Commentary
Business & Economics
Crist’s court appointments can end ‘lawsuit lottery’
As the media fixate on Sen. John McCain’s short list of potential running mates, the eye of America is focused on Gov. Charlie Crist. But as Crist’s attention is increasingly lured toward the presidential campaign, he must not fail to recognize his responsibility to the people of Florida. Florida is ...
Commentary
The Real Cost of Mandated Infertility Treatment is Increasing
One of the most expensive benefits mandated by some states is infertility treatment. I was pleased to be interviewed by Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal for her article on the issue. Ms. Shellenbarger quotes me as noting that 13 states mandate treatment for in vitro fertilization. Not reported ...
Commentary
Massachusetts Businesses Joining Health Care Coalition to Deal With Costs of Connector
Olympia Business Watch, August 13, 2008 Washington lawmakers need to take a real close look at what is happening in Massachusetts on health care. With the cost over runs for the “Connector”, Massachusetts businesses are joining a national coalition to slow premium growth and ease the financial burden on employers. ...
Business & Economics
Neo-Prohibitionism, Alcohol Taxes, and Central Planning in California
The last time I had a critical look at the neo-prohibitionists, it was via a pamphlet opposing a tobacco tax hike in California. Now, the Marin Institute has completed a “landmark” study suggesting that we need to hike alcohol taxes in the Golden State. And landmark it certainly is: the ...
Commentary
Florida Low-Income and Minority Students Outperform Average California Students
San Francisco—The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida ...
California
Unbalanced Billing in California Hospitals: the Sacramento Bee Weighs In
The Sacramento Bee, our, our fair capital’s daily newspaper, has editorialized on the issue of “balance billing”, whereby ER doctors and hospitals which are not in a patient’s health plan’s network, send high-priced (and unexpected) bills to patients. Interestingly, although the editorial leans against the health plans, it approves of ...
Business & Economics
Verizon, Alltel Merger Brings Questions About Worker Health
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wants the Federal Communications Commission to require Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Alltel Corp. (AT) to adopt a nationwide safety program protecting people from harmful radio frequencies as a condition of their proposed merger. At issue is the health of electricians, ...
Business & Economics
Sing a Song of Freedom
The Singing Revolution. Mountain View Productions, unrated. Running time 96 minutes. www.singingrevolution.com The small nation of Estonia, strategically placed at the east end of the Baltic, had been prey for conquerors for centuries. It acquired a serious existential problem in 1939, when Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin divvied up Europe ...
Business & Economics
Lessons for Sacramento from San Francisco’s high-tech heist
For nine days last month, San Francisco’s state-of-the-art new computer network was held hostage by a convicted felon. Even a team of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest engineers working around the clock could not crack his code. Finally, in a secret midnight meeting at the Hall of Justice, the mayor ...
Commentary
Nursing Home Evictions: Another Problem of Government Dependency
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal ran a feature article about nursing homes evicting frail residents. Spokespeople for the nursing homes claimed that these evictions were in accord with federal law, which allows evictions for only a few reasons, such as non-payment of bills, danger to others, or the nursing homes’ inability ...
Crist’s court appointments can end ‘lawsuit lottery’
As the media fixate on Sen. John McCain’s short list of potential running mates, the eye of America is focused on Gov. Charlie Crist. But as Crist’s attention is increasingly lured toward the presidential campaign, he must not fail to recognize his responsibility to the people of Florida. Florida is ...
The Real Cost of Mandated Infertility Treatment is Increasing
One of the most expensive benefits mandated by some states is infertility treatment. I was pleased to be interviewed by Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal for her article on the issue. Ms. Shellenbarger quotes me as noting that 13 states mandate treatment for in vitro fertilization. Not reported ...
Massachusetts Businesses Joining Health Care Coalition to Deal With Costs of Connector
Olympia Business Watch, August 13, 2008 Washington lawmakers need to take a real close look at what is happening in Massachusetts on health care. With the cost over runs for the “Connector”, Massachusetts businesses are joining a national coalition to slow premium growth and ease the financial burden on employers. ...
Neo-Prohibitionism, Alcohol Taxes, and Central Planning in California
The last time I had a critical look at the neo-prohibitionists, it was via a pamphlet opposing a tobacco tax hike in California. Now, the Marin Institute has completed a “landmark” study suggesting that we need to hike alcohol taxes in the Golden State. And landmark it certainly is: the ...
Florida Low-Income and Minority Students Outperform Average California Students
San Francisco—The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released a report showing that a disadvantaged socio-economic background does not necessarily consign students to poor academic performance. According to Demography Is Not Destiny: Reform Lessons from Florida on Overcoming Achievement Gaps, low-income students in Florida ...
Unbalanced Billing in California Hospitals: the Sacramento Bee Weighs In
The Sacramento Bee, our, our fair capital’s daily newspaper, has editorialized on the issue of “balance billing”, whereby ER doctors and hospitals which are not in a patient’s health plan’s network, send high-priced (and unexpected) bills to patients. Interestingly, although the editorial leans against the health plans, it approves of ...
Verizon, Alltel Merger Brings Questions About Worker Health
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wants the Federal Communications Commission to require Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Alltel Corp. (AT) to adopt a nationwide safety program protecting people from harmful radio frequencies as a condition of their proposed merger. At issue is the health of electricians, ...
Sing a Song of Freedom
The Singing Revolution. Mountain View Productions, unrated. Running time 96 minutes. www.singingrevolution.com The small nation of Estonia, strategically placed at the east end of the Baltic, had been prey for conquerors for centuries. It acquired a serious existential problem in 1939, when Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin divvied up Europe ...
Lessons for Sacramento from San Francisco’s high-tech heist
For nine days last month, San Francisco’s state-of-the-art new computer network was held hostage by a convicted felon. Even a team of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest engineers working around the clock could not crack his code. Finally, in a secret midnight meeting at the Hall of Justice, the mayor ...
Nursing Home Evictions: Another Problem of Government Dependency
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal ran a feature article about nursing homes evicting frail residents. Spokespeople for the nursing homes claimed that these evictions were in accord with federal law, which allows evictions for only a few reasons, such as non-payment of bills, danger to others, or the nursing homes’ inability ...
