Government Spending
Agriculture
Analyzing the politics of climate change
San Francisco Examiner, June 9, 2009 We hear it every day. News headlines read: “Global Warming Biggest Threat of 21st Century, Experts say.” (businessweek.com. May 13th, 2009. Gardner, Amanda). News anchors provide us with a choice, either we believe the scientists that support global warming hypotheses, or we reject science ...
Business & Economics
California’s Economy: Boxer And Krugman Get It Wrong
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argued in a May 25th column that California’s economic problems are rooted in a dysfunctional government that finds it “extremely hard to raise taxes, even in emergencies.” On May 28, California’s junior Senator, Barbara Boxer made a similar argument on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Both ...
Business & Economics
An Agenda For California’s Fiscal Reform
The California state budget for years has been “balanced” with heavy borrowing, various kinds of raids on localities and special funds, and transfers from the future to the present. More generally, spending profligacy, high tax rates and onerous regulations have worked their magic: The gap between the ability of the ...
Business & Economics
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Business & Economics
Is California Too Big To Fail?
California, the state that gave us wheatgrass, the microprocessor and the summer of love, is about to provide us with yet another first: a bailout of a failing state government. Preliminary returns on Tuesday night show that voters soundly rejected ballot measures calling for higher taxes, meaning that the not-so-Golden ...
Business & Economics
Oh Canada! … Role-Reversal in North America?
Stereotypes are often rooted in some current or past reality, but they can also become outdated. While the USA and Japan have for a long time been regarded as small-government countries, among industrial countries, Canada has long been considered more ‘socialistic’ and closer to the big-government model of Western Europe. ...
Business & Economics
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Business & Economics
Great Right North
Reports last week that the recession is draining Social Security and Medicare funds were just one more reminder that the United States needs to fix its finances. For inspiration, why not look to Canada? Long derided by American conservatives as “socialist” and praised by the left for its generous government ...
Climate Change
High/Low: Is There Now Reasonable Agreement on the Costs and Benefits of Waxman-Markey?
Supporters of the Waxman-Markey climate bill have not seriously disputed the extreme costs and the negligible benefits estimated by critics of the cap-and-trade proposal. I must confess that I was expecting a real fight, but some very important markers seem to have been laid down in this legislative debate. Waxman-Markey ...
Business & Economics
A swift re-tort: How to fight lawsuit abuse
America’s economy remains in terrible shape and federal lawmakers are trying to kick-start a recovery by spending money. A better strategy would be to reform the country’s inefficient tort system, which is failing to promptly compensate true victims. Instead, meritless lawsuits clog courtrooms while outsized monetary awards cripple businesses and ...
Analyzing the politics of climate change
San Francisco Examiner, June 9, 2009 We hear it every day. News headlines read: “Global Warming Biggest Threat of 21st Century, Experts say.” (businessweek.com. May 13th, 2009. Gardner, Amanda). News anchors provide us with a choice, either we believe the scientists that support global warming hypotheses, or we reject science ...
California’s Economy: Boxer And Krugman Get It Wrong
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argued in a May 25th column that California’s economic problems are rooted in a dysfunctional government that finds it “extremely hard to raise taxes, even in emergencies.” On May 28, California’s junior Senator, Barbara Boxer made a similar argument on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Both ...
An Agenda For California’s Fiscal Reform
The California state budget for years has been “balanced” with heavy borrowing, various kinds of raids on localities and special funds, and transfers from the future to the present. More generally, spending profligacy, high tax rates and onerous regulations have worked their magic: The gap between the ability of the ...
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Is California Too Big To Fail?
California, the state that gave us wheatgrass, the microprocessor and the summer of love, is about to provide us with yet another first: a bailout of a failing state government. Preliminary returns on Tuesday night show that voters soundly rejected ballot measures calling for higher taxes, meaning that the not-so-Golden ...
Oh Canada! … Role-Reversal in North America?
Stereotypes are often rooted in some current or past reality, but they can also become outdated. While the USA and Japan have for a long time been regarded as small-government countries, among industrial countries, Canada has long been considered more ‘socialistic’ and closer to the big-government model of Western Europe. ...
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Great Right North
Reports last week that the recession is draining Social Security and Medicare funds were just one more reminder that the United States needs to fix its finances. For inspiration, why not look to Canada? Long derided by American conservatives as “socialist” and praised by the left for its generous government ...
High/Low: Is There Now Reasonable Agreement on the Costs and Benefits of Waxman-Markey?
Supporters of the Waxman-Markey climate bill have not seriously disputed the extreme costs and the negligible benefits estimated by critics of the cap-and-trade proposal. I must confess that I was expecting a real fight, but some very important markers seem to have been laid down in this legislative debate. Waxman-Markey ...
A swift re-tort: How to fight lawsuit abuse
America’s economy remains in terrible shape and federal lawmakers are trying to kick-start a recovery by spending money. A better strategy would be to reform the country’s inefficient tort system, which is failing to promptly compensate true victims. Instead, meritless lawsuits clog courtrooms while outsized monetary awards cripple businesses and ...
