Commentary
Business & Economics
Californians Voting with Their Feet
The state government’s stifling economic policies are worsening the downturn and driving citizens elsewhere. With the implosion of its storied investment banks and the future of Wall Street in doubt, New York will suffer the effects of the financial crisis more acutely than many states. But the crisis reaches epicenters ...
Commentary
What California Can Learn From New Jersey’s K-12 Scholarship Plan
California’s finances are a “mess,” as the Wall Street Journal recently observed, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is grappling with an array of cost-saving options, including K-12 education. In these conditions, perhaps the Golden State could learn a few things from the Garden State. New Jersey is one of the few ...
Commentary
How Copenhagen is becoming like Houston
Just came across this article on urban development in Copenhagen, Denmark, and how many parallels there are to what we face in Houston, where a decentralized city makes transit increasingly impractical. Excerpts: In all the 37 years I have been traveling to and living in Copenhagen, it has always struck ...
California
California Health Reform: The Myths Abide
The (usually more reliable) Riverside Press-Enterprise reported the proceedings of a conference, held over the last two days, which issued a dreary post-mortem on the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez California Health Care Deforminator ABX1-1. ABX1-1 was Governor Schwarzenegger’s and former Assembly Speaker Nuñez’s attempt to ram so-called “universal” health care down our throats ...
California
Californians Beware: “Healthy” San Francisco’s Tax Hikes May Be Coming Your Way
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger invested a lost year in health reform, allying himself with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez in support of a bill to increase taxes and spending on government-mandated health care by more than $12 billion annually. Fortunately for Californians, the bill stalled in the Senate, and the state’s ...
Commentary
Even Blue Cross/Blue Shield Likes Consumer-Driven Health Care
The latest presentation from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) continues the steady drumbeat of positive data about the take-up of consumer-driven health plans (CDHP), which has reached (fingers crossed) its tipping point. It’s an outstanding presentation, prepared by Maureen Sullivan, senior VP at BCBSA (with whom I’m not ...
Commentary
Sec. Leavitt to Greedy Governors: Medicaid Is Not A Bottomless Well
One of the “benefits” of the way we finance Medicare (and Social Security), at least, is that the law requires offically appointed actuaries to report annually on the fiscal status of the program, via the Medicare Trustees Report. Each year, the horror of Medicare’s unfunded liability grows starker and closer. ...
Business & Economics
Mayors join I-LAW in fight against lawsuit abuse
Marion Mayor Robert Butler and West Frankfort Mayor Marion Presley joined other mayors from throughout Southern Illinois in recognizing the work of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch(I-LAW). Travis Akin, Executive Director of I-LAW, cited a recent report from the Harris Company that ranked Illinois 46th out of all 50 states for ...
Commentary
Choice and Good Schools—Swedish Style
Say “Sweden” and most Americans think Volvo and IKEA. There is more to the Scandinavian country, however, than just sturdy cars and innovative furniture. Sweden is the world leader when it comes to parental choice in education. Up until 1991 local governments operated almost all Swedish schools. That changed with ...
Commentary
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
Californians Voting with Their Feet
The state government’s stifling economic policies are worsening the downturn and driving citizens elsewhere. With the implosion of its storied investment banks and the future of Wall Street in doubt, New York will suffer the effects of the financial crisis more acutely than many states. But the crisis reaches epicenters ...
What California Can Learn From New Jersey’s K-12 Scholarship Plan
California’s finances are a “mess,” as the Wall Street Journal recently observed, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is grappling with an array of cost-saving options, including K-12 education. In these conditions, perhaps the Golden State could learn a few things from the Garden State. New Jersey is one of the few ...
How Copenhagen is becoming like Houston
Just came across this article on urban development in Copenhagen, Denmark, and how many parallels there are to what we face in Houston, where a decentralized city makes transit increasingly impractical. Excerpts: In all the 37 years I have been traveling to and living in Copenhagen, it has always struck ...
California Health Reform: The Myths Abide
The (usually more reliable) Riverside Press-Enterprise reported the proceedings of a conference, held over the last two days, which issued a dreary post-mortem on the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez California Health Care Deforminator ABX1-1. ABX1-1 was Governor Schwarzenegger’s and former Assembly Speaker Nuñez’s attempt to ram so-called “universal” health care down our throats ...
Californians Beware: “Healthy” San Francisco’s Tax Hikes May Be Coming Your Way
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger invested a lost year in health reform, allying himself with former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez in support of a bill to increase taxes and spending on government-mandated health care by more than $12 billion annually. Fortunately for Californians, the bill stalled in the Senate, and the state’s ...
Even Blue Cross/Blue Shield Likes Consumer-Driven Health Care
The latest presentation from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) continues the steady drumbeat of positive data about the take-up of consumer-driven health plans (CDHP), which has reached (fingers crossed) its tipping point. It’s an outstanding presentation, prepared by Maureen Sullivan, senior VP at BCBSA (with whom I’m not ...
Sec. Leavitt to Greedy Governors: Medicaid Is Not A Bottomless Well
One of the “benefits” of the way we finance Medicare (and Social Security), at least, is that the law requires offically appointed actuaries to report annually on the fiscal status of the program, via the Medicare Trustees Report. Each year, the horror of Medicare’s unfunded liability grows starker and closer. ...
Mayors join I-LAW in fight against lawsuit abuse
Marion Mayor Robert Butler and West Frankfort Mayor Marion Presley joined other mayors from throughout Southern Illinois in recognizing the work of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch(I-LAW). Travis Akin, Executive Director of I-LAW, cited a recent report from the Harris Company that ranked Illinois 46th out of all 50 states for ...
Choice and Good Schools—Swedish Style
Say “Sweden” and most Americans think Volvo and IKEA. There is more to the Scandinavian country, however, than just sturdy cars and innovative furniture. Sweden is the world leader when it comes to parental choice in education. Up until 1991 local governments operated almost all Swedish schools. That changed with ...
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
