Business & Economics

Business & Economics

More taxes won’t fix state debt

The Golden State continues to lead the nation in accumulating public debt, a race where being in first place isn’t the same thing as winning. “California again trumped other states with a $617 billion debt,” reported State Budget Solutions, a nonpartisan organization advocating “fundamental reforms” for state budgets. For the ...
Business & Economics

Weekly Standard: The Obamacare Bowl

Have you ever watched a football game in which a team runs the ball seemingly at will and wins in a rout? And then, in a rematch, that same team for no good reason throws the ball repeatedly, with little success? Meet Team Republican. In 2010, it ran Obama­care down ...
Business & Economics

Economist Finds Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) More Cost-Effective Than Average Independent Dentists

Laffer Study of TX Medicaid Claims Shows DSOs Treat Patients More Conservatively, Contrary to Claims by Detractors of the Dental Business Model Nashville, Tenn. — An in-depth study of state reimbursement claims data conducted by economist Arthur Laffer shows that Dental Service Organizations (DSO) in Texas are providing more cost-efficient ...
Business & Economics

FOR STATE BUDGET, NOTHING TO ‘LIKE’ ABOUT FACEBOOK IPO

Facebook’s stock price is currently hovering just above its all-time low. Shares have lost nearly half their value since they hit the market in May. The social network’s executives, employees and investors aren’t the only ones disappointed by the stock’s underperformance. The state of California was hoping for roughly $2 ...
Business & Economics

The Policy Value Gap, Part 1: A Fiscal Perspective

In the spirit of Jimmy Carter, “an economic malaise plagues the country”. Rather than being the product of a fundamental flaw in our economic system, though, the current stagnation is mainly the result of the nation’s misguided economic policies. The federal government’s response to the financial crisis of 2008 was ...
Business & Economics

Brown should go back to idea of a flat tax to help economy

Gov. Jerry Brown just signed bills finalizing California’s budget and closing the Golden State’s $16 billion budget deficit. But the governor’s budget is contingent on voters approving a proposed $8.5 billion tax hike at the ballot box this November. If they don’t, some $6 billion in spending cuts will go ...
Business & Economics

Arthur B. Laffer: Right to work, wrong to tax in California

Gov. Jerry Brown just enacted a $91.3 billion budget measure to close California’s $16 billion deficit. After pleading with legislators to approve billions of dollars in spending cuts, he’s asking voters to approve major tax increases in November. If they don’t, some $6 billion in cuts would take effect in ...
Business & Economics

Bankruptcy may be only way out for cities, states

The problem in the public sector is that government never is allowed to fail. There never is a day of reckoning no matter how poorly government provides its so-called services I recently documented how the state’s pro-union attorney general, Kamala Harris, crafted an unfair and dishonest title and summary for ...
Business & Economics

Bond Holders Seek Governmental Transparency

Once upon a time buying a municipal bond was considered a safe bet. A decent rate of return with little risk ­– just the thing for junior’s college fund and grandma’s retirement account. But that was before Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. government’s credit-worthiness, sending shock waves through the ...
Business & Economics

Obama Defends Bailouts, Handouts and Cop-Outs

State of the Union addresses provide insight into the vision of America embraced by the president, and in that regard Tuesday’s address by President Barack Obama didn’t disappoint. He envisions a country where the federal government protects and creates union jobs and where the public sector is leading the charge ...
Business & Economics

More taxes won’t fix state debt

The Golden State continues to lead the nation in accumulating public debt, a race where being in first place isn’t the same thing as winning. “California again trumped other states with a $617 billion debt,” reported State Budget Solutions, a nonpartisan organization advocating “fundamental reforms” for state budgets. For the ...
Business & Economics

Weekly Standard: The Obamacare Bowl

Have you ever watched a football game in which a team runs the ball seemingly at will and wins in a rout? And then, in a rematch, that same team for no good reason throws the ball repeatedly, with little success? Meet Team Republican. In 2010, it ran Obama­care down ...
Business & Economics

Economist Finds Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) More Cost-Effective Than Average Independent Dentists

Laffer Study of TX Medicaid Claims Shows DSOs Treat Patients More Conservatively, Contrary to Claims by Detractors of the Dental Business Model Nashville, Tenn. — An in-depth study of state reimbursement claims data conducted by economist Arthur Laffer shows that Dental Service Organizations (DSO) in Texas are providing more cost-efficient ...
Business & Economics

FOR STATE BUDGET, NOTHING TO ‘LIKE’ ABOUT FACEBOOK IPO

Facebook’s stock price is currently hovering just above its all-time low. Shares have lost nearly half their value since they hit the market in May. The social network’s executives, employees and investors aren’t the only ones disappointed by the stock’s underperformance. The state of California was hoping for roughly $2 ...
Business & Economics

The Policy Value Gap, Part 1: A Fiscal Perspective

In the spirit of Jimmy Carter, “an economic malaise plagues the country”. Rather than being the product of a fundamental flaw in our economic system, though, the current stagnation is mainly the result of the nation’s misguided economic policies. The federal government’s response to the financial crisis of 2008 was ...
Business & Economics

Brown should go back to idea of a flat tax to help economy

Gov. Jerry Brown just signed bills finalizing California’s budget and closing the Golden State’s $16 billion budget deficit. But the governor’s budget is contingent on voters approving a proposed $8.5 billion tax hike at the ballot box this November. If they don’t, some $6 billion in spending cuts will go ...
Business & Economics

Arthur B. Laffer: Right to work, wrong to tax in California

Gov. Jerry Brown just enacted a $91.3 billion budget measure to close California’s $16 billion deficit. After pleading with legislators to approve billions of dollars in spending cuts, he’s asking voters to approve major tax increases in November. If they don’t, some $6 billion in cuts would take effect in ...
Business & Economics

Bankruptcy may be only way out for cities, states

The problem in the public sector is that government never is allowed to fail. There never is a day of reckoning no matter how poorly government provides its so-called services I recently documented how the state’s pro-union attorney general, Kamala Harris, crafted an unfair and dishonest title and summary for ...
Business & Economics

Bond Holders Seek Governmental Transparency

Once upon a time buying a municipal bond was considered a safe bet. A decent rate of return with little risk ­– just the thing for junior’s college fund and grandma’s retirement account. But that was before Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. government’s credit-worthiness, sending shock waves through the ...
Business & Economics

Obama Defends Bailouts, Handouts and Cop-Outs

State of the Union addresses provide insight into the vision of America embraced by the president, and in that regard Tuesday’s address by President Barack Obama didn’t disappoint. He envisions a country where the federal government protects and creates union jobs and where the public sector is leading the charge ...
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