Commentary
Business & Economics
The Candidates’ Record on Legal Reform
ShopFloor.org (NAM), September 17, 2008 The Examiner newspaper editorializes today on the tort reform records of the presidential and vice presidential candidates, asking a question of great interest to the business community: “Will either party’s presidential ticket keep a lid on the lawyers’ greed?” The editorial uses NAM’s “Key Vote” ...
Agriculture
Brokeback Mountain: Are Health Costs Killing Ranchers, Farmers?
One of America’s health care zombies that refuses to die is the notion (created by the Commonwealth Fund) that millions of people who have health insurance are “underinsured”, largely due to policies with high co-payments and high deductibles. This results in “medical bankruptcy”, another exaggeration. The Commonwealth Fund’s conclusions have ...
Business & Economics
TIPS Have Underforecasted Inflation
Back in 2003, the Treasury began selling 5-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. (Longer maturities were available starting in 1997.) What happens is that the government pays a fixed coupon rate, but the principal is adjusted based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Thus, TIPS yields are ...
Commentary
Massachusetts’ Underwhelming Health “Reform”
Massachusetts’ health care leaders continue to believe that they can solve problems by just ordering them to go away. The first step in this was the April 2006 Commonwealth Connector reform signed by Governor Romney, which simply commanded people to buy health insurance, and fined them if they did not. ...
Commentary
Questions on healthcare reform
Healthcare reform will be front-and-center in the presidential debates. It’s a topic that’s full of complicated issues, so it can be hard to cut through all the rhetoric and figure out exactly what each candidate is proposing. So here’s the skinny on five questions that you’ll likely hear many times ...
Business & Economics
The Canadianization of America
Here comes ‘no-vote’ unionism In Canada, worrying about being Americanized is a national pastime, particularly in political and media circles. It seldom occurred to me the United States could become Canadianized until I moved here, in an election year, no less, and found Americans obsessed with many Canadian ideas at ...
Commentary
Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Promises Positive Reform
Last month, I made encouraging remarks to the Heartland Institute’s outstanding monthly Health Care News about Rhode Island governor Carcieri’s evolving proposal to reform Medicaid. Well, the proposal is fully formed, and the state has just submitted its application for a waiver to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Commentary
Since tonight’s debate won’t talk education…
Since tonight’s debate won’t talk education… …I will. It’s a safe bet that education won’t be a big part of tonight’s presidential debate, so if you need to ponder what an McCain or Obama administration should or could do, two NY Times blog entries from earlier this week have some ...
Commentary
McCain, Obama Spar on Education
The campaigns of Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama engaged in a sharp and testy exchange on education last week, making the topic the center of debate for the first time since the long race for the presidency began. Neither candidate changed course on the policies he is promising ...
Business & Economics
Future of Fannie and Freddie remains unclear
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently could create the opening many have long hoped for – to alter, diminish or eliminate the roles of the government-sponsored mortgage giants. Some industry observers worry that a world in which the companies have less influence will mean more expensive ...
The Candidates’ Record on Legal Reform
ShopFloor.org (NAM), September 17, 2008 The Examiner newspaper editorializes today on the tort reform records of the presidential and vice presidential candidates, asking a question of great interest to the business community: “Will either party’s presidential ticket keep a lid on the lawyers’ greed?” The editorial uses NAM’s “Key Vote” ...
Brokeback Mountain: Are Health Costs Killing Ranchers, Farmers?
One of America’s health care zombies that refuses to die is the notion (created by the Commonwealth Fund) that millions of people who have health insurance are “underinsured”, largely due to policies with high co-payments and high deductibles. This results in “medical bankruptcy”, another exaggeration. The Commonwealth Fund’s conclusions have ...
TIPS Have Underforecasted Inflation
Back in 2003, the Treasury began selling 5-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. (Longer maturities were available starting in 1997.) What happens is that the government pays a fixed coupon rate, but the principal is adjusted based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Thus, TIPS yields are ...
Massachusetts’ Underwhelming Health “Reform”
Massachusetts’ health care leaders continue to believe that they can solve problems by just ordering them to go away. The first step in this was the April 2006 Commonwealth Connector reform signed by Governor Romney, which simply commanded people to buy health insurance, and fined them if they did not. ...
Questions on healthcare reform
Healthcare reform will be front-and-center in the presidential debates. It’s a topic that’s full of complicated issues, so it can be hard to cut through all the rhetoric and figure out exactly what each candidate is proposing. So here’s the skinny on five questions that you’ll likely hear many times ...
The Canadianization of America
Here comes ‘no-vote’ unionism In Canada, worrying about being Americanized is a national pastime, particularly in political and media circles. It seldom occurred to me the United States could become Canadianized until I moved here, in an election year, no less, and found Americans obsessed with many Canadian ideas at ...
Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver Promises Positive Reform
Last month, I made encouraging remarks to the Heartland Institute’s outstanding monthly Health Care News about Rhode Island governor Carcieri’s evolving proposal to reform Medicaid. Well, the proposal is fully formed, and the state has just submitted its application for a waiver to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...
Since tonight’s debate won’t talk education…
Since tonight’s debate won’t talk education… …I will. It’s a safe bet that education won’t be a big part of tonight’s presidential debate, so if you need to ponder what an McCain or Obama administration should or could do, two NY Times blog entries from earlier this week have some ...
McCain, Obama Spar on Education
The campaigns of Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama engaged in a sharp and testy exchange on education last week, making the topic the center of debate for the first time since the long race for the presidency began. Neither candidate changed course on the policies he is promising ...
Future of Fannie and Freddie remains unclear
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently could create the opening many have long hoped for – to alter, diminish or eliminate the roles of the government-sponsored mortgage giants. Some industry observers worry that a world in which the companies have less influence will mean more expensive ...
