Commentary
Commentary
Obamacare’s Newfound Popularity Could Prove Fleeting
Recent polling indicates that “Support for Obamacare [is] at [an] all-time high,” as a recent headline put it. But there’s a catch. The healthcare law’s popularity depends on how the polls are worded. That’s not surprising — few people fully understand what Obamacare actually does. Once they learn, support plummets. ...
California
LAUSD Election, New Data Provide Momentum For Charter Schools
Los Angeles Unified recently experienced a huge earthquake – a political seismic shift – when school board candidates supportive of charter schools defeated incumbents backed by the powerful local teachers union. And in a one-two punch, new research shows that charter schools are improving the achievement of the predominantly minority ...
Commentary
Medicaid’s Cracked Halo
President Trump’s recent 2018 budget proposal, which includes roughly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, has led to howls of outrage from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that the cuts would “carry a staggering human cost.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. has ...
Business & Economics
Step One: Recognize The Public Pension Crisis
As Milton Friedman famously noted, there are four ways to spend money; the fourth being spending somebody else’s money on somebody else. And, when people spend money this way, they tend to disregard both the costs and the outcomes. Simply put, people spend such money unwisely. Not only, as Milton ...
Business & Economics
Pensions: The Case For Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
Three problems, exemplified by the crises afflicting the public pension systems in Houston and Dallas, plague state and local pension systems across the country. First, state and local governments have only contributed 88 percent of the required annual contributions into their public pension funds between 2001 and 2015. In total, ...
Commentary
Nothing To CBO Here
Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the American Health Care Act, which passed the House earlier this month. The agency projected that the bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million in 2026, relative to Obamacare. But the CBO’s projections are just that — ...
Business & Economics
Lack Of Transparency In Public Contract Negotiations Would Lead To Higher Taxpayer Costs
No state needs to reform the relationship that governments have with public-employee unions more than California. Yet lawmakers keep going in the wrong direction. Contract negotiations between government and the labor unions who represent the public employees should be transparent. Too often, both sides are working toward a common goal ...
Business & Economics
Free Speech Can Improve Health Care Outcomes
In a unanimous and bipartisan vote, Arizona’s legislature passed the Free Speech in Medicine Act, which was signed into law about two months ago. Passing anything with bipartisan support is noteworthy in today’s hyper-partisan environment. Passing a bill with such important and positive implications for patients, even if the law ...
Commentary
We Can’t Keep Accepting Failures And The VA
Rewarding failure appears to be something of a tradition at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A few weeks ago, President Trump kept up that tradition by signing the Veterans Choice Improvement Act, which extends the beleaguered Veterans Choice program. That initiative, originally due to expire in August, gives select veterans ...
Commentary
Time To Face Facts On Pre-Existing Conditions
Democrats have assailed the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House by four votes on May 4, for supposedly ripping away Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the bill’s approach to covering such conditions a “sad, deadly joke.” Rep. Frank ...
Obamacare’s Newfound Popularity Could Prove Fleeting
Recent polling indicates that “Support for Obamacare [is] at [an] all-time high,” as a recent headline put it. But there’s a catch. The healthcare law’s popularity depends on how the polls are worded. That’s not surprising — few people fully understand what Obamacare actually does. Once they learn, support plummets. ...
LAUSD Election, New Data Provide Momentum For Charter Schools
Los Angeles Unified recently experienced a huge earthquake – a political seismic shift – when school board candidates supportive of charter schools defeated incumbents backed by the powerful local teachers union. And in a one-two punch, new research shows that charter schools are improving the achievement of the predominantly minority ...
Medicaid’s Cracked Halo
President Trump’s recent 2018 budget proposal, which includes roughly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade, has led to howls of outrage from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that the cuts would “carry a staggering human cost.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. has ...
Step One: Recognize The Public Pension Crisis
As Milton Friedman famously noted, there are four ways to spend money; the fourth being spending somebody else’s money on somebody else. And, when people spend money this way, they tend to disregard both the costs and the outcomes. Simply put, people spend such money unwisely. Not only, as Milton ...
Pensions: The Case For Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
Three problems, exemplified by the crises afflicting the public pension systems in Houston and Dallas, plague state and local pension systems across the country. First, state and local governments have only contributed 88 percent of the required annual contributions into their public pension funds between 2001 and 2015. In total, ...
Nothing To CBO Here
Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the American Health Care Act, which passed the House earlier this month. The agency projected that the bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million in 2026, relative to Obamacare. But the CBO’s projections are just that — ...
Lack Of Transparency In Public Contract Negotiations Would Lead To Higher Taxpayer Costs
No state needs to reform the relationship that governments have with public-employee unions more than California. Yet lawmakers keep going in the wrong direction. Contract negotiations between government and the labor unions who represent the public employees should be transparent. Too often, both sides are working toward a common goal ...
Free Speech Can Improve Health Care Outcomes
In a unanimous and bipartisan vote, Arizona’s legislature passed the Free Speech in Medicine Act, which was signed into law about two months ago. Passing anything with bipartisan support is noteworthy in today’s hyper-partisan environment. Passing a bill with such important and positive implications for patients, even if the law ...
We Can’t Keep Accepting Failures And The VA
Rewarding failure appears to be something of a tradition at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A few weeks ago, President Trump kept up that tradition by signing the Veterans Choice Improvement Act, which extends the beleaguered Veterans Choice program. That initiative, originally due to expire in August, gives select veterans ...
Time To Face Facts On Pre-Existing Conditions
Democrats have assailed the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House by four votes on May 4, for supposedly ripping away Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the bill’s approach to covering such conditions a “sad, deadly joke.” Rep. Frank ...
