Commentary
California
California spends first, asks questions rarely
In November, California voters will have a chance to take a modest step in the right direction. What will they choose? Prop 41 would do a few things. First, it makes it so that new state taxes cannot dodge the Gann Limit, a constitutional spending limit. Second, it compels the ...
Commentary
Obamacare Vulnerable to a Real Fraud Problem
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it canceled the policies only after investigating and confirming that the enrollments were unauthorized. Many involved people enrolled without their knowledge, sometimes by dishonest insurance agents and brokers. Those cancellations are expected to return roughly $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies. And there’s ...
Commentary
Medicare for All comes with a human cost voters don’t realize
“Medicare for All” is enjoying a political resurgence. A KFF poll released last week found that two-thirds of Americans support a national health plan — the highest level since the organization began asking about the idea in 2017. But enthusiasm falls when Americans confront some of the trade-offs. Just 24% ...
Commentary
The FDA Is Struggling To Police The Peptide Boom
Unlike FDA-approved peptide medicines, many compounds marketed online have never undergone rigorous clinical testing or regulatory review. That leaves fundamental questions about their safety and effectiveness unanswered. The bigger challenge is the supply chain. Overseas manufacturers can profit from American demand while making it difficult for U.S. authorities to enforce ...
Commentary
The $3.3 Trillion Case For Bayh-Dole
The federal government once held roughly 28,000 patents on inventions arising from taxpayer-supported research. Almost none of them went anywhere. By 1980, the government had managed to license fewer than 5% of them. Then Congress changed the rules. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities, nonprofits, and small businesses to ...
Commentary
Medicare for All – Careful of What You Ask For
Medicare for All is back on Democrats’ legislative menu. It was featured on the lengthy list of healthcare policy options a House Democratic working group recently sent Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the lead House sponsor of Medicare for All, has made clear her plans ...
California
A California city is waging a fight against yoga
What did yoga ever do to San Diego? For two years, the city has been waging a protracted legal battle against two yoga instructors. Their alleged transgression? Teaching yoga classes supported by donations in a picturesque public park on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You know, the kind of ...
California
Making income tax surcharge permanent with Prop. 3 hurts state
Would you move to Florida for $100,000 a year? Because of California’s steeply progressive income tax rates, that’s the question many are asking. For an increasing number of taxpayers, the answer has become yes — which is why Proposition 3 is so consequential. In 2012, voters approved Proposition 30, which ...
Commentary
Want cheaper health insurance? Don’t kill HSAs
A new study from Georgetown University offers a three-part strategy for cutting health insurance costs — a worthwhile goal if there ever was one. Remarkably, the plan would effectively eliminate one of the most powerful tools for constraining health spending and saving patients money — health savings accounts, or HSAs. ...
Business & Economics
Who really won the Paramount-Warner Bros. spat?
The federal government cleared the deal in June after a “rigorous eight-month investigation” led by the U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division’s career staff – concluding the merger was unlikely to restrain competition or harm consumers. Overseas regulators representing 68 jurisdictions also approved the merger. But that wasn’t enough for Bonta, who opposed the “unlawful ...
California spends first, asks questions rarely
In November, California voters will have a chance to take a modest step in the right direction. What will they choose? Prop 41 would do a few things. First, it makes it so that new state taxes cannot dodge the Gann Limit, a constitutional spending limit. Second, it compels the ...
Obamacare Vulnerable to a Real Fraud Problem
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it canceled the policies only after investigating and confirming that the enrollments were unauthorized. Many involved people enrolled without their knowledge, sometimes by dishonest insurance agents and brokers. Those cancellations are expected to return roughly $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies. And there’s ...
Medicare for All comes with a human cost voters don’t realize
“Medicare for All” is enjoying a political resurgence. A KFF poll released last week found that two-thirds of Americans support a national health plan — the highest level since the organization began asking about the idea in 2017. But enthusiasm falls when Americans confront some of the trade-offs. Just 24% ...
The FDA Is Struggling To Police The Peptide Boom
Unlike FDA-approved peptide medicines, many compounds marketed online have never undergone rigorous clinical testing or regulatory review. That leaves fundamental questions about their safety and effectiveness unanswered. The bigger challenge is the supply chain. Overseas manufacturers can profit from American demand while making it difficult for U.S. authorities to enforce ...
The $3.3 Trillion Case For Bayh-Dole
The federal government once held roughly 28,000 patents on inventions arising from taxpayer-supported research. Almost none of them went anywhere. By 1980, the government had managed to license fewer than 5% of them. Then Congress changed the rules. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities, nonprofits, and small businesses to ...
Medicare for All – Careful of What You Ask For
Medicare for All is back on Democrats’ legislative menu. It was featured on the lengthy list of healthcare policy options a House Democratic working group recently sent Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the lead House sponsor of Medicare for All, has made clear her plans ...
A California city is waging a fight against yoga
What did yoga ever do to San Diego? For two years, the city has been waging a protracted legal battle against two yoga instructors. Their alleged transgression? Teaching yoga classes supported by donations in a picturesque public park on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You know, the kind of ...
Making income tax surcharge permanent with Prop. 3 hurts state
Would you move to Florida for $100,000 a year? Because of California’s steeply progressive income tax rates, that’s the question many are asking. For an increasing number of taxpayers, the answer has become yes — which is why Proposition 3 is so consequential. In 2012, voters approved Proposition 30, which ...
Want cheaper health insurance? Don’t kill HSAs
A new study from Georgetown University offers a three-part strategy for cutting health insurance costs — a worthwhile goal if there ever was one. Remarkably, the plan would effectively eliminate one of the most powerful tools for constraining health spending and saving patients money — health savings accounts, or HSAs. ...
Who really won the Paramount-Warner Bros. spat?
The federal government cleared the deal in June after a “rigorous eight-month investigation” led by the U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division’s career staff – concluding the merger was unlikely to restrain competition or harm consumers. Overseas regulators representing 68 jurisdictions also approved the merger. But that wasn’t enough for Bonta, who opposed the “unlawful ...