Infrastructure
Environment
Cap and Trade in the Western States
In a review of the claims made by the Western Climate Initiative, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston identified several flaws made by the seven-state consortium, calling into question claimed cost savings ranging between $11.4 billion and $23.5 billion. These flaws render WCI’s projections useless in determining ...
Business & Economics
Why It’s OK for Newspapers to Die
The transition that’s taking place in the news publishing industry — from print to online — is a healthy step in technology-driven evolution, though there will undoubtedly be some short-term pain. The loss of print newspapers is akin to the loss of the horse and buggy. The Internet offers the ...
Business & Economics
Canada’s big chance
Financial Post (Ontario, Canada), March 10, 2009 President Obama’s radical response to the recession could give Canada a massive economic advantage Yesterday, Prime Minister Harper highlighted his government’s plans for dealing with the economic slowdown and presented the crisis as an opportunity for Canada: “Ultimately, it is an opportunity to ...
Commentary
Obama administration policies not American
Renew America (Washington, D.C.), March 9, 2009 Part 2–socialized medicine: The end of America as we know it? (See Part 1 — 2/9/09) The just-concluded health care “summit” at the White House was so much window dressing, giving the appearance of hearing from “all sides” before Barack Obama, this nation’s ...
Commentary
California Considers Deep Education Cuts
California school officials and education reformers are wrestling with the specter of multibillion-dollar education budget cuts in 2009. But as Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrat-controlled state legislature look for spending reductions to cover the budget shortfall, leading state educators are pleading for leniency. Early proposals floated by lawmakers ...
Commentary
Stimulus no fix for health insurance
Orange County Register, February 9, 2009 The stimulus package has money for government health programs, but that’s not the way to make coverage more affordable Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raised the ire of many in California by calling for $1.1 billion in cuts to Medi-Cal, the state health care program for ...
Business & Economics
Houston’s Wi-Fi, ‘Bubble’ Plan Both Fail
The city of Houston’s plan for municipal wi-fi began with the best of intentions: A grand plan to blanket the city with a wireless “cloud” providing cheap Internet access for the masses. When that project failed in 2007, as it has in many other places, the city turned to a ...
Business & Economics
Google CEO Calls for Government Tech Money
As the U.S. government was scurrying to find ways to bail out some of the nation’s largest companies, Google CEO Eric Schmidt criticized economic freedom and said the rescue plans should be used to support new telecommunications infrastructure and solve longstanding innovation issues. “Let’s not just have bailout programs,” Schmidt ...
Business & Economics
Some Governments Fail to Learn from Muni Wi-fi Failures
Municipal wi-fi programs have failed across the country during the past two years, leaving San Francisco-based Meraki as one of few companies still willing to give it a go. As a result, tech experts are cautioning cities against getting wooed into providing “free” wi-fi again. “Muni wi-fi isn’t working because ...
Business & Economics
Some Stimulating Reading
Some Stimulating Reading With the bloated, ramshackle, pork-laden, grotesque corruption of a “stimulus bill” now headed to the U.S. Senate, here’s a handy list of arguments and sources as we debate America’s new lurch towards European-style social democracy: The Pacific Research Institute’s Robert Murphy explains the economic-policy mistake that underlies ...
Cap and Trade in the Western States
In a review of the claims made by the Western Climate Initiative, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston identified several flaws made by the seven-state consortium, calling into question claimed cost savings ranging between $11.4 billion and $23.5 billion. These flaws render WCI’s projections useless in determining ...
Why It’s OK for Newspapers to Die
The transition that’s taking place in the news publishing industry — from print to online — is a healthy step in technology-driven evolution, though there will undoubtedly be some short-term pain. The loss of print newspapers is akin to the loss of the horse and buggy. The Internet offers the ...
Canada’s big chance
Financial Post (Ontario, Canada), March 10, 2009 President Obama’s radical response to the recession could give Canada a massive economic advantage Yesterday, Prime Minister Harper highlighted his government’s plans for dealing with the economic slowdown and presented the crisis as an opportunity for Canada: “Ultimately, it is an opportunity to ...
Obama administration policies not American
Renew America (Washington, D.C.), March 9, 2009 Part 2–socialized medicine: The end of America as we know it? (See Part 1 — 2/9/09) The just-concluded health care “summit” at the White House was so much window dressing, giving the appearance of hearing from “all sides” before Barack Obama, this nation’s ...
California Considers Deep Education Cuts
California school officials and education reformers are wrestling with the specter of multibillion-dollar education budget cuts in 2009. But as Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrat-controlled state legislature look for spending reductions to cover the budget shortfall, leading state educators are pleading for leniency. Early proposals floated by lawmakers ...
Stimulus no fix for health insurance
Orange County Register, February 9, 2009 The stimulus package has money for government health programs, but that’s not the way to make coverage more affordable Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raised the ire of many in California by calling for $1.1 billion in cuts to Medi-Cal, the state health care program for ...
Houston’s Wi-Fi, ‘Bubble’ Plan Both Fail
The city of Houston’s plan for municipal wi-fi began with the best of intentions: A grand plan to blanket the city with a wireless “cloud” providing cheap Internet access for the masses. When that project failed in 2007, as it has in many other places, the city turned to a ...
Google CEO Calls for Government Tech Money
As the U.S. government was scurrying to find ways to bail out some of the nation’s largest companies, Google CEO Eric Schmidt criticized economic freedom and said the rescue plans should be used to support new telecommunications infrastructure and solve longstanding innovation issues. “Let’s not just have bailout programs,” Schmidt ...
Some Governments Fail to Learn from Muni Wi-fi Failures
Municipal wi-fi programs have failed across the country during the past two years, leaving San Francisco-based Meraki as one of few companies still willing to give it a go. As a result, tech experts are cautioning cities against getting wooed into providing “free” wi-fi again. “Muni wi-fi isn’t working because ...
Some Stimulating Reading
Some Stimulating Reading With the bloated, ramshackle, pork-laden, grotesque corruption of a “stimulus bill” now headed to the U.S. Senate, here’s a handy list of arguments and sources as we debate America’s new lurch towards European-style social democracy: The Pacific Research Institute’s Robert Murphy explains the economic-policy mistake that underlies ...
