Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Housing bill provision eyes $10 billion in tax revenue from online sellers
InternetRetailer.com, July 11,2008 In a move to raise close to $10 billion over the next several years in tax revenue to support federal housing assistance efforts, an amendment to a housing bill in the U.S. Senate requires payment card processors to provide information on Internet sellers to the Internal Revenue ...
Pacific Research Institute
July 11, 2008
Business & Economics
Technology and the Aspiring Methuselahs
More than 200 scientists and longevity activists gathered at UCLA recently to discuss advancements in repairing humans. New technology is making it possible to imagine a world with ever greater life spans, but old world issues pervaded the discussions. The Methuselah Foundation’s Aubrey de Grey organized the event and kicked ...
Sonia Arrison
July 11, 2008
Business & Economics
Big Brother Online
The bipartisan housing bill currently being debated in the Senate contains an unrelated amendment that will burden innovative Internet companies and threaten the civil liberties of every American. Without any discussion, Senators added a provision to H.R. 3221 (The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008) requiring electronic ...
Daniel R. Ballon
July 10, 2008
Business & Economics
Smaller Government is Only Solution to Budget Crisis
The debate over California’s fiscal crisis continues, with the governor seeking constitutional limits on spending and others calling for a flat tax or mechanisms such as “paygo.” Yet in order for any of these proposals to work, California citizens need to stop looking to the state to run their lives. ...
Robert P. Murphy
July 10, 2008
Business & Economics
The North Carolina Business Court Is A “Model For the Nation”
North Carolina’s Business Court is a “model for the nation,” according to Directorship Magazine’s Annual Guide to State Litigation. In addition to complimenting the Business Court, the Annual Guide gave North Carolina’s litigation climate a green light, indicating that the “state’s liability climate encourages growth and job creation.” It gave ...
Mack Sperling
July 9, 2008
Business & Economics
Turning POTS into PANS
The California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday proposed relaxing 13-year-old price caps on basic telephone service. Yielding to the demands of public interest groups, regulators currently force telecommunications companies to offer the cheapest basic rates in the nation. Yet, if artificially low prices are necessary to protect consumer welfare, why ...
Daniel R. Ballon
July 6, 2008
Business & Economics
Letters: The Tort War, Unresolved
To the Editor: To the Trenches: The Tort War Is Raging On (June 22, 2008) Re “To the Trenches: The Tort War Is Raging On” (June 22): One area of particular concern, especially in this election year, is torts’ impact on health care. Fears of malpractice lawsuits prompt many doctors ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
July 6, 2008
Business & Economics
Politicians Tell Big Oil How to Make Billions
When it comes to vilifying big evil corporations, the accusations made about oil companies never disappoint. The latest controversy centers on whether the government should allow more drilling for oil and natural gas on federal lands. A widely cited report (pdf) from the congressional Committee of Natural Resources gives all ...
Robert P. Murphy
July 5, 2008
Business & Economics
Illinois the ‘Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest’
The evidence is overwhelming. There simply is no denying Illinois’ reputation as the “Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest.” Just in the past few months, several nationwide studies have been released and have confirmed Illinois’ status as a magnet for lawsuits. One report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Illinois ...
Pacific Research Institute
July 5, 2008
Business & Economics
Baker, Kritzer, & Vidmar on Jackpot Justice
Tom Baker (Connecticut/Penn), Herbert Kritzer (William Mitchell), and Neil Vidmar (Duke) have posted Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System: Thinking Beyond Junk Science on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2007 the Pacific Research Institute released a report, “Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System,” that is ...
Pacific Research Institute
July 4, 2008
Housing bill provision eyes $10 billion in tax revenue from online sellers
InternetRetailer.com, July 11,2008 In a move to raise close to $10 billion over the next several years in tax revenue to support federal housing assistance efforts, an amendment to a housing bill in the U.S. Senate requires payment card processors to provide information on Internet sellers to the Internal Revenue ...
Technology and the Aspiring Methuselahs
More than 200 scientists and longevity activists gathered at UCLA recently to discuss advancements in repairing humans. New technology is making it possible to imagine a world with ever greater life spans, but old world issues pervaded the discussions. The Methuselah Foundation’s Aubrey de Grey organized the event and kicked ...
Big Brother Online
The bipartisan housing bill currently being debated in the Senate contains an unrelated amendment that will burden innovative Internet companies and threaten the civil liberties of every American. Without any discussion, Senators added a provision to H.R. 3221 (The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008) requiring electronic ...
Smaller Government is Only Solution to Budget Crisis
The debate over California’s fiscal crisis continues, with the governor seeking constitutional limits on spending and others calling for a flat tax or mechanisms such as “paygo.” Yet in order for any of these proposals to work, California citizens need to stop looking to the state to run their lives. ...
The North Carolina Business Court Is A “Model For the Nation”
North Carolina’s Business Court is a “model for the nation,” according to Directorship Magazine’s Annual Guide to State Litigation. In addition to complimenting the Business Court, the Annual Guide gave North Carolina’s litigation climate a green light, indicating that the “state’s liability climate encourages growth and job creation.” It gave ...
Turning POTS into PANS
The California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday proposed relaxing 13-year-old price caps on basic telephone service. Yielding to the demands of public interest groups, regulators currently force telecommunications companies to offer the cheapest basic rates in the nation. Yet, if artificially low prices are necessary to protect consumer welfare, why ...
Letters: The Tort War, Unresolved
To the Editor: To the Trenches: The Tort War Is Raging On (June 22, 2008) Re “To the Trenches: The Tort War Is Raging On” (June 22): One area of particular concern, especially in this election year, is torts’ impact on health care. Fears of malpractice lawsuits prompt many doctors ...
Politicians Tell Big Oil How to Make Billions
When it comes to vilifying big evil corporations, the accusations made about oil companies never disappoint. The latest controversy centers on whether the government should allow more drilling for oil and natural gas on federal lands. A widely cited report (pdf) from the congressional Committee of Natural Resources gives all ...
Illinois the ‘Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest’
The evidence is overwhelming. There simply is no denying Illinois’ reputation as the “Lawsuit Capital of the Midwest.” Just in the past few months, several nationwide studies have been released and have confirmed Illinois’ status as a magnet for lawsuits. One report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Illinois ...
Baker, Kritzer, & Vidmar on Jackpot Justice
Tom Baker (Connecticut/Penn), Herbert Kritzer (William Mitchell), and Neil Vidmar (Duke) have posted Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System: Thinking Beyond Junk Science on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2007 the Pacific Research Institute released a report, “Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System,” that is ...