Business & Economics
Business & Economics
In Uncle Sam, You’ve Got a Friend… Who Wants Everybody’s DNA
In the latest WikiLeaks data dump, around a quarter-million confidential American diplomatic cables were published online. “Cablegate,” as it is being called, has revealed some rather startling information. Among the tech-relevant secrets, the State Department tasked agents to collect DNA and other biometric information on foreigners of interest. Specifically, U.S. ...
Business & Economics
Radical rethink for state workers’ pay
Never-ending deficits and unemployment at 12-percent-plus are just two illustrations of a seriously sick California economy. Many sensible solutions have been discarded out of hand because of the power of public-sector unions. The challenge for state leaders is to make these unions part of the solution instead of the problem. ...
Business & Economics
California ignores the truth
Anyone who has dealt with a loved one deeply involved in some destructive behavior understands that there is only so much you can do until the person hits whatever low point is necessary to spark a commitment to turn around their life. I think of my beloved California in the ...
Business & Economics
NH is among many states that could boost manufacturing with lawsuit reform
THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in manufacturing is 10 percent, above the overall national level. If state lawmakers are serious about putting nearly 1.6 million people back to work in manufacturing, they should enact desperately needed lawsuit reforms. The newly released U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2010 Report ranks each of the 50 ...
Business & Economics
Tort reform boosts growth
Politicians have spent billions on so-called stimulus and bailouts, yet today’s unemployment rate is about two times greater than in January 2008. If state legislators want an effective solution — one that will actually create jobs — they should enact tort reforms, an area where many states need help. In ...
Business & Economics
Groping our way toward tyranny
The Transportation Security Administration obviously knows with 100 percent certainty that John Tyner, the 31-year-old Oceanside man who refused to submit to one of those embarrassing body scans or be searched by TSA groin-checkers during his recent attempt to fly from San Diego to South Dakota, poses no security threat ...
Business & Economics
The size (of our government) really does matter
To balance the state budget, more than $20 billion in the red, California legislators are fighting over spending cuts. Legislators also disagree whether California government is too big. Fortunately, there is a way to quantify the size of government, and all Californians will find it illuminating. Most discussions about the ...
Business & Economics
Arthur Laffer in San Francisco
On Thursday night last week, supply-side luminary Arthur Laffer spoke to the Pacific Research Institute’s annual dinner in San Francisco. Laffer is among the most consequential economists of the last half century. Though lampooned and denounced on the left, his Laffer Curve has had a greater impact on American and ...
Business & Economics
California Agency Invests $500 Million in The Green Sector
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) just invested $500 million in market-traded green energy firms, which brings the agency’s investments in clean energy stocks and funds since 2006 to $2.5 billion. A purchasing behemoth, CalPERS manages the retirement accounts of 1.6 million public employees and their families and is ...
Business & Economics
Economies of Scale Don’t Apply to Government
SACRAMENTO – As government costs soar, and revenue remains low because of the poor economy, some politicians and academics are trotting out an old idea that promises to increase efficiency and save money. It’s called municipal consolidation. In their view, combining multiple cities or agencies into a smaller number of ...
In Uncle Sam, You’ve Got a Friend… Who Wants Everybody’s DNA
In the latest WikiLeaks data dump, around a quarter-million confidential American diplomatic cables were published online. “Cablegate,” as it is being called, has revealed some rather startling information. Among the tech-relevant secrets, the State Department tasked agents to collect DNA and other biometric information on foreigners of interest. Specifically, U.S. ...
Radical rethink for state workers’ pay
Never-ending deficits and unemployment at 12-percent-plus are just two illustrations of a seriously sick California economy. Many sensible solutions have been discarded out of hand because of the power of public-sector unions. The challenge for state leaders is to make these unions part of the solution instead of the problem. ...
California ignores the truth
Anyone who has dealt with a loved one deeply involved in some destructive behavior understands that there is only so much you can do until the person hits whatever low point is necessary to spark a commitment to turn around their life. I think of my beloved California in the ...
NH is among many states that could boost manufacturing with lawsuit reform
THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in manufacturing is 10 percent, above the overall national level. If state lawmakers are serious about putting nearly 1.6 million people back to work in manufacturing, they should enact desperately needed lawsuit reforms. The newly released U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2010 Report ranks each of the 50 ...
Tort reform boosts growth
Politicians have spent billions on so-called stimulus and bailouts, yet today’s unemployment rate is about two times greater than in January 2008. If state legislators want an effective solution — one that will actually create jobs — they should enact tort reforms, an area where many states need help. In ...
Groping our way toward tyranny
The Transportation Security Administration obviously knows with 100 percent certainty that John Tyner, the 31-year-old Oceanside man who refused to submit to one of those embarrassing body scans or be searched by TSA groin-checkers during his recent attempt to fly from San Diego to South Dakota, poses no security threat ...
The size (of our government) really does matter
To balance the state budget, more than $20 billion in the red, California legislators are fighting over spending cuts. Legislators also disagree whether California government is too big. Fortunately, there is a way to quantify the size of government, and all Californians will find it illuminating. Most discussions about the ...
Arthur Laffer in San Francisco
On Thursday night last week, supply-side luminary Arthur Laffer spoke to the Pacific Research Institute’s annual dinner in San Francisco. Laffer is among the most consequential economists of the last half century. Though lampooned and denounced on the left, his Laffer Curve has had a greater impact on American and ...
California Agency Invests $500 Million in The Green Sector
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) just invested $500 million in market-traded green energy firms, which brings the agency’s investments in clean energy stocks and funds since 2006 to $2.5 billion. A purchasing behemoth, CalPERS manages the retirement accounts of 1.6 million public employees and their families and is ...
Economies of Scale Don’t Apply to Government
SACRAMENTO – As government costs soar, and revenue remains low because of the poor economy, some politicians and academics are trotting out an old idea that promises to increase efficiency and save money. It’s called municipal consolidation. In their view, combining multiple cities or agencies into a smaller number of ...
