Commentary
Agriculture
A Scientist’s Week at the Vatican
Ten years ago this month, I had the experience of a lifetime. I was one of a small group of scholars from around the world who were convened by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences for a “study week.” Our subject was “Transgenic Plants for Food Security in the Context ...
Commentary
Hair care’s lessons for health care
The other day, I found myself in a predicament. I was having a bit of a bad hair day. So I went to a Drybar, the chain of quick-service salons, and poof! An hour and $49 later, I was ready for the catwalk. Consider the simple chain of events that transpired. Within ...
Commentary
FDA Has Problems, But Too-Fast, Too-Lenient Reviews Aren’t Among Them
In its international edition on April 25, the New York Times ran a blatantly anti-Semitic political cartoon that portrayed a blind President Trump wearing a yarmulke being led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was depicted as a dog wearing a collar with a star of David. It was, ...
California
High-Speed Alternatives to High-Speed Rail
On the campaign trail, California governor Gavin Newsom expressed support for the state’s high-speed rail project, but he’s been more reticent since taking office earlier this year. In February, he proposed to cut back on the plan because it “would cost too much and . . . take too long,” ...
California
California Is Moving to Ban Disposable Plastic Statewide
More than a half-century ago, in one of the most famous movie lines of all time, Dustin Hoffman character Benjamin Braddock, fresh out of college, received some unsolicited career advice. “I want to say one word to you. Just one word,” Mr. McGuire told young Benjamin. “Plastics. There’s a great ...
Commentary
Pharmaceutical Rebates — Keeping The Right Score
Sometimes the important reforms are those that address the mundane details. The Administration’s proposed changes to how pharmaceutical rebates are paid fall into this category. While far from a panacea, this reform could meaningfully improve the pharmaceutical market. For this reason, the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) just released “budget score“ on ...
Commentary
US Congress mandates silliness, USDA complies
By Henry I. Miller and Drew L. Kershen An editorial, “Label without a cause[i],” on these pages almost five years ago was prescient. Its subtitle read, “Mandatory labeling of GM [genetically modified] food in the United States will not only make all food more costly but also bamboozle consumers.” Well, ...
Commentary
Resurrecting Obamacare’s most hated provision
Since Congress effectively ended the unpopular requirement that all Americans obtain health coverage by zeroing out the fine for noncompliance as of the first of this year, three states and the District of Columbia have enacted mandates of their own. The mandate that Massachusetts imposed in 2006 is now back ...
Commentary
Price Controls by Another Name
The costs of medicines continue to dominate the headlines, attracting the attention of Congress and the Trump Administration. Reforms are necessary, but many of the reforms under consideration will make the situation worse. Indexing U.S. prices to the prices in other countries that use price controls, or using third-party arbitration ...
Agriculture
The Brave Old World of Genetic Engineering
By Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D. and Rob Wager A Washington Post article, “The Future of Food,” discussed the methods we use to breed food crops but suffered from a shortcoming we see often: “pseudo-balance” — the seeking out of clueless commentators to contradict advocates of superior modern genetic modification ...
A Scientist’s Week at the Vatican
Ten years ago this month, I had the experience of a lifetime. I was one of a small group of scholars from around the world who were convened by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences for a “study week.” Our subject was “Transgenic Plants for Food Security in the Context ...
Hair care’s lessons for health care
The other day, I found myself in a predicament. I was having a bit of a bad hair day. So I went to a Drybar, the chain of quick-service salons, and poof! An hour and $49 later, I was ready for the catwalk. Consider the simple chain of events that transpired. Within ...
FDA Has Problems, But Too-Fast, Too-Lenient Reviews Aren’t Among Them
In its international edition on April 25, the New York Times ran a blatantly anti-Semitic political cartoon that portrayed a blind President Trump wearing a yarmulke being led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was depicted as a dog wearing a collar with a star of David. It was, ...
High-Speed Alternatives to High-Speed Rail
On the campaign trail, California governor Gavin Newsom expressed support for the state’s high-speed rail project, but he’s been more reticent since taking office earlier this year. In February, he proposed to cut back on the plan because it “would cost too much and . . . take too long,” ...
California Is Moving to Ban Disposable Plastic Statewide
More than a half-century ago, in one of the most famous movie lines of all time, Dustin Hoffman character Benjamin Braddock, fresh out of college, received some unsolicited career advice. “I want to say one word to you. Just one word,” Mr. McGuire told young Benjamin. “Plastics. There’s a great ...
Pharmaceutical Rebates — Keeping The Right Score
Sometimes the important reforms are those that address the mundane details. The Administration’s proposed changes to how pharmaceutical rebates are paid fall into this category. While far from a panacea, this reform could meaningfully improve the pharmaceutical market. For this reason, the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) just released “budget score“ on ...
US Congress mandates silliness, USDA complies
By Henry I. Miller and Drew L. Kershen An editorial, “Label without a cause[i],” on these pages almost five years ago was prescient. Its subtitle read, “Mandatory labeling of GM [genetically modified] food in the United States will not only make all food more costly but also bamboozle consumers.” Well, ...
Resurrecting Obamacare’s most hated provision
Since Congress effectively ended the unpopular requirement that all Americans obtain health coverage by zeroing out the fine for noncompliance as of the first of this year, three states and the District of Columbia have enacted mandates of their own. The mandate that Massachusetts imposed in 2006 is now back ...
Price Controls by Another Name
The costs of medicines continue to dominate the headlines, attracting the attention of Congress and the Trump Administration. Reforms are necessary, but many of the reforms under consideration will make the situation worse. Indexing U.S. prices to the prices in other countries that use price controls, or using third-party arbitration ...
The Brave Old World of Genetic Engineering
By Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D. and Rob Wager A Washington Post article, “The Future of Food,” discussed the methods we use to breed food crops but suffered from a shortcoming we see often: “pseudo-balance” — the seeking out of clueless commentators to contradict advocates of superior modern genetic modification ...
