California
Business & Economics
Conservatives Should Oppose Corporate Welfare
Although they are just playing the hand that Alan Greenspan dealt them, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been working overtime to discredit the capitalist economy. The $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, as well as other measures such as a ban on short-selling financial stocks, ...
Commentary
Will Illinois’ Hospital Uninsured Discount Act Protect Patients?
By a unanimous vote, Illinois legislators have passed the Hospital Uninsured Discount Act, which requires that hospitals charge uninsured patients their lowest rates. The Illinois Hospital Association (which supported it) has a good summary of the bill. Specifically, for patients in urban areas with household incomes up to 600% of ...
Business & Economics
San Diego Union Tribune Radio Interview with Robert Murphy
Op-Ed Talk is hosted by Bernie Jones, editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion pages. Each Thursday at 11:30 a.m., Bernie interview a contributor to the pages, focusing on topics of current interest. Robert Murphy, senior fellow in business and economic studies at PRI, discussed the Wall Street bailout and ...
Commentary
A Healthcare Fix for the Green Mountain State
As Vermont grapples with a projected $32-million budget shortfall, Gov. James Douglas and state lawmakers have been forced to consider cuts in several government health programs. Such cuts are critical, given that Vermont spends more per capita on health care than almost any other state. But yet another round of ...
Business & Economics
My View: State budget mess: We can learn from Canada
California’s new budget deal is a short-term fix that leaves the Golden State without a long-term solution to its financial woes. More often than not, lessons from our neighbors to the north concern what not to do. However, in the case of budgets, there is much to gain by replicating ...
California
Despite Budget Resolution, Medi-Cal Crisis Endures
Three months late, governor Schwarzenegger has finally signed a budget. Unfortunately, the governor and legislators missed the chance to wrangle Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, under control. The budget agreement held the line pretty well on this gargantuan program for the short term appropriating 14.5 billion for 2008-2009 versus $14.2 ...
Business & Economics
North Carolina: Growing Less Free Every Year!
I recently wrote about North Carolina’s disappointing economic trends since 2001. Rising poverty, unemployment consistently above the national average, job and income growth lagging national and regional averages were among the findings. Now, we can add to that list: less economic freedom. The Pacific Research Institute recently released their U.S. ...
Business & Economics
Index points finger at Kentucky’s economic failure
Nearly 80 percent of American states have more economic freedom than Kentucky – a fact that could prove to hamper the commonwealth’s prospects for economic growth. The “U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report” by the Pacific Research Institute and Forbes magazine reports that only 10 states have less economic freedom ...
Commentary
On Obama: Why the Democratic Candidate Is Wrong to Blindly Throw Money Into Schools
In this installment of Education Watch, Bruce Fuller and Lance T. Izumi discuss Barack Obama’s latest school proposals. Go to Mr. Fuller’s post. Lance T. Izumi, a senior fellow in California studies and the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is the co-author ...
Business & Economics
Future of Fannie and Freddie remains unclear
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently could create the opening many have long hoped for – to alter, diminish or eliminate the roles of the government-sponsored mortgage giants. Some industry observers worry that a world in which the companies have less influence will mean more expensive ...
Conservatives Should Oppose Corporate Welfare
Although they are just playing the hand that Alan Greenspan dealt them, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been working overtime to discredit the capitalist economy. The $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, as well as other measures such as a ban on short-selling financial stocks, ...
Will Illinois’ Hospital Uninsured Discount Act Protect Patients?
By a unanimous vote, Illinois legislators have passed the Hospital Uninsured Discount Act, which requires that hospitals charge uninsured patients their lowest rates. The Illinois Hospital Association (which supported it) has a good summary of the bill. Specifically, for patients in urban areas with household incomes up to 600% of ...
San Diego Union Tribune Radio Interview with Robert Murphy
Op-Ed Talk is hosted by Bernie Jones, editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion pages. Each Thursday at 11:30 a.m., Bernie interview a contributor to the pages, focusing on topics of current interest. Robert Murphy, senior fellow in business and economic studies at PRI, discussed the Wall Street bailout and ...
A Healthcare Fix for the Green Mountain State
As Vermont grapples with a projected $32-million budget shortfall, Gov. James Douglas and state lawmakers have been forced to consider cuts in several government health programs. Such cuts are critical, given that Vermont spends more per capita on health care than almost any other state. But yet another round of ...
My View: State budget mess: We can learn from Canada
California’s new budget deal is a short-term fix that leaves the Golden State without a long-term solution to its financial woes. More often than not, lessons from our neighbors to the north concern what not to do. However, in the case of budgets, there is much to gain by replicating ...
Despite Budget Resolution, Medi-Cal Crisis Endures
Three months late, governor Schwarzenegger has finally signed a budget. Unfortunately, the governor and legislators missed the chance to wrangle Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, under control. The budget agreement held the line pretty well on this gargantuan program for the short term appropriating 14.5 billion for 2008-2009 versus $14.2 ...
North Carolina: Growing Less Free Every Year!
I recently wrote about North Carolina’s disappointing economic trends since 2001. Rising poverty, unemployment consistently above the national average, job and income growth lagging national and regional averages were among the findings. Now, we can add to that list: less economic freedom. The Pacific Research Institute recently released their U.S. ...
Index points finger at Kentucky’s economic failure
Nearly 80 percent of American states have more economic freedom than Kentucky – a fact that could prove to hamper the commonwealth’s prospects for economic growth. The “U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report” by the Pacific Research Institute and Forbes magazine reports that only 10 states have less economic freedom ...
On Obama: Why the Democratic Candidate Is Wrong to Blindly Throw Money Into Schools
In this installment of Education Watch, Bruce Fuller and Lance T. Izumi discuss Barack Obama’s latest school proposals. Go to Mr. Fuller’s post. Lance T. Izumi, a senior fellow in California studies and the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is the co-author ...
Future of Fannie and Freddie remains unclear
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently could create the opening many have long hoped for – to alter, diminish or eliminate the roles of the government-sponsored mortgage giants. Some industry observers worry that a world in which the companies have less influence will mean more expensive ...
