Commentary

Commentary

Health care reform too costly for critic

John R. Graham, the director of health care studies for San Francisco’s Pacific Research Institute, has been a critic of the national health overhaul law – not surprising, considering the institute is a free-market think tank. Graham answered three questions posed by reporter Victoria Colliver. Q: What are some of ...
Commentary

Further down road to serfdom

With health care reform now the law of the land, congressional Democrats were in full celebration mode. Unfortunately, ordinary Americans don’t have much reason to rejoice. Not only will the law deprive patients and taxpayers of ever greater amounts of cash, it will also rob them of much of their ...
Business & Economics

Growth Industry for Lobbyists: You, the Taxpayer

Forget the stereotype of the lobbyists shilling for corporate welfare in the polished corridors of K Street. The biggest single market for the lobby industry is government itself, as state entities try to get (or keep) money and privileges flowing from legislatures. The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) recently studied how ...
Agriculture

Enviros trade in human misery

SACRAMENTO – One of the most unusual vote-buying scams the Obama administration may have used to pass its health care socialization plan was an alleged promise to two Democratic congressmen to increase federal water supplies to the San Joaquin Valley. It’s the nation’s most fertile farm region, but a region ...
Commentary

Reform Repeal Is Just Child’s Play

Repeal: Some say trying to repeal ObamaCare is a futile dream once people get used to its benefits, such as covering kids with pre-existing conditions. Once before, government was slapped down. It can be done. Entitlements can be addictive, and it’s certainly the purpose of this administration to make as ...
Commentary

Repeal Of Bill, All Or In Part, Is Problematic

It’s springtime, and with the enactment of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care monstrosity, repeal is in the air. And why not? Supported by substantial popular majorities now energized as never before, congressional Republicans opposed the legislation unanimously, and the polls point unambiguously to substantial gains for the GOP this November. And ...
Commentary

Washington-centric Education “Reforms” Destined for Failure

Last week the Obama administration released changes to No Child Left Behind, now known as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The New York Times observed that, “This ambitious agenda presents striking challenges of its own, both political and in terms of implementation.” Indeed, the proposed alterations have elicited divided ...
Business & Economics

Vallejo’s Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy

Two years after going broke, the California city still isn’t free of its crushing pension obligations. In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. Now, as it prepares ...
Commentary

Learning from Canada’s schools

Washington Times, February 23, 2010 In a speech on Canadian television touting the health care system of our northern neighbor, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said, “It’s not that you need to become more like Americans, we need to become more Canadian-like.” If America mimicked Canadian education policy, however, Mr. Moore ...
California

California stands to gain most from health bill

The stakes are high for Californians when it comes to the health care overhaul, mainly because the coverage problems in this vast state are so large. With a new UCLA study estimating that more than 8 million Californians, or nearly 25 percent of the population, lack health coverage, many health ...
Commentary

Health care reform too costly for critic

John R. Graham, the director of health care studies for San Francisco’s Pacific Research Institute, has been a critic of the national health overhaul law – not surprising, considering the institute is a free-market think tank. Graham answered three questions posed by reporter Victoria Colliver. Q: What are some of ...
Commentary

Further down road to serfdom

With health care reform now the law of the land, congressional Democrats were in full celebration mode. Unfortunately, ordinary Americans don’t have much reason to rejoice. Not only will the law deprive patients and taxpayers of ever greater amounts of cash, it will also rob them of much of their ...
Business & Economics

Growth Industry for Lobbyists: You, the Taxpayer

Forget the stereotype of the lobbyists shilling for corporate welfare in the polished corridors of K Street. The biggest single market for the lobby industry is government itself, as state entities try to get (or keep) money and privileges flowing from legislatures. The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) recently studied how ...
Agriculture

Enviros trade in human misery

SACRAMENTO – One of the most unusual vote-buying scams the Obama administration may have used to pass its health care socialization plan was an alleged promise to two Democratic congressmen to increase federal water supplies to the San Joaquin Valley. It’s the nation’s most fertile farm region, but a region ...
Commentary

Reform Repeal Is Just Child’s Play

Repeal: Some say trying to repeal ObamaCare is a futile dream once people get used to its benefits, such as covering kids with pre-existing conditions. Once before, government was slapped down. It can be done. Entitlements can be addictive, and it’s certainly the purpose of this administration to make as ...
Commentary

Repeal Of Bill, All Or In Part, Is Problematic

It’s springtime, and with the enactment of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care monstrosity, repeal is in the air. And why not? Supported by substantial popular majorities now energized as never before, congressional Republicans opposed the legislation unanimously, and the polls point unambiguously to substantial gains for the GOP this November. And ...
Commentary

Washington-centric Education “Reforms” Destined for Failure

Last week the Obama administration released changes to No Child Left Behind, now known as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The New York Times observed that, “This ambitious agenda presents striking challenges of its own, both political and in terms of implementation.” Indeed, the proposed alterations have elicited divided ...
Business & Economics

Vallejo’s Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy

Two years after going broke, the California city still isn’t free of its crushing pension obligations. In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. Now, as it prepares ...
Commentary

Learning from Canada’s schools

Washington Times, February 23, 2010 In a speech on Canadian television touting the health care system of our northern neighbor, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said, “It’s not that you need to become more like Americans, we need to become more Canadian-like.” If America mimicked Canadian education policy, however, Mr. Moore ...
California

California stands to gain most from health bill

The stakes are high for Californians when it comes to the health care overhaul, mainly because the coverage problems in this vast state are so large. With a new UCLA study estimating that more than 8 million Californians, or nearly 25 percent of the population, lack health coverage, many health ...
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