Commentary
Business & Economics
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
Business & Economics
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
Commentary
How to Cover the Sick and Lower Premiums without Breaking the Bank
Fifty-one percent of Americans now disapprove of Obamacare — the highest share this year, according to Gallup. It’s easy to see why. Insurers are abandoning the health law’s exchanges, leaving consumers few plans to choose from. Those carriers that haven’t pulled out plan to hike rates an average of 25 ...
Commentary
Trump And Clinton’s Healthcare Debate Was No Contest
Donald Trump’s penchant for brusque remarks came in handy during the second presidential debate, eight days ago. When the discussion turned to the president’s health law, the GOP candidate’s message was clear: “Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it.” Only Hillary’s own spouse put it better, ...
California
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
California
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
Charter Schools
Donald Trump Says He Will Be “Biggest Cheerleader” for School Choice
Republican nominee Donald Trump says that, if elected president, he will make school choice the center of his education plan and will use $20 billion to establish a block grant to fund school choice for children living in low-income areas. Public schools are “our government-run monopoly” that has “trapped millions ...
Commentary
Legal challenges loom for Obamacare
Obamacare’s remarkable run of legal luck may be running out. Earlier this summer, the Obama administration said that it would appeal a federal judge’s March ruling that found some of the health care law’s payments to insurers unconstitutional. That announcement came on the heels of another loss for Obamacare in ...
Charter Schools
Black Lives Matter vs. Charter Schools
The Movement for Black Lives Matter coalition has recently issued education-policy “demands” that demonstrate that not all the lives of black children matter to the group. In the preamble of the BLM demands, the group uses language that seems drawn straight from teacher-union talking points. BLM talks about “an international ...
Commentary
The ‘Public Option’ Is Just Single-Payer on the Installment Plan
Obamacare’s government-run insurance markets are collapsing. Insurers are losing millions of dollars — and proposing double-digit premium hikes combined with high deductibles to try to stanch the bleeding. It’s no wonder that exchange enrollment is roughly half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted. So what’s the left’s answer to this ...
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
How to Cover the Sick and Lower Premiums without Breaking the Bank
Fifty-one percent of Americans now disapprove of Obamacare — the highest share this year, according to Gallup. It’s easy to see why. Insurers are abandoning the health law’s exchanges, leaving consumers few plans to choose from. Those carriers that haven’t pulled out plan to hike rates an average of 25 ...
Trump And Clinton’s Healthcare Debate Was No Contest
Donald Trump’s penchant for brusque remarks came in handy during the second presidential debate, eight days ago. When the discussion turned to the president’s health law, the GOP candidate’s message was clear: “Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it.” Only Hillary’s own spouse put it better, ...
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
Donald Trump Says He Will Be “Biggest Cheerleader” for School Choice
Republican nominee Donald Trump says that, if elected president, he will make school choice the center of his education plan and will use $20 billion to establish a block grant to fund school choice for children living in low-income areas. Public schools are “our government-run monopoly” that has “trapped millions ...
Legal challenges loom for Obamacare
Obamacare’s remarkable run of legal luck may be running out. Earlier this summer, the Obama administration said that it would appeal a federal judge’s March ruling that found some of the health care law’s payments to insurers unconstitutional. That announcement came on the heels of another loss for Obamacare in ...
Black Lives Matter vs. Charter Schools
The Movement for Black Lives Matter coalition has recently issued education-policy “demands” that demonstrate that not all the lives of black children matter to the group. In the preamble of the BLM demands, the group uses language that seems drawn straight from teacher-union talking points. BLM talks about “an international ...
The ‘Public Option’ Is Just Single-Payer on the Installment Plan
Obamacare’s government-run insurance markets are collapsing. Insurers are losing millions of dollars — and proposing double-digit premium hikes combined with high deductibles to try to stanch the bleeding. It’s no wonder that exchange enrollment is roughly half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted. So what’s the left’s answer to this ...
