Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Where have Silicon Valley’s Republicans gone?
Calling venture capitalist Tim Draper an ardent Republican is something of an understatement. In 1999, he was enough of a fan of then-candidate George W. Bush that he chaired three fundraisers over a year before the actual election. Salon once dubbed him “George W.’s point man in Silicon Valley.” The ...
Declan McCullagh
October 30, 2008
Business & Economics
Paulson’s Plan Making Things Worse
U.S. financial markets continue to implode, yet government officials assure the American people that the problem is under control. More economists, however, are starting to realize that the government’s constantly evolving rescue plan is contributing to the instability. When the House of Representatives failed to pass the original request for ...
Robert P. Murphy
October 30, 2008
Business & Economics
To dig out of the hole, N.Y. must expand economic freedom
The economic misery caused by the nation’s financial meltdown has hit New York especially hard. Since September 2007, the city’s financial sector has lost 13,400 jobs, according to the state Labor Department. An additional 65,000 financial jobs will be gone in New York and its suburbs by mid-2010, says BusinessWeek. ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
October 29, 2008
Business & Economics
It’s a Lock: Governor’s veto traps California in obsolete medical research
SACRAMENTO – Last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September 25 “Stem Cell Awareness Day.” That news got by many Californians, who remain unaware of how California is locked into paying for obsolete research, certain to consume billions of dollars but unlikely to come up with any of the cures Californians ...
K. Lloyd Billingsley
October 29, 2008
Business & Economics
Scapegoating corporations is bad economics
Sen. Barack Obama has consistently exhibited a pronounced hostility to corporations. Such rhetoric, while politically useful, raises questions about his understanding of economics and his ability to lead on serious economic issues. Obama railed against Senator McCain’s plan to reduce corporate income tax rates. The Illinois senator deployed all the ...
Jason Clemens
October 29, 2008
Business & Economics
Product-Liability Law: Is “Pre-emption” the Right Question?
The media are (justifiably) interested in the Bush administration’s (or, if you prefer, the “Bush regime’s”) rushing a bunch of new rules into the Code of Federal Regulations that would “pre-empt” states’ product-liability laws. According to the Wall Street Journal, these rules “could block product-safety lawsuits by consumers and states.” ...
John R. Graham
October 27, 2008
Business & Economics
Freedom more important than climate
Most of us who live here love California — the climate, the views, the beaches, the mountains, the opportunities, the people. One of the main reasons California Democrats (and, to a lesser extent, California Republicans) have been so aggressive in pushing bad policies is they believe that we won’t leave ...
Steven Greenhut
October 27, 2008
Business & Economics
Medical Lawsuits Put Health At Risk
On Nov. 3, a day before the election, the U.S. Supreme Court hears Wyeth v. Levine, a case with profound implications for the health of all Americans. In 2000, plaintiff Diane Levine was given Wyeth’s anti-nausea drug Phenergan, then on the market for 45 years. In rare instances, as the ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
October 24, 2008
Business & Economics
Californians Voting with Their Feet
The state government’s stifling economic policies are worsening the downturn and driving citizens elsewhere. With the implosion of its storied investment banks and the future of Wall Street in doubt, New York will suffer the effects of the financial crisis more acutely than many states. But the crisis reaches epicenters ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
October 23, 2008
Business & Economics
Mayors join I-LAW in fight against lawsuit abuse
Marion Mayor Robert Butler and West Frankfort Mayor Marion Presley joined other mayors from throughout Southern Illinois in recognizing the work of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch(I-LAW). Travis Akin, Executive Director of I-LAW, cited a recent report from the Harris Company that ranked Illinois 46th out of all 50 states for ...
Diane Wilkins
October 20, 2008
Where have Silicon Valley’s Republicans gone?
Calling venture capitalist Tim Draper an ardent Republican is something of an understatement. In 1999, he was enough of a fan of then-candidate George W. Bush that he chaired three fundraisers over a year before the actual election. Salon once dubbed him “George W.’s point man in Silicon Valley.” The ...
Paulson’s Plan Making Things Worse
U.S. financial markets continue to implode, yet government officials assure the American people that the problem is under control. More economists, however, are starting to realize that the government’s constantly evolving rescue plan is contributing to the instability. When the House of Representatives failed to pass the original request for ...
To dig out of the hole, N.Y. must expand economic freedom
The economic misery caused by the nation’s financial meltdown has hit New York especially hard. Since September 2007, the city’s financial sector has lost 13,400 jobs, according to the state Labor Department. An additional 65,000 financial jobs will be gone in New York and its suburbs by mid-2010, says BusinessWeek. ...
It’s a Lock: Governor’s veto traps California in obsolete medical research
SACRAMENTO – Last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September 25 “Stem Cell Awareness Day.” That news got by many Californians, who remain unaware of how California is locked into paying for obsolete research, certain to consume billions of dollars but unlikely to come up with any of the cures Californians ...
Scapegoating corporations is bad economics
Sen. Barack Obama has consistently exhibited a pronounced hostility to corporations. Such rhetoric, while politically useful, raises questions about his understanding of economics and his ability to lead on serious economic issues. Obama railed against Senator McCain’s plan to reduce corporate income tax rates. The Illinois senator deployed all the ...
Product-Liability Law: Is “Pre-emption” the Right Question?
The media are (justifiably) interested in the Bush administration’s (or, if you prefer, the “Bush regime’s”) rushing a bunch of new rules into the Code of Federal Regulations that would “pre-empt” states’ product-liability laws. According to the Wall Street Journal, these rules “could block product-safety lawsuits by consumers and states.” ...
Freedom more important than climate
Most of us who live here love California — the climate, the views, the beaches, the mountains, the opportunities, the people. One of the main reasons California Democrats (and, to a lesser extent, California Republicans) have been so aggressive in pushing bad policies is they believe that we won’t leave ...
Medical Lawsuits Put Health At Risk
On Nov. 3, a day before the election, the U.S. Supreme Court hears Wyeth v. Levine, a case with profound implications for the health of all Americans. In 2000, plaintiff Diane Levine was given Wyeth’s anti-nausea drug Phenergan, then on the market for 45 years. In rare instances, as the ...
Californians Voting with Their Feet
The state government’s stifling economic policies are worsening the downturn and driving citizens elsewhere. With the implosion of its storied investment banks and the future of Wall Street in doubt, New York will suffer the effects of the financial crisis more acutely than many states. But the crisis reaches epicenters ...
Mayors join I-LAW in fight against lawsuit abuse
Marion Mayor Robert Butler and West Frankfort Mayor Marion Presley joined other mayors from throughout Southern Illinois in recognizing the work of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch(I-LAW). Travis Akin, Executive Director of I-LAW, cited a recent report from the Harris Company that ranked Illinois 46th out of all 50 states for ...