California
			Business & Economics				
			
		State legislators need to find a way to boost ranking
			California legislators are in the midst of a “special session” to deal with this fiscal year’s budget deficit, estimated at $10 billion. They should use this session to boost California’s ability to generate economic growth and the tax revenues that go with it. The Golden State could stand for much ...		
					
					
			
																				
			K. Lloyd Billingsley		
				
																						
			December 6, 2008		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Rhode Island Seeks Caps on Medicaid, Will Shift Costs to Emergency Room Patients
			In response to an ongoing state budget crisis, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) has requested the federal government relax its strict Medicaid regulations in exchange for caps on state spending and federal contributions to the program. The state’s plan is to cap Medicaid spending at 23 percent of the ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Katie Flanigan		
				
																						
			December 1, 2008		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Jewish Groups Lobby for Federal School Choice Bill
			Forty-four years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a new rights movement is gathering steam as ethnic groups are increasingly joining forces to press for school choice. Jewish groups have taken a prominent role in the effort. The Civil Rights Act of Equal Educational Opportunity (CRA ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Evelyn B. Stacey		
				
																						
			December 1, 2008		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Government Care Isn’t Promising
			Health care reform proposals generally fall into two camps: Those that rely on government to expand access and hold prices down, and those that rely on market competition to lower prices and expand consumer choice. Proponents of government-heavy reform believe that because the health care problem itself is massive and ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			December 1, 2008		
				
					
			California				
			
		House Committee Considers Tax Breaks for Individual Health Insurance
			Health Care News (Heartland Institute), December 1, 2008 Members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee are debating the merits of enacting tax breaks for individuals who buy private insurance, which would put them on equal tax footing with employers who purchase insurance for their employees. The committee ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Dr. Sanjit Bagchi		
				
																						
			December 1, 2008		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Bush’s Final Medicaid Reform Increases Patient Responsibility
			The Bush Administration’s (or the Bush “regime’s”, if you prefer) theme in Medicaid reform has been to give states more flexibility in how they operate their Medicaid programs, despite the federal government paying over half the cost. In its (likely) final hurrah, the Administration recently published Medicaid rules allowing states ...		
					
					
			
																				
			John R. Graham		
				
																						
			December 1, 2008		
				
					
			Business & Economics				
			
		To heal itself, California must stop spending
			Last week, the Central Solano Citizen/Taxpayer Group joined a score of local California tax groups and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in telling our governor and Legislature in no uncertain terms that they need to cut state spending, not raise taxes. We urge all area residents to deliver the same ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Kurt E. Hahn		
				
																						
			November 30, 2008		
				
					
			Business & Economics				
			
		Will Electric Cars Jolt California’s Economy?
			With the support of Governor Schwarzenegger, the mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose last week announced a $1-billion joint plan to make the Bay Area “the electric-vehicle capital of the world.” The announcement follows President-elect Obama’s pledge to reinvigorate the nation’s economy with millions of “green collar” jobs. ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Daniel R. Ballon		
				
																						
			November 26, 2008		
				
					
			Business & Economics				
			
		San Francisco Tax Hike Cannot Help Public Health Bureaucracy
			Don’t get me wrong: of all the various byzantine agencies that comprise the massive (and growing) government intervention in American health care, counties’ public-health agencies are probably my favorite (or, perhaps to assuage the arch-libertarian readers, “the least harmful”). They do things like inspecting restaurants for cleanliness, watching out for ...		
					
					
			
																				
			John R. Graham		
				
																						
			November 26, 2008		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Medicaid Contributes To Medical Bankruptcy
			The Wall Street Journal ran a disturbing story about the increasing number of people unable to pay medical bills. Some are even having to sell homes in a bad market to raise cash. Of course, the health care and political elites always interpret such harrowing tales as signals to increase ...		
					
					
			
																				
			John R. Graham		
				
																						
			November 25, 2008		
				
					State legislators need to find a way to boost ranking
			California legislators are in the midst of a “special session” to deal with this fiscal year’s budget deficit, estimated at $10 billion. They should use this session to boost California’s ability to generate economic growth and the tax revenues that go with it. The Golden State could stand for much ...		
					Rhode Island Seeks Caps on Medicaid, Will Shift Costs to Emergency Room Patients
			In response to an ongoing state budget crisis, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) has requested the federal government relax its strict Medicaid regulations in exchange for caps on state spending and federal contributions to the program. The state’s plan is to cap Medicaid spending at 23 percent of the ...		
					Jewish Groups Lobby for Federal School Choice Bill
			Forty-four years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a new rights movement is gathering steam as ethnic groups are increasingly joining forces to press for school choice. Jewish groups have taken a prominent role in the effort. The Civil Rights Act of Equal Educational Opportunity (CRA ...		
					Government Care Isn’t Promising
			Health care reform proposals generally fall into two camps: Those that rely on government to expand access and hold prices down, and those that rely on market competition to lower prices and expand consumer choice. Proponents of government-heavy reform believe that because the health care problem itself is massive and ...		
					House Committee Considers Tax Breaks for Individual Health Insurance
			Health Care News (Heartland Institute), December 1, 2008 Members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee are debating the merits of enacting tax breaks for individuals who buy private insurance, which would put them on equal tax footing with employers who purchase insurance for their employees. The committee ...		
					Bush’s Final Medicaid Reform Increases Patient Responsibility
			The Bush Administration’s (or the Bush “regime’s”, if you prefer) theme in Medicaid reform has been to give states more flexibility in how they operate their Medicaid programs, despite the federal government paying over half the cost. In its (likely) final hurrah, the Administration recently published Medicaid rules allowing states ...		
					To heal itself, California must stop spending
			Last week, the Central Solano Citizen/Taxpayer Group joined a score of local California tax groups and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in telling our governor and Legislature in no uncertain terms that they need to cut state spending, not raise taxes. We urge all area residents to deliver the same ...		
					Will Electric Cars Jolt California’s Economy?
			With the support of Governor Schwarzenegger, the mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose last week announced a $1-billion joint plan to make the Bay Area “the electric-vehicle capital of the world.” The announcement follows President-elect Obama’s pledge to reinvigorate the nation’s economy with millions of “green collar” jobs. ...		
					San Francisco Tax Hike Cannot Help Public Health Bureaucracy
			Don’t get me wrong: of all the various byzantine agencies that comprise the massive (and growing) government intervention in American health care, counties’ public-health agencies are probably my favorite (or, perhaps to assuage the arch-libertarian readers, “the least harmful”). They do things like inspecting restaurants for cleanliness, watching out for ...		
					Medicaid Contributes To Medical Bankruptcy
			The Wall Street Journal ran a disturbing story about the increasing number of people unable to pay medical bills. Some are even having to sell homes in a bad market to raise cash. Of course, the health care and political elites always interpret such harrowing tales as signals to increase ...