Commentary
California
California Republican Legislators Hike Taxes
Republican legislators, usually steadfast against tax hikes, wobbled on this one because the 2.35% tax on health insurers’ gross revenues will replace a 5.5% tax that will expire in October. You would have thought that the fact that 59% to 66% of California’ suninsured kids are already eligible for SCHIP ...
Commentary
A Follow-Up Question for Arne Duncan:What Does D.C. Know About Education that Works?
Well, in California’s case it’s the equivalent of “a football stadium [full] of students,” about 70,000 Duncan explained, who drop out of school. This should matter to people outside of the not-so-Golden State because California educates around 1/8 of all American students-so our dysfunction is the country’s dysfunction. Despite an ...
Commentary
Obama’s Teachable Moment Will Teach What?
The Flash Report, September 8, 2009 The biggest problem with President Barack Obama’s speech to students, which will be broadcast and be available to the nation’s schools on September 8th, may not be what he actually says in his speech. Rather, the bigger worry involves the Obama administration’s recommendations to ...
Commentary
The line forms to the left: Waiting for care under health reform
Waiting for care under health reform proposal Will waiting lines at doctors’ offices, labs and hospitals get longer if President Barack Obama’s vision of health care reform becomes a reality? And who will decide if a patient is eligible for a treatment or procedure? It will probably come as no ...
Commentary
Finding balance not easy
Nebraska’s kindergarten teachers are sounding the alarm about the push for rigorous academic instruction in their classrooms, calling instead for more playtime that scientists say stimulates young brains. Teachers and children feel intense pressure to perform and meet increasing standards and expectations, according to a new draft report that takes ...
Agriculture
Labor Day fix: cut taxes, spending, regulation
For Californians, this Labor Day may not be a cause for celebration. The federal government recently reported that the state’s unemployment rate reached 11.9 percent in July, its highest level in more than four decades. Many have blamed the ailing national economy for these dismal jobs numbers. Although there is ...
Business & Economics
Letter: House bill will penalize drug makers
During the past 10 years, Michigan has had a declining population, a shrinking job market, and the worst personal income growth of any state. Its unemployment rate is an incredible 15.4 percent, but now Michigan stands to lose even more jobs in one of the state’s remaining robust sectors. The ...
Business & Economics
The Triumph Of Optimism
You call this a crisis? Think back nearly 30 years ago. When Ronald Reagan took office the country’s economy was in a shambles—inflation was running into the double digits, growth had stagnated and the top marginal tax rate was 70%. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, bristling with imperial designs and nuclear ...
Business & Economics
Think tank pans Connecticut
An enviable performance during the recession notwithstanding, a new study puts Connecticut among the bottom feeders nationally for its economic performance leading up to this year. The data do not include information from 2009 during the worst of the recession, and that fact is reflected in the top-ranked state being ...
Commentary
Obama in Fantasyland
This is remarkable. As everyone in Washington knows, there are no savings to be had. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services projects that, at the current trajectory, the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund will become insolvent by 2017. The baby boomers are about to start retiring. Medicare is headed for ...
California Republican Legislators Hike Taxes
Republican legislators, usually steadfast against tax hikes, wobbled on this one because the 2.35% tax on health insurers’ gross revenues will replace a 5.5% tax that will expire in October. You would have thought that the fact that 59% to 66% of California’ suninsured kids are already eligible for SCHIP ...
A Follow-Up Question for Arne Duncan:What Does D.C. Know About Education that Works?
Well, in California’s case it’s the equivalent of “a football stadium [full] of students,” about 70,000 Duncan explained, who drop out of school. This should matter to people outside of the not-so-Golden State because California educates around 1/8 of all American students-so our dysfunction is the country’s dysfunction. Despite an ...
Obama’s Teachable Moment Will Teach What?
The Flash Report, September 8, 2009 The biggest problem with President Barack Obama’s speech to students, which will be broadcast and be available to the nation’s schools on September 8th, may not be what he actually says in his speech. Rather, the bigger worry involves the Obama administration’s recommendations to ...
The line forms to the left: Waiting for care under health reform
Waiting for care under health reform proposal Will waiting lines at doctors’ offices, labs and hospitals get longer if President Barack Obama’s vision of health care reform becomes a reality? And who will decide if a patient is eligible for a treatment or procedure? It will probably come as no ...
Finding balance not easy
Nebraska’s kindergarten teachers are sounding the alarm about the push for rigorous academic instruction in their classrooms, calling instead for more playtime that scientists say stimulates young brains. Teachers and children feel intense pressure to perform and meet increasing standards and expectations, according to a new draft report that takes ...
Labor Day fix: cut taxes, spending, regulation
For Californians, this Labor Day may not be a cause for celebration. The federal government recently reported that the state’s unemployment rate reached 11.9 percent in July, its highest level in more than four decades. Many have blamed the ailing national economy for these dismal jobs numbers. Although there is ...
Letter: House bill will penalize drug makers
During the past 10 years, Michigan has had a declining population, a shrinking job market, and the worst personal income growth of any state. Its unemployment rate is an incredible 15.4 percent, but now Michigan stands to lose even more jobs in one of the state’s remaining robust sectors. The ...
The Triumph Of Optimism
You call this a crisis? Think back nearly 30 years ago. When Ronald Reagan took office the country’s economy was in a shambles—inflation was running into the double digits, growth had stagnated and the top marginal tax rate was 70%. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, bristling with imperial designs and nuclear ...
Think tank pans Connecticut
An enviable performance during the recession notwithstanding, a new study puts Connecticut among the bottom feeders nationally for its economic performance leading up to this year. The data do not include information from 2009 during the worst of the recession, and that fact is reflected in the top-ranked state being ...
Obama in Fantasyland
This is remarkable. As everyone in Washington knows, there are no savings to be had. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services projects that, at the current trajectory, the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund will become insolvent by 2017. The baby boomers are about to start retiring. Medicare is headed for ...
