Lawrence J. McQuillan
Business & Economics
Mixed-bag of recommendations
Which state policies would California’s small-business owners like to change? To find out, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently convened a two-day conference in Los Angeles. The first-ever “Governor’s Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship” included small-business owners, community-college administrators, state employment and development officials, trade-group representatives, and policy researchers, including me. ...
Business & Economics
Economic Freedom Is The Best Cure For Recession
As Americans buckle down for what could be a severe recession, many state governments are scrambling to find ways to keep their economies afloat. Unfortunately, when it comes to economic freedom—a major component of a state’s business climate—New Jersey is falling far behind. According to the U.S. Economic Freedom Index, ...
Business & Economics
Governor’s tort reform will yield jobs
I commend Gov. Sonny Perdue for his efforts to enact meaningful tort reform in Georgia (“Perdue says tort reform needed,” Jan. 14). During this time of economic crisis, no state can afford to endure the unnecessary costs of an inefficient tort system. Excess litigation cost America’s economy $589 billion in ...
Business & Economics
The Sizzle of Economic Freedom: How Economic Freedom Helps You and Why You Should Demand More
The Sizzle of Economic Freedom: How Economic Freedom Helps You and Why You Should Demand More, highlights the best scholarly studies measuring the benefits of economic freedom. In producing the study, the authors chose the most recent and academically rigorous peer-reviewed studies in top academic journals. “The price of limiting ...
Business & Economics
The perils of chasing smoke stacks – and bank assets
The financial bailout is built on the premise that politicians will correctly pick which firms to aid. This approach, unfortunately, has a long track record of failure. Consider the practice of state and local officials picking winners and losers with incentive packages designed to lure businesses to their communities. A ...
Business & Economics
’08 election lesson: Live free or die off
In the 2008 election, key swing states included Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, all growing rapidly and on track for even more political clout after the 2010 census. A big reason for the demographic growth in all three states has been their expansion of economic freedom. Colorado , Nevada, and Virginia ...
Business & Economics
Tort reform can help states’ fiscal crises
The Wall Street meltdown, with the Dow hovering near its lowest level in years, has obscured a troubling reality. Economic growth in the northeast region has been stunted for a long time, for a simple reason. Four states in particular — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — ...
Business & Economics
Inadequate labeling or human error?
Re: Nov. 28 commentary “Court takes up pre-emption doctrine.” It’s hard to see how “inadequate labeling,” not human error, resulted in the amputation of Diana Levine’s arm, as Thomas O. McGarity claims. The FDA-approved label on the anti-nausea drug Phenergan contained prominent warnings: “extreme care should be exercised to avoid ...
Business & Economics
Tort reform can stop defensive medicine
David W. Oliker was absolutely right to identify tort reform as key to combating skyrocketing health care costs (Nov. 30 essay, “Quality, affordability, accessibility are all key”). Defensive medicine adds significantly to America’s health care bill. To protect themselves against costly and often frivolous medical-malpractice lawsuits, doctors and hospitals order ...
Business & Economics
The South can boost prosperity
The South may abound in sunshine, but when it comes to economic freedom, the region is mixed, according to the 2008 U.S. Economic Freedom Index from the Pacific Research Institute. The Index measures how friendly or unfriendly each state’s government policies are toward free enterprise and consumer choice. Only Virginia, ...
Mixed-bag of recommendations
Which state policies would California’s small-business owners like to change? To find out, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently convened a two-day conference in Los Angeles. The first-ever “Governor’s Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship” included small-business owners, community-college administrators, state employment and development officials, trade-group representatives, and policy researchers, including me. ...
Economic Freedom Is The Best Cure For Recession
As Americans buckle down for what could be a severe recession, many state governments are scrambling to find ways to keep their economies afloat. Unfortunately, when it comes to economic freedom—a major component of a state’s business climate—New Jersey is falling far behind. According to the U.S. Economic Freedom Index, ...
Governor’s tort reform will yield jobs
I commend Gov. Sonny Perdue for his efforts to enact meaningful tort reform in Georgia (“Perdue says tort reform needed,” Jan. 14). During this time of economic crisis, no state can afford to endure the unnecessary costs of an inefficient tort system. Excess litigation cost America’s economy $589 billion in ...
The Sizzle of Economic Freedom: How Economic Freedom Helps You and Why You Should Demand More
The Sizzle of Economic Freedom: How Economic Freedom Helps You and Why You Should Demand More, highlights the best scholarly studies measuring the benefits of economic freedom. In producing the study, the authors chose the most recent and academically rigorous peer-reviewed studies in top academic journals. “The price of limiting ...
The perils of chasing smoke stacks – and bank assets
The financial bailout is built on the premise that politicians will correctly pick which firms to aid. This approach, unfortunately, has a long track record of failure. Consider the practice of state and local officials picking winners and losers with incentive packages designed to lure businesses to their communities. A ...
’08 election lesson: Live free or die off
In the 2008 election, key swing states included Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, all growing rapidly and on track for even more political clout after the 2010 census. A big reason for the demographic growth in all three states has been their expansion of economic freedom. Colorado , Nevada, and Virginia ...
Tort reform can help states’ fiscal crises
The Wall Street meltdown, with the Dow hovering near its lowest level in years, has obscured a troubling reality. Economic growth in the northeast region has been stunted for a long time, for a simple reason. Four states in particular — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — ...
Inadequate labeling or human error?
Re: Nov. 28 commentary “Court takes up pre-emption doctrine.” It’s hard to see how “inadequate labeling,” not human error, resulted in the amputation of Diana Levine’s arm, as Thomas O. McGarity claims. The FDA-approved label on the anti-nausea drug Phenergan contained prominent warnings: “extreme care should be exercised to avoid ...
Tort reform can stop defensive medicine
David W. Oliker was absolutely right to identify tort reform as key to combating skyrocketing health care costs (Nov. 30 essay, “Quality, affordability, accessibility are all key”). Defensive medicine adds significantly to America’s health care bill. To protect themselves against costly and often frivolous medical-malpractice lawsuits, doctors and hospitals order ...
The South can boost prosperity
The South may abound in sunshine, but when it comes to economic freedom, the region is mixed, according to the 2008 U.S. Economic Freedom Index from the Pacific Research Institute. The Index measures how friendly or unfriendly each state’s government policies are toward free enterprise and consumer choice. Only Virginia, ...
