Commentary

California

Nickel & Dimed in San Francisco Health Care

Despite a (possibly short-term) victory in court, San Francisco’s Health Access Program faces an uphill struggle to provide so-called “universal” health care to San Franciscans. SF HAP, a.k.a. “Healthy San Francisco”, is the name given to the City’s tax hike on small businesses to fund it’s public health bureaucracy. Apparently, ...
Commentary

Costing Out California’s Global Warming Solutions Act

On Sept. 17, the California Air Resources Board released an economic analysis of their own implementation scheme for AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The analysis said, “not only will the economy grow by a similar amount as we move toward 2020, but it will grow at ...
Business & Economics

Upper Midwest: Land of economically free

The Republicans held their convention in St. Paul this summer, but the real news from the Upper Midwest is the region’s renaissance in economic freedom, led by South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore State is number one among all 50 states in economic freedom, according to the recently released 2008 U.S. ...
Commentary

Port-Wine Stains: A Particularly Idiotic Statement on State Benefit Mandates

Me, that’s who. Alabama came in first place in the second edition of the Index of Health Ownership. I was so pleased that I asked Michael Ciamarra of the Alabama Policy Institute to collaborate with me on an op-ed for placement in local newspapers. As a result, I managed to ...
Commentary

A Ten Year View of Progress In Improving the Transition to College-1998-2008

This is a long blog, but puts together my analysis of our progress and integrates many components of past blogs. Revised version is in the Chronicle of Higher education on line, October 7, 2008 Most of the nation’s eighth graders aspire to college. Unfortunately, however, the majority of them will ...
Commentary

Importation is a national security issue

John McCain and Barack Obama have long been proponents of lifting the ban on foreign drug importation. Both claim the move would reduce the nation’s healthcare costs by giving Americans access to cheap pills from abroad. Now, according to recent announcements from their advisors, they are both reconsidering their support ...
Commentary

Stanford’s Student Family Health Plan: A Case Study in Fragmentation

For those of us who advocate eliminating the tax-prejudice that gives our employers, instead of ourselves, a subsidy for buying our health care, the collapse of family health coverage for students at Stanford and other California universities presents quite a challenging case study. Stanford demands that its students have health ...
Commentary

The Stealth Mental Health Parity Act: An Attack on Innovation and Choice in Health Care

If anyone wonders why the government should not decide which benefits health plans must provide, let him observe the troubled birth of the “Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.” Wellstone-Domenici had languished in Congress for a full 16 years and got passed ...
Business & Economics

If We Can’t Get Price Transparency, Let’s Try Calorie Transparency

Who knows why Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB-1420, a silly law that requires chain restaurants (a.k.a. fast-food joints) to post calorie-counts of their burgers, fries, and shakes on the menu-boards. Maybe sign-makers lobbied for it? I doubt it: Governor Schwarzenegger is a huge supporter of the nanny-state when it comes to ...
Commentary

Obama health plan would worsen flaws

Obama’s plan would put an even larger slice of health services under price controls – which inevitably lead to shortages Barack Obama recently announced a two-pronged plan to help small businesses cope with the rising cost of health insurance. First, his proposal would institute a refundable tax credit to offset ...
California

Nickel & Dimed in San Francisco Health Care

Despite a (possibly short-term) victory in court, San Francisco’s Health Access Program faces an uphill struggle to provide so-called “universal” health care to San Franciscans. SF HAP, a.k.a. “Healthy San Francisco”, is the name given to the City’s tax hike on small businesses to fund it’s public health bureaucracy. Apparently, ...
Commentary

Costing Out California’s Global Warming Solutions Act

On Sept. 17, the California Air Resources Board released an economic analysis of their own implementation scheme for AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The analysis said, “not only will the economy grow by a similar amount as we move toward 2020, but it will grow at ...
Business & Economics

Upper Midwest: Land of economically free

The Republicans held their convention in St. Paul this summer, but the real news from the Upper Midwest is the region’s renaissance in economic freedom, led by South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore State is number one among all 50 states in economic freedom, according to the recently released 2008 U.S. ...
Commentary

Port-Wine Stains: A Particularly Idiotic Statement on State Benefit Mandates

Me, that’s who. Alabama came in first place in the second edition of the Index of Health Ownership. I was so pleased that I asked Michael Ciamarra of the Alabama Policy Institute to collaborate with me on an op-ed for placement in local newspapers. As a result, I managed to ...
Commentary

A Ten Year View of Progress In Improving the Transition to College-1998-2008

This is a long blog, but puts together my analysis of our progress and integrates many components of past blogs. Revised version is in the Chronicle of Higher education on line, October 7, 2008 Most of the nation’s eighth graders aspire to college. Unfortunately, however, the majority of them will ...
Commentary

Importation is a national security issue

John McCain and Barack Obama have long been proponents of lifting the ban on foreign drug importation. Both claim the move would reduce the nation’s healthcare costs by giving Americans access to cheap pills from abroad. Now, according to recent announcements from their advisors, they are both reconsidering their support ...
Commentary

Stanford’s Student Family Health Plan: A Case Study in Fragmentation

For those of us who advocate eliminating the tax-prejudice that gives our employers, instead of ourselves, a subsidy for buying our health care, the collapse of family health coverage for students at Stanford and other California universities presents quite a challenging case study. Stanford demands that its students have health ...
Commentary

The Stealth Mental Health Parity Act: An Attack on Innovation and Choice in Health Care

If anyone wonders why the government should not decide which benefits health plans must provide, let him observe the troubled birth of the “Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.” Wellstone-Domenici had languished in Congress for a full 16 years and got passed ...
Business & Economics

If We Can’t Get Price Transparency, Let’s Try Calorie Transparency

Who knows why Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB-1420, a silly law that requires chain restaurants (a.k.a. fast-food joints) to post calorie-counts of their burgers, fries, and shakes on the menu-boards. Maybe sign-makers lobbied for it? I doubt it: Governor Schwarzenegger is a huge supporter of the nanny-state when it comes to ...
Commentary

Obama health plan would worsen flaws

Obama’s plan would put an even larger slice of health services under price controls – which inevitably lead to shortages Barack Obama recently announced a two-pronged plan to help small businesses cope with the rising cost of health insurance. First, his proposal would institute a refundable tax credit to offset ...
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