• America’s Rural-Urban Divide is Growing
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   April 28, 2013
• Rural populations are shrinking as Americans migrate to cities and suburbs. As a result, rural areas are mobilizing to grow and convince residents to stay.
• 2 Comments

• Do Tax Breaks for Senior Citizens Pay for Themselves?
• BY: Penelope Lemov   |   April 25, 2013
• Cash-strapped states are questioning the tax exemptions they offer the elderly.
• 4 Comments

• What's the Back-Up Plan for Health Insurance Exchanges?
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 25, 2013
• Nobody knows for sure, as critical deadlines approach.

• Can Vocational Education Produce the Citizens We Need?
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   April 24, 2013
• Students on the technical track need solid academics, not just job training. It's important to spend these public-education dollars wisely.

• Just How Screwed is the Highway Trust Fund?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 24, 2013
• A new report from the Congressional Budget Office warns that Congress will have to dramatically cut transportation spending or raise the gas tax.
• 4 Comments

• Leadership and the Power of Killer Bees
• BY: Otis White   |   April 24, 2013
• Attacking a problem with a single masterstroke is appealing. But sometimes the best approach is swarming it from all directions.

• Ariz. May be 2nd State to OK Gold, Silver Currency
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   April 24, 2013
• Ditching dollars for gold has become a popular notion among some conservative leaders and pundits (perhaps most notably Glenn Beck) in recent years.
• 5 Comments

• A Powerful Measure of Urban Health: Strollers
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   April 24, 2013
• Cities compete for residents and tax base. Nothing defines urban livability more than a city that's kid-friendly.
• 3 Comments

• Are States Deepening the Nation's Red-Blue Divide?
• BY: Louis Jacobson   |   April 24, 2013
• Some Democratic and Republican states are pushing more ideological policies, but not all.
• 3 Comments

• Conservatives Target Illinois for Job Poaching
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 23, 2013
• Red states are trying to convince businesses to leave Illinois as the state struggles economically and fiscally.
• 10 Comments

• Senate Could Pass Online Sales Tax Bill This Week
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 23, 2013
• The legislation, which would allow states to collect sales taxes from Internet retailers, now has the White House's backing.
• 3 Comments

• Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Waste
• BY: Bob Graves   |   April 22, 2013
• An engineering feat more than a century ago created a host of problems for communities that depend on Lake Michigan for their water. But those problems also present opportunities.
• 2 Comments

• America’s Broadband Is Not Broken
• BY: Richard Bennett   |   April 22, 2013
• The argument for a massive reorganization of America’s broadband markets depends on a set of facts that don’t exist.
• 13 Comments

• Retiree Health-Care Benefits: The Next Shoe to Drop?
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   April 22, 2013
• The rising cost of health care for retirees may force states and localities to make wholesale changes to their pension health plans.
• 6 Comments

• Is Raising the Gas Tax Truly Politically Unpalatable?
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   April 22, 2013
• It's conventional wisdom in Washington that voters won't support a gas tax hike or a vehicle miles traveled fee. A new study suggests that long-held belief is wrong.
• 8 Comments