Projects Should Not Penalize States
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt, and Geoffrey Freeman
(Executive Memorandum #516)
The House should reject efforts to include Washington, D.C.-mandated demonstration projects in the BESTEA (H.R. 2400) bill and instead allow each state to use its share of the highway trust fund for projects that meet locally determined needs and priorities.
March 09, 1998
HUD Wants Federal Housing Administration to Offer More Corporate Welfare
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #512)
Congress should reject HUD's scheme to extend corporate welfare to a privileged few financiers at the expense of private mortgage insurers and the FHA's own dwindling reserves.
1996 Research
May 06, 1996
Time for Bipartisam Reform of Public Housing
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1081)
HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros's bold plan to introduce the benefits of market competition into the troubled public housing industry has been stymied in Congress by an alliance of moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats.
March 18, 1996
BG1073: Getting the Federal Budget Process
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1073)
BG1073: Getting the Federal Budget Process Back on Track
March 13, 1996
BG1072: A Progress Report on Closing
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Backgrounder #1072)
BG1072: A Progress Report on Closing Unneeded and Obsolete Federal Agencies
1995 Research
August 17, 1995
BG1048: How to Close Down the Department
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt and Wendell Cox
(Backgrounder #1048)
BG1048: How to Close Down the Department of Transportation
May 26, 1995
BG1036: Privatize the General Services
By Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1036)
BG1036: Privatize the General Services Administration Through an Employee Buyout
January 27, 1995
Time For HUD to Help People, Not the Housing Industry
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
(Executive Memorandum #401)
All parties should recognize the extent to which existing HUD policy and the three-decade legacy of failed reforms have been driven by the business and bureaucratic interests that benefit directly from HUD's $28 billion annual budget.
2009 Commentary
April 21, 2009
'Donor states' must team up
By Rep. Jeff Flake and Ronald D. Utt
Arizona sure could use an extra $127 million a year to fix its roads and bridges. Well, guess what? It could get that much - without increasing taxes, without cutting other government programs and without borrowing.
February 05, 2009
Empty 'Stimulus'
By Ronald D. Utt
The economy's worsening by the day and in need of a quick boost. Yet the $800-plus billion "economic-stimulus" bill now being rushed through Congress is anything but.
Democrats tend to believe that you can help jumpstart an economy by investing in transportation projects. Yet only 7 percent of the plan's spending component is aimed at our highways and byways.
February 05, 2009
Remodel the housing plan: Don't ask responsible taxpayers to subsidize those who weren't
By Ronald D. Utt
Suppose you had $275 billion sitting on your table, and the instruction manual for this vast sum required you to devote it toward the relief of any one of the beleaguered sectors of our collapsing financial system. Is there any possibility at all that you would spend it largely on people who are current in their mortgage payments?
2008 Commentary
October 31, 2008
The Best Red Tape Your Tax Money Can Buy
By Ronald D. Utt
As the financial turmoil has worsened, many politicians have resorted to mutual recrimination in a “blame your opponent” exercise over who was responsible for the debacle. As the process drags on, the recrimination of choice has become whether you ever were, or ever have been, in favor of deregulation, and Republicans seem to be getting much of the blame.
May 01, 2008
Enterprise, not laws, will solve foreclosure mess
By Ronald Utt
The collapse of the subprime mortgage market in late 2006 set in motion a chain reaction of economic and financial adversity that has spread to global financial markets, created depressionlike conditions in the housing market and pushed the U.S. economy to the brink of recession.
2007 Commentary
August 29, 2007
What we don't yet know about the Minnesota bridge collapse
By Alan Pisarski and Ronald Utt
Washington lawmakers wasted no time turning the collapse of the I-34 bridge in Minnesota into an opportunity to flog pet policy prescriptions.
June 19, 2007
Palin can become a bridge builder
By Ronald Utt
The aftershocks of the national debate over Alaska's two costly proposed bridges -- the Gravina and Knik Arm "bridges to nowhere" -- stretched far beyond the state. The cavalier attitude toward taxpayer money shown by the Alaska congressional delegation proved to Washington politicians that there is a taste barrier beyond which the public will revolt, and that a small number of determined activists could effect change in a nation of 300 million.
February 01, 2007
Do you want to fix the roads? Then fix VDOT
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
As you read this, your elected officials are meeting in Richmond and probably still debating the future course of the state's transportation policy. But haven't they done this already, twice? They have, with little to show for the effort. This session marks the third time in twelve months they've come together in a fiscal fandango over how much to spend on roads and buses.
January 04, 2007
Gov. Kaine, step in now and help the working man buy a home
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Given the virulence of the anti-growth sentiment sweeping the state, it was only a matter of time before one of Virginia's counties adopted a building moratorium. In November 2006, Prince William County was the first to take this step, and Loudoun may soon follow.
2006 Commentary
November 20, 2006
Lame duck vs. pork
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues won't formally assume control of the House of Representatives until January. But the speaker-in-waiting need not wait until then to set a tone and standard to define her leadership.
