Commentary
Business & Economics
The Empire State’s ugly war on energy
New Yorkers are paying far too much for the essentials of modern life. For evidence, look no further than the gas pump: State taxes add about 50 cents to each gallon of gas and diesel, the second-highest gas tax in the country. And New Yorks electricity prices are the fourth-highest ...
Business & Economics
Countering the Democratic Midterm Push
With an unpopular president in office and many congressional seats up for grabs, the Democratic high command is fundraising with a vengeance, hoping to swamp the 2014 midterms with dollars and attack ads to retain control of the Senate. So what should Republicans do? Here are some suggestions. Remember ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s Device Tax Grows More Devious
Business is not going well at the Internal Revenue Service. The agency projected that it would collect $1.2 billion between April and September of last year from Obamacares medical device tax, which went into effect at the beginning of 2013. But the tax take was just three-quarters of that. Implementing ...
Commentary
Subsidizing Obamacare’s Failure
Whats the best way to determine the meaning of a law? Reading it would be a good start. Thats what a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court for the D.C. Circuit just concluded in a 2-1 decision in the case of Halbig v. Burwell. President Barack Obamas 2010 health ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s Death of a Thousand Rate Hikes
Get ready to pay more for health insurance next year, compliments of Obamacare. A new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that average premiums for policies sold through Obamacares exchanges will increase 7.5 percent in 2015. In nearly one-third of the 29 states that PwC investigated, premiums will rise by double digits. ...
Commentary
In Federal Drug Program, Hospitals and Pharmacies Use the Poor to Get Rich
Telling the truth about wasteful healthcare spending is dangerous. Too many people are invested in the status quo to admit that a program isnt working, or worse, being exploited. Recently, defenders of the deeply problematic 340B drug discount program came out swinging. On July 29, Doctors Robert Chapman and Andres ...
Commentary
No, Really — Employer Health Insurance Is Better Than Government Care
Who knew the cost disparities between employer and government health insurance could be so exciting? Last week, Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinhardt took issue with my July 28 column Employer Health Insurance: A Bargain Compared to Government-Sponsored Coverage. In my piece, I unpacked the numbers from a new American ...
Commentary
A Silver Lining in the Legal Threats to Obamacare?
The battle over Obamacare has shifted to the courts. This time, the president is on the defensive. Last month, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 in Halbig v. Burwell that the federal government lacks the authority to provide subsidies to offset ...
Business & Economics
50 State Index Of Energy Regulation
The 50 State Index of Energy Regulation measures the regulatory climate for energy consumption, production, and distribution and which states are more economically efficient. Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, and Texas tied for the best (#1), while California (#49) and New York (#50) are at the bottom. The Energy Index was ...
Commentary
Peoria County Schools: Not As Good As Parents Think
Are the Illinois public schools that serve many middle-class children performing well? Their parents may think so. But many of these schools are not as good as they think. Thats according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, which analyzed school performance in Illinois, including Peoria County, using ...
The Empire State’s ugly war on energy
New Yorkers are paying far too much for the essentials of modern life. For evidence, look no further than the gas pump: State taxes add about 50 cents to each gallon of gas and diesel, the second-highest gas tax in the country. And New Yorks electricity prices are the fourth-highest ...
Countering the Democratic Midterm Push
With an unpopular president in office and many congressional seats up for grabs, the Democratic high command is fundraising with a vengeance, hoping to swamp the 2014 midterms with dollars and attack ads to retain control of the Senate. So what should Republicans do? Here are some suggestions. Remember ...
Obamacare’s Device Tax Grows More Devious
Business is not going well at the Internal Revenue Service. The agency projected that it would collect $1.2 billion between April and September of last year from Obamacares medical device tax, which went into effect at the beginning of 2013. But the tax take was just three-quarters of that. Implementing ...
Subsidizing Obamacare’s Failure
Whats the best way to determine the meaning of a law? Reading it would be a good start. Thats what a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court for the D.C. Circuit just concluded in a 2-1 decision in the case of Halbig v. Burwell. President Barack Obamas 2010 health ...
Obamacare’s Death of a Thousand Rate Hikes
Get ready to pay more for health insurance next year, compliments of Obamacare. A new analysis from PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that average premiums for policies sold through Obamacares exchanges will increase 7.5 percent in 2015. In nearly one-third of the 29 states that PwC investigated, premiums will rise by double digits. ...
In Federal Drug Program, Hospitals and Pharmacies Use the Poor to Get Rich
Telling the truth about wasteful healthcare spending is dangerous. Too many people are invested in the status quo to admit that a program isnt working, or worse, being exploited. Recently, defenders of the deeply problematic 340B drug discount program came out swinging. On July 29, Doctors Robert Chapman and Andres ...
No, Really — Employer Health Insurance Is Better Than Government Care
Who knew the cost disparities between employer and government health insurance could be so exciting? Last week, Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinhardt took issue with my July 28 column Employer Health Insurance: A Bargain Compared to Government-Sponsored Coverage. In my piece, I unpacked the numbers from a new American ...
A Silver Lining in the Legal Threats to Obamacare?
The battle over Obamacare has shifted to the courts. This time, the president is on the defensive. Last month, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 in Halbig v. Burwell that the federal government lacks the authority to provide subsidies to offset ...
50 State Index Of Energy Regulation
The 50 State Index of Energy Regulation measures the regulatory climate for energy consumption, production, and distribution and which states are more economically efficient. Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, and Texas tied for the best (#1), while California (#49) and New York (#50) are at the bottom. The Energy Index was ...
Peoria County Schools: Not As Good As Parents Think
Are the Illinois public schools that serve many middle-class children performing well? Their parents may think so. But many of these schools are not as good as they think. Thats according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, which analyzed school performance in Illinois, including Peoria County, using ...
