Commentary
Commentary
Rejecting Obamacare’s Perverse Ultimatum
One of Obamacare’s central pillars, the individual mandate, boils down to a crude ultimatum. Buy health insurance or pay the price — a tax penalty of the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent of income, to be exact. But what if it’s essentially impossible to buy health insurance — because ...
Commentary
Stop Bending The Law To Protect Obamacare
President Obama is scrambling to keep his signature health reform law intact. A slew of insurers — including industry giants Aetna and United Health — have elected to leave most of the exchanges they initially participated in after sustaining heavy losses over the last two years. President Obama has responded ...
Commentary
The Public Option Rides Again
Like a gambler who doesn’t know when to quit, Democrats are doubling down on their favorite losing bet — Obamacare. Hit by multimillion-dollar losses — UnitedHealthcare, for instance, expects to lose $850 million this year alone – insurers are pulling out of the exchanges. All but six of Obamacare’s 23 ...
Commentary
Choice Media Education Story of the Day
Watch PRI’s Lance Izumi present the Choice Media education story of the day. Chicago Teachers Union sets Oct. 11 strike date (Chicago Tribune)
Business & Economics
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
Business & Economics
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
Business & Economics
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
Commentary
How to Cover the Sick and Lower Premiums without Breaking the Bank
Fifty-one percent of Americans now disapprove of Obamacare — the highest share this year, according to Gallup. It’s easy to see why. Insurers are abandoning the health law’s exchanges, leaving consumers few plans to choose from. Those carriers that haven’t pulled out plan to hike rates an average of 25 ...
Commentary
Trump And Clinton’s Healthcare Debate Was No Contest
Donald Trump’s penchant for brusque remarks came in handy during the second presidential debate, eight days ago. When the discussion turned to the president’s health law, the GOP candidate’s message was clear: “Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it.” Only Hillary’s own spouse put it better, ...
California
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
Rejecting Obamacare’s Perverse Ultimatum
One of Obamacare’s central pillars, the individual mandate, boils down to a crude ultimatum. Buy health insurance or pay the price — a tax penalty of the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent of income, to be exact. But what if it’s essentially impossible to buy health insurance — because ...
Stop Bending The Law To Protect Obamacare
President Obama is scrambling to keep his signature health reform law intact. A slew of insurers — including industry giants Aetna and United Health — have elected to leave most of the exchanges they initially participated in after sustaining heavy losses over the last two years. President Obama has responded ...
The Public Option Rides Again
Like a gambler who doesn’t know when to quit, Democrats are doubling down on their favorite losing bet — Obamacare. Hit by multimillion-dollar losses — UnitedHealthcare, for instance, expects to lose $850 million this year alone – insurers are pulling out of the exchanges. All but six of Obamacare’s 23 ...
Choice Media Education Story of the Day
Watch PRI’s Lance Izumi present the Choice Media education story of the day. Chicago Teachers Union sets Oct. 11 strike date (Chicago Tribune)
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
Reformed Public Pensions Can Still Be Generous
As documented in a September 18, 2016 story in the L.A. Times, the problem of California’s unfunded public pensions has reached crisis proportions. The state controller’s office estimates that the total unfunded liabilities of the state and local public pension systems are $241.3 billion. But this assumes an annual return ...
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
How to Cover the Sick and Lower Premiums without Breaking the Bank
Fifty-one percent of Americans now disapprove of Obamacare — the highest share this year, according to Gallup. It’s easy to see why. Insurers are abandoning the health law’s exchanges, leaving consumers few plans to choose from. Those carriers that haven’t pulled out plan to hike rates an average of 25 ...
Trump And Clinton’s Healthcare Debate Was No Contest
Donald Trump’s penchant for brusque remarks came in handy during the second presidential debate, eight days ago. When the discussion turned to the president’s health law, the GOP candidate’s message was clear: “Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it.” Only Hillary’s own spouse put it better, ...
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
