State Budget
Blog
California’s “Greatest Showman” Opens His Last Budget Circus
Last week, I had the chance to see the new movie “The Greatest Showman” about P.T. Barnum and how his dreams to set up his famous circus became a reality. Hugh Jackman and the very entertaining cast deliver a crowd-pleasing and empowering performance. After watching the movie, I started thinking ...
California
Expanding SF Restaurant Surcharge Statewide is a Bad Idea
Dining at a premium San Francisco restaurant will always be expensive. But add in the cost of The City’s health care surcharge and eating out, even at modest and lesser establishments, is even more expensive. What’s more, one gubernatorial candidate wants to expand the program that requires the surcharge to ...
Commentary
Single-Payer Would Sicken, Not Cure, Massachusetts
Progressives in Massachusetts believe they’ve taken the first step toward a government-run, single-payer health care, thanks to a bill that passed the state Senate in November. The measure would, among other things, commission a study to analyze the cost of a statewide single-payer system. If the tab is less expensive ...
Commentary
Californians Like Single-Payer Health Care — Until They Learn Taxes Must Rise To Pay For It
Whether to establish a state-run, single-payer health-care system is shaping up to be one of the main differences among the candidates for governor in California in the run-up to the June primary election. The front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, says the only thing stopping single-payer in California is a lack ...
Blog
Is Prop. 54 Needed in Congress?
Over the weekend, I made the rounds of various bipartisan holiday parties filled with California politicos. The late-night vote on the Senate GOP tax plan was certainly the conversation du jour. My liberal friends decried the harried, last-minute nature of the vote, specifically hundreds of pages of bill language being ...
Blog
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
Blog
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
California
California’s Dangerous Dalliance with Single-Payer Continues
Californians better get comfortable. The wait time to see a doctor in the Golden State may be about to skyrocket. Last week, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and a select committee of representatives held two days of hearings in Sacramento on Senate Bill 562 — the Healthy California Act — ...
Blog
Gov. Brown’s Rolling Stone Interview is a Must-Read
As much as we have criticized Gov. Jerry Brown, we have to acknowledge that on occasion he will act as the senior statesman of his party, beating back its most mindless impulses. The most recent example: his judicious counsel on single-payer health care. Of course Brown has been a supporter ...
Commentary
Sanders’ Single-Payer Fairy Tale
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his plan for extending Medicare to all Americans. Sanders’ proposal would provide more generous coverage than Medicare currently does. Private insurance would be a thing of the past, as would premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Dental, vision, and hearing coverage would be included. ...
California’s “Greatest Showman” Opens His Last Budget Circus
Last week, I had the chance to see the new movie “The Greatest Showman” about P.T. Barnum and how his dreams to set up his famous circus became a reality. Hugh Jackman and the very entertaining cast deliver a crowd-pleasing and empowering performance. After watching the movie, I started thinking ...
Expanding SF Restaurant Surcharge Statewide is a Bad Idea
Dining at a premium San Francisco restaurant will always be expensive. But add in the cost of The City’s health care surcharge and eating out, even at modest and lesser establishments, is even more expensive. What’s more, one gubernatorial candidate wants to expand the program that requires the surcharge to ...
Single-Payer Would Sicken, Not Cure, Massachusetts
Progressives in Massachusetts believe they’ve taken the first step toward a government-run, single-payer health care, thanks to a bill that passed the state Senate in November. The measure would, among other things, commission a study to analyze the cost of a statewide single-payer system. If the tab is less expensive ...
Californians Like Single-Payer Health Care — Until They Learn Taxes Must Rise To Pay For It
Whether to establish a state-run, single-payer health-care system is shaping up to be one of the main differences among the candidates for governor in California in the run-up to the June primary election. The front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, says the only thing stopping single-payer in California is a lack ...
Is Prop. 54 Needed in Congress?
Over the weekend, I made the rounds of various bipartisan holiday parties filled with California politicos. The late-night vote on the Senate GOP tax plan was certainly the conversation du jour. My liberal friends decried the harried, last-minute nature of the vote, specifically hundreds of pages of bill language being ...
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
California’s Dangerous Dalliance with Single-Payer Continues
Californians better get comfortable. The wait time to see a doctor in the Golden State may be about to skyrocket. Last week, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and a select committee of representatives held two days of hearings in Sacramento on Senate Bill 562 — the Healthy California Act — ...
Gov. Brown’s Rolling Stone Interview is a Must-Read
As much as we have criticized Gov. Jerry Brown, we have to acknowledge that on occasion he will act as the senior statesman of his party, beating back its most mindless impulses. The most recent example: his judicious counsel on single-payer health care. Of course Brown has been a supporter ...
Sanders’ Single-Payer Fairy Tale
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his plan for extending Medicare to all Americans. Sanders’ proposal would provide more generous coverage than Medicare currently does. Private insurance would be a thing of the past, as would premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Dental, vision, and hearing coverage would be included. ...
