Commentary
Commentary
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders plans will gut Medicare Part D
Hillary Clinton just released her plan to restructure Medicare “Part D,” a program that provides affordable prescription drug insurance to 37 million Americans. Clinton’s proposal comes hot on the heels of Bernie Sanders’ bill, S. 2023, which would likewise radically alter Medicare Part D by allowing federal officials to negotiate ...
Commentary
Obamacare is driving up cost of health care
Health care is about to become more expensive. Insurers in Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky are raising premiums for plans offered through Obamacare’s exchanges. Insurers in other states will soon follow. Insurers’ requests for rate hikes are an attempt to stay afloat amidst Obamacare’s sea of taxes and regulations. The blame ...
California
What do the Common Core Test results Really Tell Us?
When the California Department of Education recently released the results of the 2015 Common Core math and English tests, officials attributed the low student scores to the increased rigor of both the new standards and the new test. However, the real reasons are not so simple, and much more worrying. ...
Commentary
Health overhaul co-ops bad news for taxpayers
Several nonprofit insurance companies established under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul have been playing with house — or rather, taxpayer — money. And now they’re losing in a major way. Health Republic Insurance of New York, a taxpayer-funded Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, just announced that it’s going under. ...
Agriculture
Water markets would alleviate shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. California faces ...
Business & Economics
Oct. 4 Pro-Con: Are tax cuts best for America?
PRO: The U.S. economy has been plagued with unacceptably slow growth since the 2007-09 recession — so slow that six years into our supposed recovery, policymakers still talk about the need for economic stimulus. It should not be this way. Spurring economic growth requires broad-based reforms that must include effective ...
Business & Economics
Reigniting U.S. Competitiveness Through Corporate Tax Reform
Imagine two companies that sell the same product across the globe and directly compete against one another. Further imagine that both companies earn the same gross profit. However, the first company is located on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Canadian border; the second company is located on the Canadian side. ...
Business & Economics
Tax Reform Kabuki Theater Ready to Take Center Stage
Last month, the Legislature sent 600 bills to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature (or veto). Senator Bob Hertzberg’s SB 8 was not among them. Hertzberg created a buzz when he introduced his proposal in late 2014. Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton wrote Hertzberg’s proposal “points the way to ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s penalties shoot for quality, hit patients
Medicare’s doctors are revolting against Obamacare’s new system for paying them. Soon enough, patients will, too. This year, Medicare implemented a system of “value-based care,” whereby the government pays health care providers for the supposed quality of the care they provide, rather than the quantity. But value-based care isn’t what ...
Business & Economics
Tax cuts will revitalize growth: Opposing view
Governor Jeb Bush’s proposed pro-growth tax reform, mimicked by Donald Trump, is an important step forward. The U.S. economy has been plagued with unacceptably slow growth since the 2007-09 recession — so slow that six years into our supposed recovery, policymakers still talk about the need for economic stimulus. It ...
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders plans will gut Medicare Part D
Hillary Clinton just released her plan to restructure Medicare “Part D,” a program that provides affordable prescription drug insurance to 37 million Americans. Clinton’s proposal comes hot on the heels of Bernie Sanders’ bill, S. 2023, which would likewise radically alter Medicare Part D by allowing federal officials to negotiate ...
Obamacare is driving up cost of health care
Health care is about to become more expensive. Insurers in Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky are raising premiums for plans offered through Obamacare’s exchanges. Insurers in other states will soon follow. Insurers’ requests for rate hikes are an attempt to stay afloat amidst Obamacare’s sea of taxes and regulations. The blame ...
What do the Common Core Test results Really Tell Us?
When the California Department of Education recently released the results of the 2015 Common Core math and English tests, officials attributed the low student scores to the increased rigor of both the new standards and the new test. However, the real reasons are not so simple, and much more worrying. ...
Health overhaul co-ops bad news for taxpayers
Several nonprofit insurance companies established under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul have been playing with house — or rather, taxpayer — money. And now they’re losing in a major way. Health Republic Insurance of New York, a taxpayer-funded Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, just announced that it’s going under. ...
Water markets would alleviate shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. California faces ...
Oct. 4 Pro-Con: Are tax cuts best for America?
PRO: The U.S. economy has been plagued with unacceptably slow growth since the 2007-09 recession — so slow that six years into our supposed recovery, policymakers still talk about the need for economic stimulus. It should not be this way. Spurring economic growth requires broad-based reforms that must include effective ...
Reigniting U.S. Competitiveness Through Corporate Tax Reform
Imagine two companies that sell the same product across the globe and directly compete against one another. Further imagine that both companies earn the same gross profit. However, the first company is located on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Canadian border; the second company is located on the Canadian side. ...
Tax Reform Kabuki Theater Ready to Take Center Stage
Last month, the Legislature sent 600 bills to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature (or veto). Senator Bob Hertzberg’s SB 8 was not among them. Hertzberg created a buzz when he introduced his proposal in late 2014. Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton wrote Hertzberg’s proposal “points the way to ...
Obamacare’s penalties shoot for quality, hit patients
Medicare’s doctors are revolting against Obamacare’s new system for paying them. Soon enough, patients will, too. This year, Medicare implemented a system of “value-based care,” whereby the government pays health care providers for the supposed quality of the care they provide, rather than the quantity. But value-based care isn’t what ...
Tax cuts will revitalize growth: Opposing view
Governor Jeb Bush’s proposed pro-growth tax reform, mimicked by Donald Trump, is an important step forward. The U.S. economy has been plagued with unacceptably slow growth since the 2007-09 recession — so slow that six years into our supposed recovery, policymakers still talk about the need for economic stimulus. It ...
