Commentary
Business & Economics
Coronavirus recovery — Want to help the economy? Don’t do this
Nearly 39 million Americans have filed for unemployment, as of May 21, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing unemployment closer to levels not seen since the Great Depression. So far, Congress has allocated over $239 billion in stimulus checks and unemployment benefits to help. Congressional Democrats want to go further. ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 26, 2020
Commentary
COVID-19 Makes Employer-Based Coverage Indefensible
Americans rendered jobless by COVID-19 have lost more than just their incomes. An estimated 12.7 million people have also lost their employer-provided health coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The crisis has driven home the imprudence of tying health insurance to employment. Our system not only makes coverage precarious but also ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 26, 2020
California
Is there any way to escape punishment of AB5?
Roughly two months into the pandemic lockdown, and deep into what looks to be a historic economic wreck, Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to refuse to do anything about Assembly Bill 5, a law likely to kill more jobs than any public policy enacted in California’s history. What will it take ...
Kerry Jackson
May 19, 2020
Commentary
COBRA subsidies would constrict the economy
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion follow-up to the first three coronavirus relief packages. Among other things, the package would have the government fund nine months of premiums for COBRA, the federal program that lets unemployed workers pay premiums in order to remain on their employers’ ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 19, 2020
Commentary
Coronavirus response – Buy America push would hurt US. Here’s how
It is expected that any day now, the White House will release an executive order requiring certain drugs to be manufactured in the United States. It’s part of a wider push by both the administration and Congress to force the federal government to buy more American-made goods and reduce reliance on countries like China. ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 18, 2020
Climate Change
The Unintended Consequences Of ESG Activism
As of the end of 2019, Blackrock (the largest asset manager in the world) held $7.4 trillion in assets. To put this in perspective, relative to the $90 trillion value of the global stock markets, Blackrock’s holdings equaled 8 percent of the total value. Given its size, it was inevitable that ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 18, 2020
Commentary
Anti-Science Precautionary Principle Jeopardizes Health, Safety, And Risks Innovation
Medical innovations do not happen overnight. Whether it is gene therapies, new vaccines, or cutting-edge medical equipment, developing innovative medical products is a risky venture. It also takes time, lots of financial resources, and most importantly, human ingenuity. Developing new drugs, for instance, can take between 10 and 15 years. ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 15, 2020
Commentary
Sally Pipes: COVID-19 Makes Employer-Based Coverage Indefensible
Americans rendered jobless by COVID-19 have lost more than just their incomes. An estimated 12.7 million people have also lost their employer-provided health coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The crisis has driven home the imprudence of tying health insurance to employment. Our system not only makes coverage precarious but also ...
Sally C. Pipes
May 12, 2020
Agriculture
Flummoxed Feds Freeze Out Frost Fix
Courtesy of the polar vortex, unseasonably cold temperatures came to a broad swath of the country, from Texas to Maine, last week, causing frost damage to crops and ornamental plants. (And snow in New York City’s Central Park on May 9). Cherry and other fruit trees are particularly susceptible, and losses ...
Henry Miller, M.S., M.D.
May 12, 2020
Charter Schools
Charters Are Pivoting to Online Education Better than Traditional Schools
With conventional schools shut down because of COVID-19, school officials are scrambling to provide students with education services through the use of online-learning tools. However, some types of schools are having greater success in transitioning to online education, and often those schools are charter schools. First, it is noteworthy that ...
Lance Izumi
May 11, 2020
Coronavirus recovery — Want to help the economy? Don’t do this
Nearly 39 million Americans have filed for unemployment, as of May 21, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing unemployment closer to levels not seen since the Great Depression. So far, Congress has allocated over $239 billion in stimulus checks and unemployment benefits to help. Congressional Democrats want to go further. ...
COVID-19 Makes Employer-Based Coverage Indefensible
Americans rendered jobless by COVID-19 have lost more than just their incomes. An estimated 12.7 million people have also lost their employer-provided health coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The crisis has driven home the imprudence of tying health insurance to employment. Our system not only makes coverage precarious but also ...
Is there any way to escape punishment of AB5?
Roughly two months into the pandemic lockdown, and deep into what looks to be a historic economic wreck, Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to refuse to do anything about Assembly Bill 5, a law likely to kill more jobs than any public policy enacted in California’s history. What will it take ...
COBRA subsidies would constrict the economy
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion follow-up to the first three coronavirus relief packages. Among other things, the package would have the government fund nine months of premiums for COBRA, the federal program that lets unemployed workers pay premiums in order to remain on their employers’ ...
Coronavirus response – Buy America push would hurt US. Here’s how
It is expected that any day now, the White House will release an executive order requiring certain drugs to be manufactured in the United States. It’s part of a wider push by both the administration and Congress to force the federal government to buy more American-made goods and reduce reliance on countries like China. ...
The Unintended Consequences Of ESG Activism
As of the end of 2019, Blackrock (the largest asset manager in the world) held $7.4 trillion in assets. To put this in perspective, relative to the $90 trillion value of the global stock markets, Blackrock’s holdings equaled 8 percent of the total value. Given its size, it was inevitable that ...
Anti-Science Precautionary Principle Jeopardizes Health, Safety, And Risks Innovation
Medical innovations do not happen overnight. Whether it is gene therapies, new vaccines, or cutting-edge medical equipment, developing innovative medical products is a risky venture. It also takes time, lots of financial resources, and most importantly, human ingenuity. Developing new drugs, for instance, can take between 10 and 15 years. ...
Sally Pipes: COVID-19 Makes Employer-Based Coverage Indefensible
Americans rendered jobless by COVID-19 have lost more than just their incomes. An estimated 12.7 million people have also lost their employer-provided health coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The crisis has driven home the imprudence of tying health insurance to employment. Our system not only makes coverage precarious but also ...
Flummoxed Feds Freeze Out Frost Fix
Courtesy of the polar vortex, unseasonably cold temperatures came to a broad swath of the country, from Texas to Maine, last week, causing frost damage to crops and ornamental plants. (And snow in New York City’s Central Park on May 9). Cherry and other fruit trees are particularly susceptible, and losses ...
Charters Are Pivoting to Online Education Better than Traditional Schools
With conventional schools shut down because of COVID-19, school officials are scrambling to provide students with education services through the use of online-learning tools. However, some types of schools are having greater success in transitioning to online education, and often those schools are charter schools. First, it is noteworthy that ...