Wayne Winegarden
Blackouts
Stop squandering California’s energy resources
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. just announced plans to prematurely shutter California’s sole nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. The news came hours after energy officials issued the year’s first “flex alert” — a warning that certain areas should conserve energy to avoid a blackout. That’s right — at a time ...
Blackouts
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Following Dangerous Energy Path
Read the full brief On a sweltering June day, the California Independent System Operator (CalISO), the group that oversees the state’s electricity grid, issued the first “flex alert” of the year. That same week, a major California utility announced it had reached an agreement with the environmental community to close ...
Business & Economics
Proposed Regulatory Expansion Threatens The Education Market
The federal government has taken over the student loan market and currently guarantees (or directly holds) about 90 percent of the 40 million student loans valued in excess of $1.2 trillion. The millions of people at risk of defaulting on this huge student loan portfolio is a large and growing ...
Commentary
Empowering Frivolous Healthcare Litigation Does Not Help Patients
Of all the problems troubling the U.S. healthcare system, too little litigation is not one of them. And yet, the “Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act of 2016” (CREATES Act), which is currently being rushed through Congress, takes just such an approach. If implemented, the CREATES Act ...
Commentary
Putting Cost Ahead of Medical Outcomes
Unlike most markets, prices do not convey value in health care. In light of this problem, the Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review has been attempting to calculate the value of new medical technologies in order to assign a reasonable price to the latest innovations. The Blue Shield of ...
Business & Economics
Regulating the Upstream Energy Industry: Getting the Balance Right
Read Full Study New Study: State Regulations Have Outsized Impact on Energy Industry’s Health SAN FRANCISCO (May 31) — Natural resources don’t respect state boundaries. Consequently, states’ energy regulations are among the prime determinants of whether a state benefits from its resource wealth — or lets those benefits accrue to ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Minimizing the Economic Costs from California’s Drought
California continues to endure the state’s most severe drought since at least 1895. And, the economic costs have been high. Estimates for 2015 alone show a cost of 21,000 jobs and $2.7 billion in economic losses. Read full editorial
Business & Economics
Tackling the Public Pensions Problem
State and local public pension systems are in deep financial trouble. The latest comprehensive assessment by Joshua Rauh of the Hoover Institution, which captured 97 percent of public pension assets, found that the unfunded liabilities of public pensions are in the trillions of dollars. The public pensions problem is a ...
Commentary
Getting The Energy Regulatory Balance Right
Sensible environmental regulations play an indispensable role ensuring that public lands are sustainably managed. But, as Earth Day’s 47th anniversary is celebrated, it is important to recognize that sensible regulations should also encourage the responsible development of new and existing energy sources. Without cheap and affordable energy, not only would ...
Uncategorized
CAPITAL IDEAS: Pension reforms in peril if leaders don’t defend them
Unfunded public pensions threaten the fiscal solvency of states and localities across the country. And California is not immune. Back in 2012, San Diego voters recognized the threat and overwhelmingly supported Proposition B, a set of pension reforms that is helping San Diego stabilize its long-term budget outlook. Thanks to ...
Stop squandering California’s energy resources
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. just announced plans to prematurely shutter California’s sole nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. The news came hours after energy officials issued the year’s first “flex alert” — a warning that certain areas should conserve energy to avoid a blackout. That’s right — at a time ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Following Dangerous Energy Path
Read the full brief On a sweltering June day, the California Independent System Operator (CalISO), the group that oversees the state’s electricity grid, issued the first “flex alert” of the year. That same week, a major California utility announced it had reached an agreement with the environmental community to close ...
Proposed Regulatory Expansion Threatens The Education Market
The federal government has taken over the student loan market and currently guarantees (or directly holds) about 90 percent of the 40 million student loans valued in excess of $1.2 trillion. The millions of people at risk of defaulting on this huge student loan portfolio is a large and growing ...
Empowering Frivolous Healthcare Litigation Does Not Help Patients
Of all the problems troubling the U.S. healthcare system, too little litigation is not one of them. And yet, the “Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act of 2016” (CREATES Act), which is currently being rushed through Congress, takes just such an approach. If implemented, the CREATES Act ...
Putting Cost Ahead of Medical Outcomes
Unlike most markets, prices do not convey value in health care. In light of this problem, the Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review has been attempting to calculate the value of new medical technologies in order to assign a reasonable price to the latest innovations. The Blue Shield of ...
Regulating the Upstream Energy Industry: Getting the Balance Right
Read Full Study New Study: State Regulations Have Outsized Impact on Energy Industry’s Health SAN FRANCISCO (May 31) — Natural resources don’t respect state boundaries. Consequently, states’ energy regulations are among the prime determinants of whether a state benefits from its resource wealth — or lets those benefits accrue to ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Minimizing the Economic Costs from California’s Drought
California continues to endure the state’s most severe drought since at least 1895. And, the economic costs have been high. Estimates for 2015 alone show a cost of 21,000 jobs and $2.7 billion in economic losses. Read full editorial
Tackling the Public Pensions Problem
State and local public pension systems are in deep financial trouble. The latest comprehensive assessment by Joshua Rauh of the Hoover Institution, which captured 97 percent of public pension assets, found that the unfunded liabilities of public pensions are in the trillions of dollars. The public pensions problem is a ...
Getting The Energy Regulatory Balance Right
Sensible environmental regulations play an indispensable role ensuring that public lands are sustainably managed. But, as Earth Day’s 47th anniversary is celebrated, it is important to recognize that sensible regulations should also encourage the responsible development of new and existing energy sources. Without cheap and affordable energy, not only would ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Pension reforms in peril if leaders don’t defend them
Unfunded public pensions threaten the fiscal solvency of states and localities across the country. And California is not immune. Back in 2012, San Diego voters recognized the threat and overwhelmingly supported Proposition B, a set of pension reforms that is helping San Diego stabilize its long-term budget outlook. Thanks to ...
