Did you know that the highest paid state worker in Florida took home more than half a million dollars in salary and benefits in 2010-more than the President of the United States? FloridaOpenGov.org, launched by the Foundation for Government Accountability, is a powerful and interactive new online tool that puts nearly $1.4 trillion in state, county and local Florida government spending right at your fingertips.

The contentious handling of HB 1001 raised the ire of Democrats and had union members like Steve Folz yelling in protest as they walked out of Tuesday's Employment, Labor and Pension Committee hearing. The Republicans "have not allowed any Democratic input throughout this whole session," said Folz, a member of the Evansville local of the Laborers International Union of North America with 13 locals in Indiana, representing construction workers. "This is all just crammed this down our throats."

Lauren Boice's business connects the elderly, sick and terminally ill with licensed cosmetologists, who'll give them haircuts or manicures in their homes or assisted living centers. Though Boice doesn't practice cosmetology nor run a cosmetology business, the Arizona Board of Cosmetology is compelling her to obey a host of its regulations. Their edict: Open a physical salon even if you'll never use it - or we'll close your business for good.

RIOpenGov.org is an interactive online database of state public employee pension data for current retirees of Rhode Island. The data for more than 26,500 pensioners can be viewed in both table and graph modes, and can be sorted or searched by employee name, retirement year, benefit type, benefit structure (group), state of residence and disability type. The average Rhode Island pension payment in 2010 was $31,388 (including COLA).

Connecticut's taxpayer-funded campaigns program paid for nearly half of state campaign spending in 2010. The Citizens' Election Program accounted for $26.1 million of the $53.5 million spent by all candidates for state offices. Among key points uncovered: Incumbents were more likely to use tax dollars to run for re-election than challengers or candidates for open seats.

A five-part series, "T2AR" explores the similarities of revolutionary events a quarter millennium ago to events unfolding today. The author is convinced history will record the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program and 2009 stimulus bills, which triggered trillions of dollars of unsustainable spending and debt, as comparable to The Intolerable Acts of 1774. That the Tea Party movement derived its name from the Boston Tea Party is not coincidental.

The coverage provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") cost $788 billion in new spending over the next decade, to be paid in part by $420 billion in new taxes. This calculator shows how the new taxes will affect American household budgets. Main components include the tax on employer-provided health plans above a certain cost, new payroll taxes on high-income earners, and a new excise tax on medical devices.

Everyone loves light rail - especially if they don't rely on it for transportation or pay the full cost of what it takes to move a rider from Point A to B. To better understand what folks love about commuter rail, Reason.tv sent comedian Watt Smith for a train ride from Los Angeles International Airport to Burbank. During the 17-mile, 78-minute journey, Watt chatted with riders to find out if light rail is indeed better than driving or the bus.

The 2011 Lump of Coal Award goes to the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee for its actions to prevent wine sales in grocery stores, thereby protecting its wine monopoly. Currently, 33 states allow grocery stores to sell wine. This year, for the first time, the annual Award was chosen directly by residents in an online poll. Nashville's Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency "lost" by a single vote.

Due to their autonomy from some Hawaii Dept. of Education regulations, the expansion of virtual public charter schools is the best policy option available to improve access to online education. This expansion also presents the potential to provide long-term cost savings and reduce school overcrowding. This study makes recommendations to spread high-quality online education in Hawaii, as a supplement and alternative to traditional education.