Commentary
Business & Economics
Don’t Let Tort Lawyers Undermine the Constitution
The U.S. Supreme Court just heard arguments in Wyeth v. Levine, a case with profound implications for the health of all Americans. The plaintiff, Diana Levine, was given Wyeth’s anti-nausea drug Phenergan, then on the market for 45 years. In rare instances, Phenergan can cause gangrene if it comes in ...
Business & Economics
Product Liability Law, FDA Pre-Emption, and Public Opinion
On December 3, the U.S. Supreme Court began to hear Wyeth v. Levine, which will determine whether the FDA’s regulations governing the labels of prescription drugs “pre-empt” state tort laws. I’ve already discussed the details of the case, wherein Wyeth (the manufacturer) claims that the Vermont state court had no ...
Business & Economics
States Seeking Better Broadband Nationwide Turn and Make a Local Focus
Broadband Census, November 11, 2008 November 11 – State telecommunications officials concerned about the universal deployment and use of high-speed internet services joined together at a San Jose conference on Thursday to compare notes, plot strategy and encourage programs and activities that will lead to better broadband nationwide. The states ...
Business & Economics
William Hume to Receive Sir Anthony Fisher Freedom Award
Atlas Network, November 11, 2008 William J. “Jerry” Hume has been selected to receive the Pacific Research Institute’s first Sir Anthony Fisher Freedom Award during it annual gala dinner in San Francisco, California, tomorrow night. Upon hearing this news, Atlas’s Alex Chafuen said, “Jerry Hume’s example and generosity will continue ...
Commentary
Health Plans Belly Up to SCHIP Trough
For those of us who believe that American families should control our health-care dollars, instead of government, employers, or other 3rd parties, the recent behavior of health-care lobbyists in DC is disturbing. A key insight of the political philosophy of “public choice” theory is that it is impossible for politicians ...
Business & Economics
Economic Freedom and Environmental Regulation
The Pacific Research Institute recently released its “U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report” and the results are pretty interesting. PRI defines economic freedom as “the right of individuals to pursue their interests through voluntary exchange of private property under rule of law.” Thus, the more easily two individuals can freely ...
Commentary
Michael Crichton’s Remainder Bin
Michael Crichton, who died at 66 on November 4, election day, may not have been an outstanding stylist but he sure sold a few books in his time, mostly in the techno-thriller genre, such as Jurassic Park. He was a writer of ideas and also a medical doctor (Harvard Medical ...
Business & Economics
Untruths against free enterprise told with impunity
When I became seriously interested in the free market I began, also, to encounter a good deal of criticism of that system, mainly because the critics mindlessly blamed the Great Depression on it. But looking at it more carefully I learned that by the time of the Great Depression there ...
Business & Economics
Court ruling could curb medical research
Wyeth properly warned doctors and patients about the risks associated with administering Phenergan (“FDA pre-emptive rule to be challenged,” Nov. 2). The FDA-approved label contained prominent warnings: “Extreme care should be exercised to avoid … inadvertent intra-arterial injection. Reports compatible with inadvertent intra-arterial injection … suggest that pain, severe chemical ...
Business & Economics
Government intervention, not market failure, explains crisis
Jason Clemens and Robert Murphy are the authors of this guest commentary. Jason Clemens is the director of research and Robert Murphy, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org). A financial crisis is gripping the nation and the global economy. This crisis, according to a growing ...
Don’t Let Tort Lawyers Undermine the Constitution
The U.S. Supreme Court just heard arguments in Wyeth v. Levine, a case with profound implications for the health of all Americans. The plaintiff, Diana Levine, was given Wyeth’s anti-nausea drug Phenergan, then on the market for 45 years. In rare instances, Phenergan can cause gangrene if it comes in ...
Product Liability Law, FDA Pre-Emption, and Public Opinion
On December 3, the U.S. Supreme Court began to hear Wyeth v. Levine, which will determine whether the FDA’s regulations governing the labels of prescription drugs “pre-empt” state tort laws. I’ve already discussed the details of the case, wherein Wyeth (the manufacturer) claims that the Vermont state court had no ...
States Seeking Better Broadband Nationwide Turn and Make a Local Focus
Broadband Census, November 11, 2008 November 11 – State telecommunications officials concerned about the universal deployment and use of high-speed internet services joined together at a San Jose conference on Thursday to compare notes, plot strategy and encourage programs and activities that will lead to better broadband nationwide. The states ...
William Hume to Receive Sir Anthony Fisher Freedom Award
Atlas Network, November 11, 2008 William J. “Jerry” Hume has been selected to receive the Pacific Research Institute’s first Sir Anthony Fisher Freedom Award during it annual gala dinner in San Francisco, California, tomorrow night. Upon hearing this news, Atlas’s Alex Chafuen said, “Jerry Hume’s example and generosity will continue ...
Health Plans Belly Up to SCHIP Trough
For those of us who believe that American families should control our health-care dollars, instead of government, employers, or other 3rd parties, the recent behavior of health-care lobbyists in DC is disturbing. A key insight of the political philosophy of “public choice” theory is that it is impossible for politicians ...
Economic Freedom and Environmental Regulation
The Pacific Research Institute recently released its “U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2008 Report” and the results are pretty interesting. PRI defines economic freedom as “the right of individuals to pursue their interests through voluntary exchange of private property under rule of law.” Thus, the more easily two individuals can freely ...
Michael Crichton’s Remainder Bin
Michael Crichton, who died at 66 on November 4, election day, may not have been an outstanding stylist but he sure sold a few books in his time, mostly in the techno-thriller genre, such as Jurassic Park. He was a writer of ideas and also a medical doctor (Harvard Medical ...
Untruths against free enterprise told with impunity
When I became seriously interested in the free market I began, also, to encounter a good deal of criticism of that system, mainly because the critics mindlessly blamed the Great Depression on it. But looking at it more carefully I learned that by the time of the Great Depression there ...
Court ruling could curb medical research
Wyeth properly warned doctors and patients about the risks associated with administering Phenergan (“FDA pre-emptive rule to be challenged,” Nov. 2). The FDA-approved label contained prominent warnings: “Extreme care should be exercised to avoid … inadvertent intra-arterial injection. Reports compatible with inadvertent intra-arterial injection … suggest that pain, severe chemical ...
Government intervention, not market failure, explains crisis
Jason Clemens and Robert Murphy are the authors of this guest commentary. Jason Clemens is the director of research and Robert Murphy, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org). A financial crisis is gripping the nation and the global economy. This crisis, according to a growing ...
