California

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 ...
California

California hospitals’ unhealthy dependence on government

While many Americans are eager for the U.S. Supreme Court this year to decide the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, a federal judge in Los Angeles has just made a misguided decision that cuts right to the root of the government’s role in controlling people’s access to ...
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 ...
California

Local Governments Face Bankruptcy Quandary

Bankruptcy is the boogeyman haunting governments across America. It’s not a question of whether more cities will file for bankruptcy, but how many. The culprit is a decade of over-spending by governments, especially on pension guarantees, and an economic slowdown that refused to flip into a robust recovery. The money ...
Commentary

What Are The Costs And Benefits of Patents for Prescription Drugs?

On January 23, the Wall Street Journal hosted an interesting debate between Josh Bloom, Phd, of the American Council on Science and Health, and Dr. Else Torreele of the Open Society Foundation. (The link is here, and was free when I last checked. If it disappears behind a wall, the ...
Business & Economics

Stop Rewarding Irresponsiblity

During the State of the Union, President Obama called for a new era of responsibility, and declared that there will be “no bailouts,” yet he offered a supposed solution for the ongoing mortgage crisis that rewards irresponsibility by promising even more bailouts for “underwater” homeowners. The president blamed the nation’s ...
California

National School Choice Week: The Middle Class Needs Choice, too

It’s National School Choice Week and governors and legislators in a number of states have proposed increasing schooling options for low-income students attending low-performing schools. While commendable, it’s important to point out that student under-achievement isn’t limited to low-income areas, but is also widespread in middle-class and more affluent suburbs ...
California

California Schools Behind the Curve

Gov. Jerry Brown said in his State of the State address that the so-called “declinists,” those who worry about California’s place in the nation and the world, are wrong. He pointed to areas where the state is supposedly ahead of rivals, like Texas, Massachusetts and New York. However, if one ...
California

California voters have a choice: taxes or education?

An education analyst says the governor of California is allowing voters to make the tough choices in light of the state’s economic woes. Governor Jerry Brown (D) is giving voters in The Golden State the option of either raising taxes or having funding cut from the state’s education system. The ...
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 ...
California

California hospitals’ unhealthy dependence on government

While many Americans are eager for the U.S. Supreme Court this year to decide the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, a federal judge in Los Angeles has just made a misguided decision that cuts right to the root of the government’s role in controlling people’s access to ...
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 ...
California

Local Governments Face Bankruptcy Quandary

Bankruptcy is the boogeyman haunting governments across America. It’s not a question of whether more cities will file for bankruptcy, but how many. The culprit is a decade of over-spending by governments, especially on pension guarantees, and an economic slowdown that refused to flip into a robust recovery. The money ...
Commentary

What Are The Costs And Benefits of Patents for Prescription Drugs?

On January 23, the Wall Street Journal hosted an interesting debate between Josh Bloom, Phd, of the American Council on Science and Health, and Dr. Else Torreele of the Open Society Foundation. (The link is here, and was free when I last checked. If it disappears behind a wall, the ...
Business & Economics

Stop Rewarding Irresponsiblity

During the State of the Union, President Obama called for a new era of responsibility, and declared that there will be “no bailouts,” yet he offered a supposed solution for the ongoing mortgage crisis that rewards irresponsibility by promising even more bailouts for “underwater” homeowners. The president blamed the nation’s ...
California

National School Choice Week: The Middle Class Needs Choice, too

It’s National School Choice Week and governors and legislators in a number of states have proposed increasing schooling options for low-income students attending low-performing schools. While commendable, it’s important to point out that student under-achievement isn’t limited to low-income areas, but is also widespread in middle-class and more affluent suburbs ...
California

California Schools Behind the Curve

Gov. Jerry Brown said in his State of the State address that the so-called “declinists,” those who worry about California’s place in the nation and the world, are wrong. He pointed to areas where the state is supposedly ahead of rivals, like Texas, Massachusetts and New York. However, if one ...
California

California voters have a choice: taxes or education?

An education analyst says the governor of California is allowing voters to make the tough choices in light of the state’s economic woes. Governor Jerry Brown (D) is giving voters in The Golden State the option of either raising taxes or having funding cut from the state’s education system. The ...
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