Housing

Health Care

Repeal and Replace, But With What?

Key Points: Republicans in Congress appear to be solidly committed to repealing ObamaCare. Republicans’ last attempt at reforming health insurance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), did not solve the problems of portability and coverage for pre-existing conditions, the stated goals of the Act. The official ...
Business & Economics

Pension crater much deeper

SACRAMENTO – A new report from Stanford University’s well-respected economic policy institute has revealed that those of us who have been warning about California’s severely underfunded public employee retirement systems have, quite frankly, been wrong. We have been understating the scope of the problem. Pension critics, myself included, have been ...
Business & Economics

A bone to pick with Bartlett on federal spending

Reps. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence recently called for a constitutional amendment limiting federal spending “to one-fifth of the economy.” Bruce Bartlett, a former official in the George H.W. Bush administration, promptly denounced the idea as “dopey,” one “terrible… on so many levels that it is hard to know where ...
Business & Economics

The $2 Trillion Hole

Promised pensions benefits for public-sector employees represent a massive overhang that threatens the financial future of many cities and states. LIKE A CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE, populist rage burns over bloated executive compensation and unrepentant avarice on Wall Street. Deserving as these targets may or may not be, most Americans have ignored ...
Commentary

Single-Payer and Group Coverage Empower Government, Not the People

I agree with Professor Chaufan that the “reforms” many states embraced to expand coverage with private insurance have failed, but disagree that it is because of a lack of government power. In fact, such reforms massively increase government power. For example, Massachusetts’ latest reform (passed by Governor Romney in 2006) ...
Commentary

Harkin’s Health Care Summit Non-Sequitur

One of the great things about the health summit was getting to witness certain members’ rhetorical skills and getting to hear how they think about things. One of the most revealing comments was made by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who lamented that people whose medical bills are higher have to ...
Commentary

What Are Republicans Talking about When Republicans Talk about ‘Buying Health Insurance Across State

The Republican health-reform bill (H.R. 4038 § 221) also retains this discriminatory tax-treatment, but contains 27 pages of legalese that purports to make it easier for Americans to buy health insurance across state lines. Unfortunately, it makes little sense once you get past the crowd-pleasing title. For example: “The primary ...
Business & Economics

Repair California’s Fiscal Problems Ourselves – or the Capital Markets Will

Events in Washington, D.C. have overshadowed the ongoing fiscal calamity in Sacramento, where earlier this month state legislators basically rejected the governor’s reforms almost as soon as they were released. Despite the uncertainty shrouding the capital, the budget crisis will be solved – one way or another. This certainty is ...
Business & Economics

Jon Coupal: Prop. 13 blameless for state crisis

When California voters approved Proposition 13 by a landslide in 1978, they launched a nationwide revolt for lower taxes. Critics now blame that revolt for our current fiscal crisis. That charge needs to be considered in the light of actual data about property taxes in California. Prop. 13 limits property ...
Business & Economics

Policies Should Promote Wealth Creation

What causes poverty? That’s what North Carolina’s “Poverty Reduction and Economic Recovery Commission” — which met again last week — claims to be investigating. Specifically, the law that created the commission declares “an understanding of the causes and effects of poverty are critical in the reduction of poverty and economic ...
Health Care

Repeal and Replace, But With What?

Key Points: Republicans in Congress appear to be solidly committed to repealing ObamaCare. Republicans’ last attempt at reforming health insurance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), did not solve the problems of portability and coverage for pre-existing conditions, the stated goals of the Act. The official ...
Business & Economics

Pension crater much deeper

SACRAMENTO – A new report from Stanford University’s well-respected economic policy institute has revealed that those of us who have been warning about California’s severely underfunded public employee retirement systems have, quite frankly, been wrong. We have been understating the scope of the problem. Pension critics, myself included, have been ...
Business & Economics

A bone to pick with Bartlett on federal spending

Reps. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence recently called for a constitutional amendment limiting federal spending “to one-fifth of the economy.” Bruce Bartlett, a former official in the George H.W. Bush administration, promptly denounced the idea as “dopey,” one “terrible… on so many levels that it is hard to know where ...
Business & Economics

The $2 Trillion Hole

Promised pensions benefits for public-sector employees represent a massive overhang that threatens the financial future of many cities and states. LIKE A CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE, populist rage burns over bloated executive compensation and unrepentant avarice on Wall Street. Deserving as these targets may or may not be, most Americans have ignored ...
Commentary

Single-Payer and Group Coverage Empower Government, Not the People

I agree with Professor Chaufan that the “reforms” many states embraced to expand coverage with private insurance have failed, but disagree that it is because of a lack of government power. In fact, such reforms massively increase government power. For example, Massachusetts’ latest reform (passed by Governor Romney in 2006) ...
Commentary

Harkin’s Health Care Summit Non-Sequitur

One of the great things about the health summit was getting to witness certain members’ rhetorical skills and getting to hear how they think about things. One of the most revealing comments was made by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who lamented that people whose medical bills are higher have to ...
Commentary

What Are Republicans Talking about When Republicans Talk about ‘Buying Health Insurance Across State

The Republican health-reform bill (H.R. 4038 § 221) also retains this discriminatory tax-treatment, but contains 27 pages of legalese that purports to make it easier for Americans to buy health insurance across state lines. Unfortunately, it makes little sense once you get past the crowd-pleasing title. For example: “The primary ...
Business & Economics

Repair California’s Fiscal Problems Ourselves – or the Capital Markets Will

Events in Washington, D.C. have overshadowed the ongoing fiscal calamity in Sacramento, where earlier this month state legislators basically rejected the governor’s reforms almost as soon as they were released. Despite the uncertainty shrouding the capital, the budget crisis will be solved – one way or another. This certainty is ...
Business & Economics

Jon Coupal: Prop. 13 blameless for state crisis

When California voters approved Proposition 13 by a landslide in 1978, they launched a nationwide revolt for lower taxes. Critics now blame that revolt for our current fiscal crisis. That charge needs to be considered in the light of actual data about property taxes in California. Prop. 13 limits property ...
Business & Economics

Policies Should Promote Wealth Creation

What causes poverty? That’s what North Carolina’s “Poverty Reduction and Economic Recovery Commission” — which met again last week — claims to be investigating. Specifically, the law that created the commission declares “an understanding of the causes and effects of poverty are critical in the reduction of poverty and economic ...
Scroll to Top