Commentary
California
Californians Aren’t Embracing Sound Rent Control Policy Quite Yet
California voters earlier this month firmly rejected a proposition that would have repealed the state’s restrictions on rent-control laws. Nearly 62 percent said no, local governments cannot regulate the price of housing. But don’t mistake the vote with a sudden embrace of free-market housing policies. After all, October polling by ...
Business & Economics
The Bizarre World of Drug Pricing
There is no shortage of bad ideas when it comes to the pharmaceutical market. One such proposal would allow drugs to be imported directly from other countries, such as Canada. Then there is the Trump Administration’s proposal that would effectively adopt foreign price controls on Medicare Part B drugs by ...
Business & Economics
New Medicare Price Controls Don’t Put America First
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar just released a sweeping proposal that would drastically change how Medicare pays for advanced cancer therapies and other potent medicines. The plan relies on foreign price controls to reduce drug spending by $17 billion over five years. Although drug spending may decline, as ...
California
California’s predictably blue midterm elections – and what it means for you
The midterm elections were a rather tiresome affair in California. The Democratic Party maintained its dominance in the state, holding majorities in the Legislature, securing the governor’s mansion yet again, and sending another mass of winning candidates to Washington. As news goes, there’s not much to see here. Conventional wisdom ...
Business & Economics
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
Commentary
Government Bureaucrats Who Deserve A Salute
In a new Gallup poll, Americans’ confidence in an array of U.S. societal institutions is largely unchanged, with the military continuing to earn the highest level of confidence of 15 institutions tested. (As usual, Congress is dead last.) Maybe one of the reasons is that the military is more of a ...
Commentary
Short-Term Insurance Plans Offer A Much-Needed Escape From Obamacare
Several patient advocacy groups recently sued the Trump administration to overturn an August 2018 rule that expands access to short-term health insurance plans. They argue that short-term plans, which they deride as “junk insurance,” violate the Affordable Care Act. The courts ought to toss this meritless lawsuit. The new rule is legal ...
California
Statewide Polystyrene Ban Would Bring Unintended Consequences
Supposedly civic-minded prohibitions on consumer conveniences always have unintended consequences. California’s single-use plastic bag ban, for instance, has led to a surge in E. coli infections, created a swarm of thicker plastics bags that are a greater environmental hazard than the outlawed single-use plastic bags, boosted shoplifting, and been the ...
California
San Diego Ignores Alternatives in Rush to Ban Styrofoam
San Diego has just dreamed up a Styrofoam prohibition so harsh that it will require consumers to change their foam containers to alternative packaging when they visit city property. The City Council recently voted 5-3 to approve an ordinance banning “the distribution of egg cartons, food service ware, and food trays which ...
Commentary
Putting Drug Prices on TV Will Cause Unnecessary Patient Panic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed several reforms to drive down prescription drug prices. One measure would force pharmaceutical companies to mention the sticker prices of their medicines in television advertisements. The new mandate covers all prescriptions drugs reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid that cost more than $35 a month. The administration hopes this ...
Californians Aren’t Embracing Sound Rent Control Policy Quite Yet
California voters earlier this month firmly rejected a proposition that would have repealed the state’s restrictions on rent-control laws. Nearly 62 percent said no, local governments cannot regulate the price of housing. But don’t mistake the vote with a sudden embrace of free-market housing policies. After all, October polling by ...
The Bizarre World of Drug Pricing
There is no shortage of bad ideas when it comes to the pharmaceutical market. One such proposal would allow drugs to be imported directly from other countries, such as Canada. Then there is the Trump Administration’s proposal that would effectively adopt foreign price controls on Medicare Part B drugs by ...
New Medicare Price Controls Don’t Put America First
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar just released a sweeping proposal that would drastically change how Medicare pays for advanced cancer therapies and other potent medicines. The plan relies on foreign price controls to reduce drug spending by $17 billion over five years. Although drug spending may decline, as ...
California’s predictably blue midterm elections – and what it means for you
The midterm elections were a rather tiresome affair in California. The Democratic Party maintained its dominance in the state, holding majorities in the Legislature, securing the governor’s mansion yet again, and sending another mass of winning candidates to Washington. As news goes, there’s not much to see here. Conventional wisdom ...
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
Government Bureaucrats Who Deserve A Salute
In a new Gallup poll, Americans’ confidence in an array of U.S. societal institutions is largely unchanged, with the military continuing to earn the highest level of confidence of 15 institutions tested. (As usual, Congress is dead last.) Maybe one of the reasons is that the military is more of a ...
Short-Term Insurance Plans Offer A Much-Needed Escape From Obamacare
Several patient advocacy groups recently sued the Trump administration to overturn an August 2018 rule that expands access to short-term health insurance plans. They argue that short-term plans, which they deride as “junk insurance,” violate the Affordable Care Act. The courts ought to toss this meritless lawsuit. The new rule is legal ...
Statewide Polystyrene Ban Would Bring Unintended Consequences
Supposedly civic-minded prohibitions on consumer conveniences always have unintended consequences. California’s single-use plastic bag ban, for instance, has led to a surge in E. coli infections, created a swarm of thicker plastics bags that are a greater environmental hazard than the outlawed single-use plastic bags, boosted shoplifting, and been the ...
San Diego Ignores Alternatives in Rush to Ban Styrofoam
San Diego has just dreamed up a Styrofoam prohibition so harsh that it will require consumers to change their foam containers to alternative packaging when they visit city property. The City Council recently voted 5-3 to approve an ordinance banning “the distribution of egg cartons, food service ware, and food trays which ...
Putting Drug Prices on TV Will Cause Unnecessary Patient Panic
Last month, the Trump administration proposed several reforms to drive down prescription drug prices. One measure would force pharmaceutical companies to mention the sticker prices of their medicines in television advertisements. The new mandate covers all prescriptions drugs reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid that cost more than $35 a month. The administration hopes this ...
