Commentary
Commentary
The Longest Match
Not all readers of the Contrarian are aware that I have been known to play a game of tennis. I have defeated many of my peers and even, like Billy Jean King, defeated men, some of whom did not take the loss well. Unlike Billy Jean and her celebrity feminist ...
Business & Economics
A Lesson both Modern and Ancient for the Tax Commission
Now that the legislative session is over and Speaker Karen Bass is contemplating her commission on taxation, I want to recommend a piece in the September 25th Sacramento Bee by Jason Clemens of the Pacific Research Institute. Clemens, a Canadian, tells the tale of how Canada’s left leaning political party ...
California
Federal Appeals Court OKs San Francisco’s Tax-Mad Healthy Access Plan
I have written a lot about San Francisco’s Healthy Access Plan. SF HAP taxes small businesses, which cannot afford to provide health benefits, to fund the city’s public health bureaucracy. It’s a job-killer, gives no evidence of improving access to health care, and shakes down hospitals, too. The Golden Gate ...
Business & Economics
Glenn Beck: Problem solved! Not
GLENN: We fixed the banking problem. STU: Friday banking crisis solved, right? GLENN: Yes. STU: So California, today California problem. Tomorrow, California bailout. GLENN: Solved. STU: Wednesday, California solved. Why don’t we just pass bailouts for everything, then everything would be solved. GLENN: I love this idea. May I tell ...
Business & Economics
Let Entrepreneurs Fix the Problem Government Made
As the financial crisis intensifies, we hear ever more claims that emergency times justify government measures unthinkable a mere 14 months ago. Even some libertarians, who would cry foul if a third world dictator nationalized an industry, are calling for the government to take equity positions in major financial institutions. ...
Blackouts
Network Theory Can Explain US Credit Crunch
The financial crisis currently consuming the U.S. has led tech industry leaders, such as Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Steve Ballmer, to speak out in favor of quick Congressional action. Tech stocks, as well as general stocks, have plummeted, and there is confusion over why this crisis is happening and spreading so ...
Commentary
A Job to Downsize
SACRAMENTO – David Long, California’s Secretary of Education, resigned on August 10, the fourth such Secretary to resign in the past five years. California should take this opportunity to eliminate this position, which Mr. Long’s brief 18-month tenure confirms to be redundant. “I’d be less than honest if I didn’t ...
Commentary
Patients need control to fix state’s health care system
To help fix Rhode Island’s budget mess, Gov. Don Carcieri has proposed an overhaul of the state Medicaid program. Such a move is certainly welcome. But Carcieri’s Medicaid overhaul won’t be able to cut costs unless policymakers relax their regulatory stranglehold on private insurance and address the state’s miserable medical ...
Business & Economics
Study: region’s business regs are worst
San Francisco, Calif. — 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 ...
Commentary
California’s air-quality enforcers miss an opportunity
If someone tells you that you can get something for nothing, you might ask that person if that’s a subprime mortgage security he or she is selling — or whether they work for the California Air Resources Board. The board’s new “economic” study by two University of California at Berkeley ...
The Longest Match
Not all readers of the Contrarian are aware that I have been known to play a game of tennis. I have defeated many of my peers and even, like Billy Jean King, defeated men, some of whom did not take the loss well. Unlike Billy Jean and her celebrity feminist ...
A Lesson both Modern and Ancient for the Tax Commission
Now that the legislative session is over and Speaker Karen Bass is contemplating her commission on taxation, I want to recommend a piece in the September 25th Sacramento Bee by Jason Clemens of the Pacific Research Institute. Clemens, a Canadian, tells the tale of how Canada’s left leaning political party ...
Federal Appeals Court OKs San Francisco’s Tax-Mad Healthy Access Plan
I have written a lot about San Francisco’s Healthy Access Plan. SF HAP taxes small businesses, which cannot afford to provide health benefits, to fund the city’s public health bureaucracy. It’s a job-killer, gives no evidence of improving access to health care, and shakes down hospitals, too. The Golden Gate ...
Glenn Beck: Problem solved! Not
GLENN: We fixed the banking problem. STU: Friday banking crisis solved, right? GLENN: Yes. STU: So California, today California problem. Tomorrow, California bailout. GLENN: Solved. STU: Wednesday, California solved. Why don’t we just pass bailouts for everything, then everything would be solved. GLENN: I love this idea. May I tell ...
Let Entrepreneurs Fix the Problem Government Made
As the financial crisis intensifies, we hear ever more claims that emergency times justify government measures unthinkable a mere 14 months ago. Even some libertarians, who would cry foul if a third world dictator nationalized an industry, are calling for the government to take equity positions in major financial institutions. ...
Network Theory Can Explain US Credit Crunch
The financial crisis currently consuming the U.S. has led tech industry leaders, such as Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Steve Ballmer, to speak out in favor of quick Congressional action. Tech stocks, as well as general stocks, have plummeted, and there is confusion over why this crisis is happening and spreading so ...
A Job to Downsize
SACRAMENTO – David Long, California’s Secretary of Education, resigned on August 10, the fourth such Secretary to resign in the past five years. California should take this opportunity to eliminate this position, which Mr. Long’s brief 18-month tenure confirms to be redundant. “I’d be less than honest if I didn’t ...
Patients need control to fix state’s health care system
To help fix Rhode Island’s budget mess, Gov. Don Carcieri has proposed an overhaul of the state Medicaid program. Such a move is certainly welcome. But Carcieri’s Medicaid overhaul won’t be able to cut costs unless policymakers relax their regulatory stranglehold on private insurance and address the state’s miserable medical ...
Study: region’s business regs are worst
San Francisco, Calif. — 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 ...
California’s air-quality enforcers miss an opportunity
If someone tells you that you can get something for nothing, you might ask that person if that’s a subprime mortgage security he or she is selling — or whether they work for the California Air Resources Board. The board’s new “economic” study by two University of California at Berkeley ...
