Commentary
Commentary
America’s Centers for Disease Confusion
America’s vaccination campaign is stalling. In late June, pharmacists and other providers were administering roughly 800,000 shots a day — down 80 percent from a peak of more than 4.6 million in mid April. Because of this precipitous decline, the Biden administration recently admitted it would miss its self-imposed goal ...
Sally C. Pipes
July 5, 2021
Commentary
Democrats’ Medicare Plan Lavishes Billions on Patients Who Don’t Need It
Medicare is running out of money. According to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, the program’s Part A hospital insurance trust fund is projected to be insolvent in 2024. At that point, there won’t be enough tax revenue coming in to cover the claims costs of the program’s beneficiaries. Naturally, ...
Sally C. Pipes
July 2, 2021
California
Enough of Politicians’ Expensive Toys
With President Joe Biden now making federal transportation policy, the reckless California high-speed rail project is in line for a $929 million grant from Washington, D.C. The funds will surely be squandered in similar fashion to the billions already wasted. The grant had been sensibly pulled by Donald Trump in ...
Kerry Jackson
June 30, 2021
Agriculture
Key Supreme Court ruling protects Californians’ private property rights
“I’m going to take this to the Supreme Court,” is almost always an empty, baseless threat generated by in-the-moment fury from someone who believes they were wronged. But sometimes cases get that far. Sometimes the offended party wins. And on occasion, that victory undergirds the framework of a free society. ...
Kerry Jackson
June 30, 2021
Business & Economics
Basic Income: High Praise but Poor Results
Handing out taxpayer dollars in the form of basic incomes is the latest policy rage. The Los Angeles Times reports there’s “a growing enthusiasm for basic income programs.” Vox says “guaranteed income is graduating from charity to public policy.” At KQED, they’re giving Oaklanders tips on how they can apply for the city’s ...
Kerry Jackson
June 29, 2021
Commentary
States are better off without Medicaid expansion
Congressional Democrats are debating several ways to offer Medicaid coverage to low-income, able-bodied adults in the 12 states that have refused to expand the program under Obamacare. Spending more federal dollars on the country’s largest entitlement is a bad idea. Medicaid is an unsustainable program that costs a fortune yet ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 28, 2021
Commentary
America’s drug rebate system is broken
Rebates and discounts are generally viewed as important competitive tools that lower prices for consumers, and rightly so. But consumers should beware when discounts create competitive restrictions that reduces their choices and increases their costs. Such is the case when dominant drug manufacturers use rebates to keep lower-priced drugs off ...
Pacific Research Institute
June 24, 2021
Commentary
The American Left’s Obsession with Government-Run Health Care Defies Reality
Fresh off their successful defense of Obamacare before the U.S. Supreme Court, Democrats are looking to expand government control over the country’s healthcare system. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have requested information on how to create a new public health insurance option. Senate Democrats led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., want to lower the ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 23, 2021
Commentary
Government-run health care is bad for business
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently surveyed more than 300 companies with more than 5,000 employees — and found that 83% believed that “a greater government role in providing coverage and containing costs would be better for their business.” They’re gravely mistaken. A health care system that features even more government ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 22, 2021
Commentary
How The Private Sector Can Help Address The Doctor Shortage
Demand for doctors is far outstripping supply. The United States will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, according to projections out this month from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Already, many Americans are struggling to get the care they need. About 35% of patients had trouble finding a ...
Sally C. Pipes
June 22, 2021
America’s Centers for Disease Confusion
America’s vaccination campaign is stalling. In late June, pharmacists and other providers were administering roughly 800,000 shots a day — down 80 percent from a peak of more than 4.6 million in mid April. Because of this precipitous decline, the Biden administration recently admitted it would miss its self-imposed goal ...
Democrats’ Medicare Plan Lavishes Billions on Patients Who Don’t Need It
Medicare is running out of money. According to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, the program’s Part A hospital insurance trust fund is projected to be insolvent in 2024. At that point, there won’t be enough tax revenue coming in to cover the claims costs of the program’s beneficiaries. Naturally, ...
Enough of Politicians’ Expensive Toys
With President Joe Biden now making federal transportation policy, the reckless California high-speed rail project is in line for a $929 million grant from Washington, D.C. The funds will surely be squandered in similar fashion to the billions already wasted. The grant had been sensibly pulled by Donald Trump in ...
Key Supreme Court ruling protects Californians’ private property rights
“I’m going to take this to the Supreme Court,” is almost always an empty, baseless threat generated by in-the-moment fury from someone who believes they were wronged. But sometimes cases get that far. Sometimes the offended party wins. And on occasion, that victory undergirds the framework of a free society. ...
Basic Income: High Praise but Poor Results
Handing out taxpayer dollars in the form of basic incomes is the latest policy rage. The Los Angeles Times reports there’s “a growing enthusiasm for basic income programs.” Vox says “guaranteed income is graduating from charity to public policy.” At KQED, they’re giving Oaklanders tips on how they can apply for the city’s ...
States are better off without Medicaid expansion
Congressional Democrats are debating several ways to offer Medicaid coverage to low-income, able-bodied adults in the 12 states that have refused to expand the program under Obamacare. Spending more federal dollars on the country’s largest entitlement is a bad idea. Medicaid is an unsustainable program that costs a fortune yet ...
America’s drug rebate system is broken
Rebates and discounts are generally viewed as important competitive tools that lower prices for consumers, and rightly so. But consumers should beware when discounts create competitive restrictions that reduces their choices and increases their costs. Such is the case when dominant drug manufacturers use rebates to keep lower-priced drugs off ...
The American Left’s Obsession with Government-Run Health Care Defies Reality
Fresh off their successful defense of Obamacare before the U.S. Supreme Court, Democrats are looking to expand government control over the country’s healthcare system. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have requested information on how to create a new public health insurance option. Senate Democrats led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., want to lower the ...
Government-run health care is bad for business
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently surveyed more than 300 companies with more than 5,000 employees — and found that 83% believed that “a greater government role in providing coverage and containing costs would be better for their business.” They’re gravely mistaken. A health care system that features even more government ...
How The Private Sector Can Help Address The Doctor Shortage
Demand for doctors is far outstripping supply. The United States will face a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034, according to projections out this month from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Already, many Americans are struggling to get the care they need. About 35% of patients had trouble finding a ...