Commentary
Commentary
Self-inflicted budget wounds
For one, state has billions in land it won’t sell Even on the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax-and-spend, expansive terms, the state need not be facing a $15 billion budget deficit. Because state government hoards hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate, it has missed a grand opportunity ...
Commentary
Schools turning out defective products
When a new automobile – either purchased or leased – is so riddled with problems that even the manufacturer cannot fix it within 18 months – a reasonable time period, the vehicle is declared a lemon in California under the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, California Civil Code 1793.22 (2004). Unfortunately, ...
Commentary
Obama plan doesn’t promise health care reform
Sen. Barack Obama has promised to “turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday’s health care debates.” He’s right to call for a new approach to healthcare reform. What he’s offered thus far, however, is a government-heavy solution that’s all-too-similar to the tired proposals of yesteryear. The centerpiece of ...
Business & Economics
California’s Spending Binge Breaks Budget
California’s budget deficit has ballooned to more than $15 billion. Recently Democratic lawmakers proposed to close the gap by – you guessed it – hiking taxes on the wealthy. Yet a quick review of the facts suggests that spending cuts are a much more sensible solution. On the tax side, ...
Commentary
Making It Harder for Smokers to Get Affordable Health Care
I’ve spilled a lot of virtual ink on San Francisco’s tax-hiking proposal for so-called “universal” health care, the Healthy Access Plan. But driving up costs for small business is hardly the only mischief that the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and public health supremos are working on. How’s this one? According ...
Business & Economics
Increasing Liability Risks Threaten Growth and Trouble Boards
A study conducted by Lloyds, a London based insurance market, reveals that board members are increasingly concerned about the increasing number of corporate litigation cases facing the boards and the escalating cost in mitigating such risks. “Among the companies surveyed, almost seven in ten have faced lawsuits in the past ...
Commentary
A fight to the finish: McCain vs. Obama on health care
If you’re a member of Congress, you get exceptional health care coverage. In fact, Barack Obama likes his Senate plan so much he’d like everyone to have it. The only catch is, if we all had the generous coverage Congress enjoys, the American economy would have an instant heart attack. ...
Business & Economics
Google/Yahoo deal debris
Is what’s good for the goose also good for the Google? The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee just investigated a proposed partnership between Google and Yahoo, the two most visited properties on the Internet. Though the deal could consolidate more than 90 percent of an $11-billion search and advertising industry, Google insisted ...
Commentary
Remedial education a big cost for state’s colleges
Remedial education classes for students enrolling in the state’s public colleges and universities are costing California as much as $14 billion a year, according to a report from the Pacific Research Institute. That figure was reached after the authors estimated several costs, including the $274 million the colleges spend providing ...
Commentary
High cost of good intentions
Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced recently that he wants to give autistic children the most comprehensive health insurance coverage in the nation. If the legislature agrees to changes he wrote into a bill, state law will require companies that sell health insurance in Illinois to pay up to $36,000 a year ...
Self-inflicted budget wounds
For one, state has billions in land it won’t sell Even on the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax-and-spend, expansive terms, the state need not be facing a $15 billion budget deficit. Because state government hoards hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate, it has missed a grand opportunity ...
Schools turning out defective products
When a new automobile – either purchased or leased – is so riddled with problems that even the manufacturer cannot fix it within 18 months – a reasonable time period, the vehicle is declared a lemon in California under the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, California Civil Code 1793.22 (2004). Unfortunately, ...
Obama plan doesn’t promise health care reform
Sen. Barack Obama has promised to “turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday’s health care debates.” He’s right to call for a new approach to healthcare reform. What he’s offered thus far, however, is a government-heavy solution that’s all-too-similar to the tired proposals of yesteryear. The centerpiece of ...
California’s Spending Binge Breaks Budget
California’s budget deficit has ballooned to more than $15 billion. Recently Democratic lawmakers proposed to close the gap by – you guessed it – hiking taxes on the wealthy. Yet a quick review of the facts suggests that spending cuts are a much more sensible solution. On the tax side, ...
Making It Harder for Smokers to Get Affordable Health Care
I’ve spilled a lot of virtual ink on San Francisco’s tax-hiking proposal for so-called “universal” health care, the Healthy Access Plan. But driving up costs for small business is hardly the only mischief that the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and public health supremos are working on. How’s this one? According ...
Increasing Liability Risks Threaten Growth and Trouble Boards
A study conducted by Lloyds, a London based insurance market, reveals that board members are increasingly concerned about the increasing number of corporate litigation cases facing the boards and the escalating cost in mitigating such risks. “Among the companies surveyed, almost seven in ten have faced lawsuits in the past ...
A fight to the finish: McCain vs. Obama on health care
If you’re a member of Congress, you get exceptional health care coverage. In fact, Barack Obama likes his Senate plan so much he’d like everyone to have it. The only catch is, if we all had the generous coverage Congress enjoys, the American economy would have an instant heart attack. ...
Google/Yahoo deal debris
Is what’s good for the goose also good for the Google? The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee just investigated a proposed partnership between Google and Yahoo, the two most visited properties on the Internet. Though the deal could consolidate more than 90 percent of an $11-billion search and advertising industry, Google insisted ...
Remedial education a big cost for state’s colleges
Remedial education classes for students enrolling in the state’s public colleges and universities are costing California as much as $14 billion a year, according to a report from the Pacific Research Institute. That figure was reached after the authors estimated several costs, including the $274 million the colleges spend providing ...
High cost of good intentions
Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced recently that he wants to give autistic children the most comprehensive health insurance coverage in the nation. If the legislature agrees to changes he wrote into a bill, state law will require companies that sell health insurance in Illinois to pay up to $36,000 a year ...