July 12, 2006
By all means, Mr. President, use your virtual line-item veto now
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Over the past few years, Congress has abused the federal budget process to reward influential constituencies (and congressmen themselves) with pork-barrel earmarks. While Congress has shown no inclination to control this appetite, the White House has been alarmed by the wasted money and has been looking for remedies.
May 19, 2006
Sky-High negotiations
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
You have to hand it to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association: Few groups have fought harder get an exorbitant pay increase on the taxpayers' dime.
It began in September 2005, when the existing contract between the Federal Aviation Administration and the controllers expired and discussions over its replacement got underway.
April 20, 2006
Eliminating earmarks
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
It's next to impossible to fix a problem until you can explain what it is. That may be why lawmakers are having such a difficult time dealing with budgetary "earmarks."
April 08, 2006
If you want to play with trains, pick a cheaper way than Amtrak
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
My first reaction to Colin Peppard's plea for Amtrak ["The A Train: Amtrak Survives on Life Support," Viewpoints, March 26] was to wonder why an East Coast author writing in an East Coast newspaper about a rail system whose service disproportionately serves the East Coast begins his article quoting an anonymous official living in the Midwest?
2005 Commentary
December 09, 2005
Congress, States Slow to Confront Kelo
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court sent shock waves through the ranks of the nation's homeowners and small businesses when it ruled 5 to 4 that government could seize property and transfer it to another private owner if the change in ownership might enhance the community through "economic development." The case pitted the City of New London, Conn., against Susette Kelo, who fought the city for seven years to keep her home from being seized to make room for a major commercial development.
September 28, 2005
Give up your bike path, bridge for hurricane relief
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Everyone can see what hurricanes Katrina and Rita did to the physical landscape of the states that border the Gulf Coast. Less apparent, but just as jolting, is what they've done to the political landscape in Washington.
June 23, 2005
Flawed Fannie Mae reforms put taxpayers and markets in jeopardy
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
In late 2004, federal regulators charged Fannie Mae with a series of questionable accounting practices that had caused an overstatement of earnings and an understatement of risk.
March 18, 2005
Getting more for less
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Liberals and conservatives don't have much in common when it comes to government spending.
March 04, 2005
VRE Needs Change, but it Doesn't Need Any More Taxpayer Dollars
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
The many who don't commute shouldn't subsidize the few who do on the VRE.
2004 Commentary
December 01, 2004
Tenderizing highway pork
By Rep. Jeff Flake and Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Deliberations on the new highway bill show that "government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods", as H.L. Mencken said.
July 22, 2004
Economics balks at the benefits of a Virginia major-league team
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and his name is Anthony Williams; he's mayor of the District of Columbia.
June 14, 2004
Too many funds take detour
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Anyone who has been bounced around on a pot-holed interstate or stuck in worsening congestion can't help but suspect our roads could use some more spending on repair and new capacity.
2003 Commentary
February 04, 2003
How To Run A Railroad (Or At Least Amtrak)
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Many wasteful government programs contribute to the growing federal deficit, but the king of them all is Amtrak.
January 31, 2003
Off the Rails
By Ronald D. Utt
Off the Rails
January 31, 2003
Off the Rails - 2003 offers one-time opportunity to overhaul Amtrak
By Ronald D. Utt
With the federal budget-deficit flirting with $200 billion this year and next, President Bush will have a real fight on his hands to carve out space for the new domestic and international initiatives he proposed in his State of the Union message.
2002 Commentary
July 30, 2002
Taxpayers Prop Up Sports Profits
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Art Modell, owner of the NFL Baltimore Ravens, observed during one of his struggles to get local taxpayers to build him a stadium that "The pride and presence of a professional football team is far more important than 30 libraries, and I say that with all due respect to the learning process."
June 17, 2002
A Matter of National Security?
By Ronald Utt, Brian Riedl
A Matter of National Security?
May 02, 2002
Pork-Barrel Spending: Congress Goes Hog Wild
By Ronald Utt
Pork-Barrel Spending: Congress Goes Hog Wild
2001 Commentary
October 24, 2001
Government Spending Can't Buy Prosperity
By Ronald Utt
Government Spending Can't Buy Prosperity
October 03, 2001
Taking Advantage of Tragedy
By Ronald Utt
Taking Advantage of Tragedy
July 22, 2001
Our Roads Suffer Because Federal Program Ships State Funds North
By Ronald Utt
Our Roads Suffer Because Federal Program Ships State Funds North
1999 Commentary
October 19, 1999
Airport Privatization...The Windfall Denied US Cities
By Ronald D. Utt
Cities across the United States could pocket hundreds of millions of dollars for local projects by selling or leasing their airports to private companies. So why don't they?
August 12, 1999
A Well-Earned Refund
By Ronald D. Utt
Give President Clinton credit: He's convinced a lot of people that the $792 billion tax-relief bill Congress just passed would substitute a "gigantic risky tax scheme" for sensible debt reduction. In reality, it's a modest tax refund that otherwise would be squandered on congressional pork.
1995 Commentary
June 29, 1995
Privatizing The General Services Administration
By Dr. Ronald D. Utt
Politicians have been "reforming" Washington's General Services Administration (GSA) for more than 15 years, yet waste and inefficiency still plague the government's central housekeeping agency.
November 20, 2009
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