Commentary
Business & Economics
Alaska ranks near bottom of economic freedom index
FAIRBANKS — High levels of welfare spending per capita and a large number of people receiving help are keeping Alaska near the bottom of an index measuring economic freedom in each of the 50 states. The bottom isn’t a good place to be, especially as companies look for competitive, solid ...
California
California budget has not solved the Medi-Cal crisis
Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed a budget that holds spending down to $103 billion. Unfortunately, the governor and legislators missed the chance to wrangle Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, under control. Medi-Cal is a big part of the state’s deficit problem. It’s the second largest chunk of the general fund, after ...
California
The Bilingual Debate: English Immersion
In this installment of Education Watch, Bruce Fuller and Lance T. Izumi discuss the candidates’ positions on bilingual education. Go to Mr. Fuller’s post. Lance T. Izumi, a senior fellow in California studies and the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is the ...
Business & Economics
Conservatives Should Oppose Corporate Welfare
Although they are just playing the hand that Alan Greenspan dealt them, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been working overtime to discredit the capitalist economy. The $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, as well as other measures such as a ban on short-selling financial stocks, ...
Commentary
Will Illinois’ Hospital Uninsured Discount Act Protect Patients?
By a unanimous vote, Illinois legislators have passed the Hospital Uninsured Discount Act, which requires that hospitals charge uninsured patients their lowest rates. The Illinois Hospital Association (which supported it) has a good summary of the bill. Specifically, for patients in urban areas with household incomes up to 600% of ...
Business & Economics
30 Issues: Internet and Broadcast Regulation
Frank Pasquale, professor of law at Seton Hall and Daniel Ballon, Policy Fellow in Technology at the Pacific Research Institute, take a look at the question of net neutrality. Listen to the Podcast
Business & Economics
Despite critics, consumers laud state’s trial lawyers
Lake Oswego elementary school teacher Kellie La Follette never imagined she would need to hire an attorney. But, after she and several of her colleagues received radiation burns from broken metal halide bulbs during an in-service training in November 2004, they got a crash course in how the state’s legal ...
Business & Economics
San Diego Union Tribune Radio Interview with Robert Murphy
Op-Ed Talk is hosted by Bernie Jones, editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion pages. Each Thursday at 11:30 a.m., Bernie interview a contributor to the pages, focusing on topics of current interest. Robert Murphy, senior fellow in business and economic studies at PRI, discussed the Wall Street bailout and ...
Commentary
Enrollment in Consumer-Driven Plans Doubles in Two Years
The newly released annual Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (KFF/HRET) Employer Health Benefits Survey is out! I’m about to criticize KFF’s spin, so let me start by congratulating them on another outstanding achievement. The annual publication is an invaluable resource for those of us who want to understand ...
Business & Economics
Northeast deemed most economically oppressed
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in California, has released the ‘U.S. Economic Freedom Index 2008 Report,’ a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the index scored states based on 143 variables, including regulatory and fiscal obstacles imposed on businesses ...
Alaska ranks near bottom of economic freedom index
FAIRBANKS — High levels of welfare spending per capita and a large number of people receiving help are keeping Alaska near the bottom of an index measuring economic freedom in each of the 50 states. The bottom isn’t a good place to be, especially as companies look for competitive, solid ...
California budget has not solved the Medi-Cal crisis
Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed a budget that holds spending down to $103 billion. Unfortunately, the governor and legislators missed the chance to wrangle Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, under control. Medi-Cal is a big part of the state’s deficit problem. It’s the second largest chunk of the general fund, after ...
The Bilingual Debate: English Immersion
In this installment of Education Watch, Bruce Fuller and Lance T. Izumi discuss the candidates’ positions on bilingual education. Go to Mr. Fuller’s post. Lance T. Izumi, a senior fellow in California studies and the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is the ...
Conservatives Should Oppose Corporate Welfare
Although they are just playing the hand that Alan Greenspan dealt them, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been working overtime to discredit the capitalist economy. The $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, as well as other measures such as a ban on short-selling financial stocks, ...
Will Illinois’ Hospital Uninsured Discount Act Protect Patients?
By a unanimous vote, Illinois legislators have passed the Hospital Uninsured Discount Act, which requires that hospitals charge uninsured patients their lowest rates. The Illinois Hospital Association (which supported it) has a good summary of the bill. Specifically, for patients in urban areas with household incomes up to 600% of ...
30 Issues: Internet and Broadcast Regulation
Frank Pasquale, professor of law at Seton Hall and Daniel Ballon, Policy Fellow in Technology at the Pacific Research Institute, take a look at the question of net neutrality. Listen to the Podcast
Despite critics, consumers laud state’s trial lawyers
Lake Oswego elementary school teacher Kellie La Follette never imagined she would need to hire an attorney. But, after she and several of her colleagues received radiation burns from broken metal halide bulbs during an in-service training in November 2004, they got a crash course in how the state’s legal ...
San Diego Union Tribune Radio Interview with Robert Murphy
Op-Ed Talk is hosted by Bernie Jones, editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion pages. Each Thursday at 11:30 a.m., Bernie interview a contributor to the pages, focusing on topics of current interest. Robert Murphy, senior fellow in business and economic studies at PRI, discussed the Wall Street bailout and ...
Enrollment in Consumer-Driven Plans Doubles in Two Years
The newly released annual Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (KFF/HRET) Employer Health Benefits Survey is out! I’m about to criticize KFF’s spin, so let me start by congratulating them on another outstanding achievement. The annual publication is an invaluable resource for those of us who want to understand ...
Northeast deemed most economically oppressed
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in California, has released the ‘U.S. Economic Freedom Index 2008 Report,’ a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the index scored states based on 143 variables, including regulatory and fiscal obstacles imposed on businesses ...
