Pacific Research Institute
Climate Change
Index of Leading Environmental Indicators 2008
To borrow the blunt language of Generation X and the “Millennials,” Does the United States suck on the environment? This 13th edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators aims to address this question in a new and broader context. Contrary to the perception expressed in the epigraphs above, the ...
Business & Economics
Illinois the ‘Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest’
The evidence is overwhelming. There simply is no denying Illinois’ reputation as the “Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest.” Just in the past few months, several nationwide studies have been released and have confirmed Illinois’ status as a magnet for lawsuits. One report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Illinois ...
Business & Economics
Baker, Kritzer, & Vidmar on Jackpot Justice
Tom Baker (Connecticut/Penn), Herbert Kritzer (William Mitchell), and Neil Vidmar (Duke) have posted Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System: Thinking Beyond Junk Science on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2007 the Pacific Research Institute released a report, “Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System,” that is ...
Commentary
MD Examining Citizens’ Income Tax Records For Uninsured
Unfree State, July 2, 2008 Health and privacy experts call Maryland’s Big Brother plan to scour citizens’ state income tax records for uninsured children as a waste of resources and an invasion of privacy. Comptroller Peter Franchot is undertaking the expensive task starting this month as a result of a ...
Business & Economics
Texas and Tort Lawsuits
The American Justice Partnership and Pacific Research Institute’s U.S. Tort Liability Index for 2006 acknowledges the positive economic results of lawsuit reform in Texas. Texas became known as the world’s courtroom, when the state’s judicial system was inflicted with frivolous lawsuits and exorbitant jury awards, during the 1980’s. But the ...
Health Care
State Health Benefit Mandates Increase the Number of Uninsured
San Francisco, July 1, 2008 – The Pacific Research Institute today released the findings of a new report reviewing the impact of state benefit mandates on the uninsured. According to From Heart Transplants to Hairpieces: The Questionable Benefits of State Benefit Mandates for Health Insurance, benefit mandates increase health insurance ...
Commentary
Maryland Tax Records Are Scoured for SCHIP Eligible
Health officials in Maryland are working with state Comptroller Peter Franchot to identify children eligible for, but not enrolled in, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The comptroller’s office will use state income tax records to locate families whose incomes qualify their children for enrollment. The heads of eligible ...
Business & Economics
Impact – June 2008
PRI Ideas in Action – June 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions. Read PDF
Business & Economics
Housing Bill Amendment Requires Reporting of Consumer Purchases to the Federal Government
Housing Bill Amendment Requires Reporting of Consumer Purchases to the Federal Government San Francisco, June 27, 2008 – In an open letter to Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Pacific Research Institute technology policy fellow Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D., called to their attention an amendment to the housing bill that ...
Business & Economics
Network Neutrality – Michael Dresser Show
PRI’s Technology Studies Policy Fellow, Daniel Ballon, PhD., discussed the issue of net neutrality and why it is so important to avoid excessive regulation of the internet. Service providers need to be free to implement new technology and that is what net neutrality regulations would take away from them. The ...
Index of Leading Environmental Indicators 2008
To borrow the blunt language of Generation X and the “Millennials,” Does the United States suck on the environment? This 13th edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators aims to address this question in a new and broader context. Contrary to the perception expressed in the epigraphs above, the ...
Illinois the ‘Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest’
The evidence is overwhelming. There simply is no denying Illinois’ reputation as the “Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest.” Just in the past few months, several nationwide studies have been released and have confirmed Illinois’ status as a magnet for lawsuits. One report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Illinois ...
Baker, Kritzer, & Vidmar on Jackpot Justice
Tom Baker (Connecticut/Penn), Herbert Kritzer (William Mitchell), and Neil Vidmar (Duke) have posted Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System: Thinking Beyond Junk Science on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2007 the Pacific Research Institute released a report, “Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System,” that is ...
MD Examining Citizens’ Income Tax Records For Uninsured
Unfree State, July 2, 2008 Health and privacy experts call Maryland’s Big Brother plan to scour citizens’ state income tax records for uninsured children as a waste of resources and an invasion of privacy. Comptroller Peter Franchot is undertaking the expensive task starting this month as a result of a ...
Texas and Tort Lawsuits
The American Justice Partnership and Pacific Research Institute’s U.S. Tort Liability Index for 2006 acknowledges the positive economic results of lawsuit reform in Texas. Texas became known as the world’s courtroom, when the state’s judicial system was inflicted with frivolous lawsuits and exorbitant jury awards, during the 1980’s. But the ...
State Health Benefit Mandates Increase the Number of Uninsured
San Francisco, July 1, 2008 – The Pacific Research Institute today released the findings of a new report reviewing the impact of state benefit mandates on the uninsured. According to From Heart Transplants to Hairpieces: The Questionable Benefits of State Benefit Mandates for Health Insurance, benefit mandates increase health insurance ...
Maryland Tax Records Are Scoured for SCHIP Eligible
Health officials in Maryland are working with state Comptroller Peter Franchot to identify children eligible for, but not enrolled in, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The comptroller’s office will use state income tax records to locate families whose incomes qualify their children for enrollment. The heads of eligible ...
Impact – June 2008
PRI Ideas in Action – June 2008 Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. Click below to view PRI’s recent contributions. Read PDF
Housing Bill Amendment Requires Reporting of Consumer Purchases to the Federal Government
Housing Bill Amendment Requires Reporting of Consumer Purchases to the Federal Government San Francisco, June 27, 2008 – In an open letter to Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Pacific Research Institute technology policy fellow Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D., called to their attention an amendment to the housing bill that ...
Network Neutrality – Michael Dresser Show
PRI’s Technology Studies Policy Fellow, Daniel Ballon, PhD., discussed the issue of net neutrality and why it is so important to avoid excessive regulation of the internet. Service providers need to be free to implement new technology and that is what net neutrality regulations would take away from them. The ...
