Commentary
Business & Economics
A bone to pick with Bartlett on federal spending
Reps. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence recently called for a constitutional amendment limiting federal spending “to one-fifth of the economy.” Bruce Bartlett, a former official in the George H.W. Bush administration, promptly denounced the idea as “dopey,” one “terrible… on so many levels that it is hard to know where ...
California
Double Jeopardy? Californians Are Already Protected from Health Insurance Cancellations
The health “reform” recently signed by President Obama may be expensive and over-regulated but its consumer protection parts are popular. They also turn out to be redundant, even though it’s hard to criticize a law that prevents a health insurer from dropping a beneficiary after someone falls ill. Indeed, H.R. ...
Commentary
Health care reform too costly for critic
John R. Graham, the director of health care studies for San Francisco’s Pacific Research Institute, has been a critic of the national health overhaul law – not surprising, considering the institute is a free-market think tank. Graham answered three questions posed by reporter Victoria Colliver. Q: What are some of ...
Commentary
Further down road to serfdom
With health care reform now the law of the land, congressional Democrats were in full celebration mode. Unfortunately, ordinary Americans don’t have much reason to rejoice. Not only will the law deprive patients and taxpayers of ever greater amounts of cash, it will also rob them of much of their ...
Business & Economics
Growth Industry for Lobbyists: You, the Taxpayer
Forget the stereotype of the lobbyists shilling for corporate welfare in the polished corridors of K Street. The biggest single market for the lobby industry is government itself, as state entities try to get (or keep) money and privileges flowing from legislatures. The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) recently studied how ...
Agriculture
Enviros trade in human misery
SACRAMENTO – One of the most unusual vote-buying scams the Obama administration may have used to pass its health care socialization plan was an alleged promise to two Democratic congressmen to increase federal water supplies to the San Joaquin Valley. It’s the nation’s most fertile farm region, but a region ...
Commentary
Reform Repeal Is Just Child’s Play
Repeal: Some say trying to repeal ObamaCare is a futile dream once people get used to its benefits, such as covering kids with pre-existing conditions. Once before, government was slapped down. It can be done. Entitlements can be addictive, and it’s certainly the purpose of this administration to make as ...
Commentary
Repeal Of Bill, All Or In Part, Is Problematic
It’s springtime, and with the enactment of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care monstrosity, repeal is in the air. And why not? Supported by substantial popular majorities now energized as never before, congressional Republicans opposed the legislation unanimously, and the polls point unambiguously to substantial gains for the GOP this November. And ...
Commentary
Washington-centric Education “Reforms” Destined for Failure
Last week the Obama administration released changes to No Child Left Behind, now known as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The New York Times observed that, “This ambitious agenda presents striking challenges of its own, both political and in terms of implementation.” Indeed, the proposed alterations have elicited divided ...
Business & Economics
Vallejo’s Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy
Two years after going broke, the California city still isn’t free of its crushing pension obligations. In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. Now, as it prepares ...
A bone to pick with Bartlett on federal spending
Reps. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence recently called for a constitutional amendment limiting federal spending “to one-fifth of the economy.” Bruce Bartlett, a former official in the George H.W. Bush administration, promptly denounced the idea as “dopey,” one “terrible… on so many levels that it is hard to know where ...
Double Jeopardy? Californians Are Already Protected from Health Insurance Cancellations
The health “reform” recently signed by President Obama may be expensive and over-regulated but its consumer protection parts are popular. They also turn out to be redundant, even though it’s hard to criticize a law that prevents a health insurer from dropping a beneficiary after someone falls ill. Indeed, H.R. ...
Health care reform too costly for critic
John R. Graham, the director of health care studies for San Francisco’s Pacific Research Institute, has been a critic of the national health overhaul law – not surprising, considering the institute is a free-market think tank. Graham answered three questions posed by reporter Victoria Colliver. Q: What are some of ...
Further down road to serfdom
With health care reform now the law of the land, congressional Democrats were in full celebration mode. Unfortunately, ordinary Americans don’t have much reason to rejoice. Not only will the law deprive patients and taxpayers of ever greater amounts of cash, it will also rob them of much of their ...
Growth Industry for Lobbyists: You, the Taxpayer
Forget the stereotype of the lobbyists shilling for corporate welfare in the polished corridors of K Street. The biggest single market for the lobby industry is government itself, as state entities try to get (or keep) money and privileges flowing from legislatures. The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) recently studied how ...
Enviros trade in human misery
SACRAMENTO – One of the most unusual vote-buying scams the Obama administration may have used to pass its health care socialization plan was an alleged promise to two Democratic congressmen to increase federal water supplies to the San Joaquin Valley. It’s the nation’s most fertile farm region, but a region ...
Reform Repeal Is Just Child’s Play
Repeal: Some say trying to repeal ObamaCare is a futile dream once people get used to its benefits, such as covering kids with pre-existing conditions. Once before, government was slapped down. It can be done. Entitlements can be addictive, and it’s certainly the purpose of this administration to make as ...
Repeal Of Bill, All Or In Part, Is Problematic
It’s springtime, and with the enactment of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care monstrosity, repeal is in the air. And why not? Supported by substantial popular majorities now energized as never before, congressional Republicans opposed the legislation unanimously, and the polls point unambiguously to substantial gains for the GOP this November. And ...
Washington-centric Education “Reforms” Destined for Failure
Last week the Obama administration released changes to No Child Left Behind, now known as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The New York Times observed that, “This ambitious agenda presents striking challenges of its own, both political and in terms of implementation.” Indeed, the proposed alterations have elicited divided ...
Vallejo’s Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy
Two years after going broke, the California city still isn’t free of its crushing pension obligations. In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. Now, as it prepares ...
