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Flattening Barriers to Communications
Technology Op-Ed
7.29.2005
In a bold move to modernize America's outdated communications laws, this week Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced the Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act. It's about time Congress embraced this issue, particularly since technology has vastly changed the way communications affect economic growth.
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In Pursuit of Fewer Medicines and More Lawsuits
Health Care Op-Ed
By: Benjamin Zycher
7.29.2005
That politics is the art of wealth redistribution is a truth both eternal and adverse, in that it provides a vehicle for the "public interest" political class to demonstrate its compassion by spending Other People's Money. In the latest manifestation of this process, those Other People are the shareholders of pharmaceutical firms: An initiative (Proposition 79) on the forthcoming ballot in California this November, ostensibly intended to help ordinary citizens of the Golden State with their prescription drug bills, would mandate discounts both steep and, perhaps ironically, unobtainable, for about half (or more) of the state's population.
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It ain't broke; don't fix it
Business and Economics Op-Ed
By: Lawrence J. McQuillan, Ph.D, Chuck Poochigian
7.24.2005
Workers' compensation insurance companies are sending policy renewals to customers across the state this month. By and large, the message is good news for employers. After years of punishing increases, premiums are finally coming down.
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It ain't broke; don't fix it
PRI in the News
By: Chuck Poochigian
7.24.2005
Workers' compensation insurance companies are sending policy renewals to customers across the state this month. By and large, the message is good news for employers. After years of punishing increases, premiums are finally coming down
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Black women branch out as owners
PRI in the News
By: Gregory Lewis
7.24.2005
Sisters, like publicist Dana Hill of Boca Raton and Hollywood clothing boutique owner Carol Edwards, are doing it for themselves
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Drug industry group offers advertising code of conduct
PRI in the News
By: Diedtra Henderson
7.22.2005
WASHINGTON -- Lobbyists for the drug industry yesterday released the outline of a voluntary code of conduct detailing how drug companies should advertise prescription products to consumers, but the guidelines fall short of what some politicians sought.
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I Want My IPTV
Technology Op-Ed
7.22.2005
Because old cable rules allowed local governments to grant near monopolies to cable companies, bureaucrats have been able to use this power to extract big bucks and obtain special favors. Cable companies haven't had much of a choice in the matter. This market distortion has raised prices and lowered quality for consumers, but new competition should remedy these problems.
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Hotel California Health Care
Health Care Op-Ed
By: Sally C. Pipes
7.21.2005
Single-payer health care is making news in California thanks to State Senator Sheila Kuehl, whose bill to have California’s government run the state’s entire health care system has passed the Senate and will surely pass the Assembly. Her supporters and Californians should look at what is happening north of the 49th parallel, where single-payer health care is also hitting the headlines. If Ms. Kuehl and company are successful, it provides a preview of what’s to come.
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'Sue Your Boss II': Governor may be class-action hero
Business and Economics Op-Ed
By: Anthony P. Archie
7.15.2005
Gov. Schwarzenegger may be a fan of sequels, but he must now fend off another frivolous-lawsuit bill. Senate Bill 174, a proposal to allow individual employees to sue their employers on behalf of current and former employees in minimum wage and overtime compensation recovery cases, is making its way through the capitol.
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Digital Village: A Lesson from London
Technology Op-Ed
7.15.2005
The subway and bus bombings in London on July 7th added new fuel to the continued debate over security and liberty in a high-tech world. But it remains an open question whether the two must be opposites.
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Study Shows Mixed Results on Living Wage
PRI in the News
7.13.2005
LOS ANGELES — For the past decade, some of the least-skilled and lowest-paid workers in America have benefited from controversial programs known as living wage ordinances.
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Some say ads for prescription drugs aren't what the doctor ordered
PRI in the News
By: Melissa Healy
7.11.2005
Don Schilling, a Los Angeles public relations consultant, is a savvy consumer of marketing ploys and, at 57, a man growing more attuned to the allures of pills and potions that promise to boost his health. For drug makers pitching their prescription medications directly to American consumers, Schilling, a retired Army officer, refers to himself as a "high-value" target.
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Why drug ads increased
Health Care Op-Ed
By: John R. Graham
7.11.2005
The June 27 article "In the world of drug ads, there's a pill for every ill" notes that direct-to-consumer ad spending quadrupled between 1996 and 2003, an increase of about one-fifth annually. However, it was effectively illegal until August 1997 so it is not surprising that drug makers rapidly took advantage of their new freedom of speech.
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Study Affirms Elections Chief: He Told Us So
PRI in the News
By: Tom Jackson
7.10.2005
Kurt Browning wasn't looking for anything special on the day marking his 30th anniversary with the Pasco County elections office, but surprises are often the spice of life, even within a bureaucracy.
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In Praise of E-Voting Machines
Technology Op-Ed
7.8.2005
Last week, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform held hearings in Houston to discuss fixing the nation's voting system. New technologies help make most businesses more effective and efficient, so it only makes sense to upgrade America's ballot box as well.
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State Ballot, Wider Impact
PRI in the News
By: Mark Z. Barabak
7.3.2005
SACRAMENTO — Even before the ballot is set, California's special election is drawing money and attention from interest groups and political partisans across the country who see the campaign as a way to invigorate their efforts in 2006 and beyond. Democrats believe they have a chance this fall to make Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "a starring villain" in their attack on national Republican leaders, said Jenny Backus, a Democratic strategist in Washington.
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Remarks from the Libertad y Desarrollo education conference in Chile
PRI Education Speech
By: Lance T. Izumi, J.D.
7.1.2005
All of us, whether we are South Americans, North Americans, Asians, Europeans or Africans, understand that our peoples need an increasing amount of knowledge to succeed in a complex global technology-based economy. Heightened economic competition between nations, which is important if consumers are able to get the best goods at the best prices, has made it more necessary than ever to have well-educated workforces. Because of this necessity, governments around the world have realized that public school systems must be held accountable for the achievement or lack of achievement of students. The issue that I would like to address today is how best to craft an effective school accountability system.
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X Marks the Start of Broadband Reform
Technology Op-Ed
7.1.2005
The United States Supreme Court this week ruled against Brand X, a small California company that sells Internet access. This ruling is good for consumers and marks the beginning of what could be much-needed reform in broadband policy.
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