Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Google.gov? The Perils of Technology and Government Transparency
Barack Obama led the most tech savvy presidential campaign in American history, using the Internet to recruit, mobilize, and engage more than 13 million supporters. As president, Obama has pledged to “integrate technology into every aspect of government,” and usher in “a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for ...
Business & Economics
The Fine Whine of California
Shortly after the national election last year, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management called a press conference at the Sacramento campus to announce their fourth UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders. This sounds interesting but there’s less here than meets the eye. As it turns out, UC ...
Business & Economics
Expand Economic Freedom in 2009
The onset of 2009, with a new president taking office, is a good time to reconsider the benefits of economic freedom. Contrary to what partisans of big government claim, the empirical case for economic freedom has grown much stronger in the last 10 years, due to the development of objective ...
Business & Economics
“Do You Austrians Have a Better Idea?”
A lot of people get annoyed with Austrian economists because they tend to be so dogmatic (we prefer the term consistent) and because they cloak their strictly economic claims with self-righteousness (we prefer the term morality). After a good Austrian bashing of the latest call to steal taxpayer money and ...
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 ...
Commentary
Health-care budget realities
Before President-elect Barack Obama attempts to overhaul America’s health-care system and put us on the road toward “universal” coverage, he should have a chat with his new budget director, Peter Orszag. As former head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the agency responsible for estimating the cost of federal legislation, ...
Business & Economics
Governor’s Entrepreneurship Conference offers recommendations
To find out which state policies California’s small-business owners would like to change, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently convened a two-day conference in Los Angeles. Greater government dependency and intervention will reduce innovation, economic growth and job creation. Or, as Albert Einstein said, “Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.” ...
Business & Economics
Don’t let trial lawyers overdose on drug suits
President Barack Obama shattered some old paradigms for how to finance a campaign. But he and his Democratic colleagues stuck to the script when it comes to leaning on trial lawyers for campaign cash. During this last election season, federal Democratic candidates collected more than $136 million from lawyers, the ...
Google.gov? The Perils of Technology and Government Transparency
Barack Obama led the most tech savvy presidential campaign in American history, using the Internet to recruit, mobilize, and engage more than 13 million supporters. As president, Obama has pledged to “integrate technology into every aspect of government,” and usher in “a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for ...
The Fine Whine of California
Shortly after the national election last year, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management called a press conference at the Sacramento campus to announce their fourth UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders. This sounds interesting but there’s less here than meets the eye. As it turns out, UC ...
Expand Economic Freedom in 2009
The onset of 2009, with a new president taking office, is a good time to reconsider the benefits of economic freedom. Contrary to what partisans of big government claim, the empirical case for economic freedom has grown much stronger in the last 10 years, due to the development of objective ...
“Do You Austrians Have a Better Idea?”
A lot of people get annoyed with Austrian economists because they tend to be so dogmatic (we prefer the term consistent) and because they cloak their strictly economic claims with self-righteousness (we prefer the term morality). After a good Austrian bashing of the latest call to steal taxpayer money and ...
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 ...
Health-care budget realities
Before President-elect Barack Obama attempts to overhaul America’s health-care system and put us on the road toward “universal” coverage, he should have a chat with his new budget director, Peter Orszag. As former head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the agency responsible for estimating the cost of federal legislation, ...
Governor’s Entrepreneurship Conference offers recommendations
To find out which state policies California’s small-business owners would like to change, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently convened a two-day conference in Los Angeles. Greater government dependency and intervention will reduce innovation, economic growth and job creation. Or, as Albert Einstein said, “Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.” ...
Don’t let trial lawyers overdose on drug suits
President Barack Obama shattered some old paradigms for how to finance a campaign. But he and his Democratic colleagues stuck to the script when it comes to leaning on trial lawyers for campaign cash. During this last election season, federal Democratic candidates collected more than $136 million from lawyers, the ...
