Commentary
Commentary
Read how changing funding won’t lead to public school reforms
A new proposal to continue high levels of funding for California school districts would, if enacted, remove incentives for the public schools to improve themselves. State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, recently proposed SB 830, which would switch the way public schools are ...
Commentary
Opinion: Build Back Better’s Medicare Drug-payment Cap Worth Saving
Senate Democrats have restarted negotiations over their Build Back Better Act. The $1.75 trillion bill contains a laundry list of bad ideas, especially when it comes to health care policy. But there’s one reform in the legislation that makes sense — a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The proposal ...
Business & Economics
Controlling Inflation Requires A Better Policy Mix, Not Business Scapegoating
Thanks to errant fiscal and monetary policies, consumer prices continued their relentless climb in December. Just as predictably, politicians seem to be more interested in “rounding up the usual suspects” rather than implementing the right policy mix that would rein in inflation. Political fecklessness in face of rising prices is ...
Commentary
Education Expert Reactions Gov. Newsom’s 2022-23 Education Budget
What among the governor’s proposals will most advance students’ recovery from the pandemic and why? The governor proposes to significantly expand early childhood programs and says this spending can provide very young children “the skills and tools needed to succeed in school.” Perhaps it will, but research from other states ...
Commentary
California Can Look Forward to Socialized Medicine If Single-Payer Returns
It’s been five years since California Democrats tried and failed to bring socialized medicine to the Golden State. But with the new year comes a renewed attempt to abolish private health insurance and force all of the state’s 39 million residents into a new government-run plan. AB 1400 passed the state Assembly’s ...
Agriculture
Opinion: The bioengineered food label is not expected to have any benefits to human health or the environment
By Henry I. Miller and Drew L. Kershen It’s no secret that Congress sometimes does things – including creating laws – that make little sense and that are contrary to the public interest. One of the most egregious of those laws has just taken effect. The subject – labeling of foods ...
Commentary
Opinion: New burdens on entrepreneurs hurts minority economic advancement
By Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson Florida’s nickname is the Sunshine State, but it could be the Entrepreneur State. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, no state had a higher rate of entrepreneurs starting new businesses. But that’s only part of the story. Only California (1.6 million) and Texas (1.1 million) have ...
Commentary
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
Commentary
The Feds Continue to Fail Their Covid-19 Test
Americans who have COVID-19 but lack symptoms should only isolate for five days, according to new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week. That’s a significant improvement over the agency’s previous recommendation of 10 days. The revised guidelines have sparked fierce debate because the CDC included no directive that ...
Agriculture
Opinion: Prop. 12 Limits Californians From ‘Bringing Home the Bacon’
2022 is a year in which San Diegans and all Californians will be allowed to do less than the year before, as a number of new prohibitions kicked in on Jan. 1, all of them aggravating, but none so irksome as the limits imposed by Proposition 12. It gives new meaning ...
Read how changing funding won’t lead to public school reforms
A new proposal to continue high levels of funding for California school districts would, if enacted, remove incentives for the public schools to improve themselves. State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, recently proposed SB 830, which would switch the way public schools are ...
Opinion: Build Back Better’s Medicare Drug-payment Cap Worth Saving
Senate Democrats have restarted negotiations over their Build Back Better Act. The $1.75 trillion bill contains a laundry list of bad ideas, especially when it comes to health care policy. But there’s one reform in the legislation that makes sense — a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The proposal ...
Controlling Inflation Requires A Better Policy Mix, Not Business Scapegoating
Thanks to errant fiscal and monetary policies, consumer prices continued their relentless climb in December. Just as predictably, politicians seem to be more interested in “rounding up the usual suspects” rather than implementing the right policy mix that would rein in inflation. Political fecklessness in face of rising prices is ...
Education Expert Reactions Gov. Newsom’s 2022-23 Education Budget
What among the governor’s proposals will most advance students’ recovery from the pandemic and why? The governor proposes to significantly expand early childhood programs and says this spending can provide very young children “the skills and tools needed to succeed in school.” Perhaps it will, but research from other states ...
California Can Look Forward to Socialized Medicine If Single-Payer Returns
It’s been five years since California Democrats tried and failed to bring socialized medicine to the Golden State. But with the new year comes a renewed attempt to abolish private health insurance and force all of the state’s 39 million residents into a new government-run plan. AB 1400 passed the state Assembly’s ...
Opinion: The bioengineered food label is not expected to have any benefits to human health or the environment
By Henry I. Miller and Drew L. Kershen It’s no secret that Congress sometimes does things – including creating laws – that make little sense and that are contrary to the public interest. One of the most egregious of those laws has just taken effect. The subject – labeling of foods ...
Opinion: New burdens on entrepreneurs hurts minority economic advancement
By Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson Florida’s nickname is the Sunshine State, but it could be the Entrepreneur State. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, no state had a higher rate of entrepreneurs starting new businesses. But that’s only part of the story. Only California (1.6 million) and Texas (1.1 million) have ...
Some hospitals are charging 2 or 3 times more than the one next door
Imagine you’re a mom-to-be from Roxbury Township, looking to schedule a cesarean section. You’re halfway between Morristown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center. The listed price at Morristown — the top-ranked hospital in the state — is $24,927. At Newton, it’s nearly three times as much — $66,091. Price discrepancies like these are ...
The Feds Continue to Fail Their Covid-19 Test
Americans who have COVID-19 but lack symptoms should only isolate for five days, according to new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week. That’s a significant improvement over the agency’s previous recommendation of 10 days. The revised guidelines have sparked fierce debate because the CDC included no directive that ...
Opinion: Prop. 12 Limits Californians From ‘Bringing Home the Bacon’
2022 is a year in which San Diegans and all Californians will be allowed to do less than the year before, as a number of new prohibitions kicked in on Jan. 1, all of them aggravating, but none so irksome as the limits imposed by Proposition 12. It gives new meaning ...
