Wayne Winegarden
Business & Economics
Clean Power Plan Will Raise Power Costs for San Diegans, Worsen Energy Poverty
Energy poverty is a growing problem in San Diego’s working-class communities, and across California. If you spend more than 10 percent of your income on electricity, natural gas, and other household energy costs, then you are afflicted by energy poverty. It is a tragedy that forces some families to choose ...
Wayne Winegarden
November 4, 2016
Business & Economics
Addressing The Systemic Problems Of Rising Health Care Costs In America
Even with the 2016 Presidential campaign mercifully coming to an end, there is more drama to come. While there will be many epicenters, perhaps none will impact the daily lives of more citizens than the impending drama in the health care industry. While not referring to the Affordable Care Act, ...
Wayne Winegarden
November 1, 2016
Business & Economics
New Climate Disclosure Would Add No Value For Investors
With only a few months left in office, President Barack Obama’s administration seeks to step up climate change disclosure, raising implications for corporations and asset owners. National Economic Council Director Jeffrey Zients and White House senior adviser Brian Deese unveiled in August a proposal to require public companies to disclose ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 31, 2016
Business & Economics
New PRI Study Finds Clean Power Plan Will Raise Electricity Costs, Worsen Problem Of Energy Poverty
Study Shows Some Will See Power Costs Equal More Than 10 Percent of Income Interactive Map Shows Consumers How Much Local Electricity Costs Will Rise SACRAMENTO – Low-income communities nationwide could face higher electricity expenditures under the controversial Clean Power Plan – in many states, equal to greater than 10 ...
Wayne Winegarden
October 28, 2016
Business & Economics
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
Wayne Winegarden
September 26, 2016
California
Health Care Needs Effective Reforms, Not the CREATES Act
Congress is back in session. With the election looming, this means a frenetic dash to pass bills on a number of big ticket items, including the budget and Zika funding. While the legislative fight over these issues will likely dominate the headlines, we cannot forget about other below-the-radar, but nevertheless ...
Wayne Winegarden
September 12, 2016
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
August 16, 2016
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
July 22, 2016
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
June 30, 2016
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
June 22, 2016
Clean Power Plan Will Raise Power Costs for San Diegans, Worsen Energy Poverty
Energy poverty is a growing problem in San Diego’s working-class communities, and across California. If you spend more than 10 percent of your income on electricity, natural gas, and other household energy costs, then you are afflicted by energy poverty. It is a tragedy that forces some families to choose ...
Addressing The Systemic Problems Of Rising Health Care Costs In America
Even with the 2016 Presidential campaign mercifully coming to an end, there is more drama to come. While there will be many epicenters, perhaps none will impact the daily lives of more citizens than the impending drama in the health care industry. While not referring to the Affordable Care Act, ...
New Climate Disclosure Would Add No Value For Investors
With only a few months left in office, President Barack Obama’s administration seeks to step up climate change disclosure, raising implications for corporations and asset owners. National Economic Council Director Jeffrey Zients and White House senior adviser Brian Deese unveiled in August a proposal to require public companies to disclose ...
New PRI Study Finds Clean Power Plan Will Raise Electricity Costs, Worsen Problem Of Energy Poverty
Study Shows Some Will See Power Costs Equal More Than 10 Percent of Income Interactive Map Shows Consumers How Much Local Electricity Costs Will Rise SACRAMENTO – Low-income communities nationwide could face higher electricity expenditures under the controversial Clean Power Plan – in many states, equal to greater than 10 ...
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
Health Care Needs Effective Reforms, Not the CREATES Act
Congress is back in session. With the election looming, this means a frenetic dash to pass bills on a number of big ticket items, including the budget and Zika funding. While the legislative fight over these issues will likely dominate the headlines, we cannot forget about other below-the-radar, but nevertheless ...
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 ...