Jobs
Commentary
GOP Can Still Win ObamaCare War After Losing Battle In Court
In anticipation of the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pondered the justices’ literacy. “I hope the Supreme Court can read English,” he mused. Millions of Americans are wondering the same thing. ObamaCare’s text clearly grants subsidies only to individuals purchasing coverage in exchanges “established by ...
Commentary
GOP: Appeal SCOTUS’s Obamacare decision to the American people
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court saved Obamacare for a second time by siding with the executive branch in King v. Burwell. The decision allows the Internal Revenue Service to distribute health insurance subsidies to about 6.4 million people in 34 states who use the federally operated Healthcare.gov exchange. But ...
Commentary
Obamacare’s Device Tax Grows More Devious
Business is not going well at the Internal Revenue Service. The agency projected that it would collect $1.2 billion between April and September of last year from Obamacares medical device tax, which went into effect at the beginning of 2013. But the tax take was just three-quarters of that. Implementing ...
Commentary
Tax reform, health reform should be linked together
In his majority opinion upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice John Roberts salvaged the notorious individual mandate that requires people to obtain insurance or pay a fine by effectively reclassifying the fine as a tax. The decision baffled most observers. Conservatives were outraged that the ostensibly friendly chief justice had upheld the ...
Business & Economics
World Series policy lessons
Much of California and Texas are in a state of baseball euphoria. Either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers will win their first World Series title this week. (The Giants won it in 1954 but were a New York team then.) Unfortunately for Californians, the shared state of ...
Business & Economics
At the crossroads of Silicon Valley, Sacramento
California is pursuing an IT Strategic Plan, the official state blueprint for improving citizen and internal services through technology investments. Though launched with good intentions, the plan could benefit from some revision and more input from Silicon Valley. Historically, government officials have struggled to effectively manage the state’s massive, decentralized ...
Business & Economics
State IT Plan Should Help Silicon Valley and Respect Taxpayers
Historically, California officials have struggled to manage effectively the state’s massive, decentralized $3 billion IT (information technology) network. In recent years, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has used the state’s IT Strategic Plan as a guiding document to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and accountability across dozens of state agencies. The motive is ...
Commentary
No Free Lunch: The True Cost of ObamaCare
Far from providing “affordable” care for everyone, as President Obama has promised,1 the main health care proposals working their way through Congress would in fact come at a painful price – higher insurance premiums, more and higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower wages, a reduced standard of living and an erosion ...
Business & Economics
Ending drugmakers’ exemption will cost jobs
During the past 10 years, Michigan has had a declining population, a shrinking job market, and the worst personal income growth of any state. Now Michigan stands to lose even more jobs in one of the state’s remaining robust sectors. The biopharmaceutical industry currently employs more than 100,000 Michiganders and ...
Business & Economics
Michigan can’t afford ‘FDA defense’ repeal
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 ...
GOP Can Still Win ObamaCare War After Losing Battle In Court
In anticipation of the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pondered the justices’ literacy. “I hope the Supreme Court can read English,” he mused. Millions of Americans are wondering the same thing. ObamaCare’s text clearly grants subsidies only to individuals purchasing coverage in exchanges “established by ...
GOP: Appeal SCOTUS’s Obamacare decision to the American people
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court saved Obamacare for a second time by siding with the executive branch in King v. Burwell. The decision allows the Internal Revenue Service to distribute health insurance subsidies to about 6.4 million people in 34 states who use the federally operated Healthcare.gov exchange. But ...
Obamacare’s Device Tax Grows More Devious
Business is not going well at the Internal Revenue Service. The agency projected that it would collect $1.2 billion between April and September of last year from Obamacares medical device tax, which went into effect at the beginning of 2013. But the tax take was just three-quarters of that. Implementing ...
Tax reform, health reform should be linked together
In his majority opinion upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice John Roberts salvaged the notorious individual mandate that requires people to obtain insurance or pay a fine by effectively reclassifying the fine as a tax. The decision baffled most observers. Conservatives were outraged that the ostensibly friendly chief justice had upheld the ...
World Series policy lessons
Much of California and Texas are in a state of baseball euphoria. Either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers will win their first World Series title this week. (The Giants won it in 1954 but were a New York team then.) Unfortunately for Californians, the shared state of ...
At the crossroads of Silicon Valley, Sacramento
California is pursuing an IT Strategic Plan, the official state blueprint for improving citizen and internal services through technology investments. Though launched with good intentions, the plan could benefit from some revision and more input from Silicon Valley. Historically, government officials have struggled to effectively manage the state’s massive, decentralized ...
State IT Plan Should Help Silicon Valley and Respect Taxpayers
Historically, California officials have struggled to manage effectively the state’s massive, decentralized $3 billion IT (information technology) network. In recent years, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has used the state’s IT Strategic Plan as a guiding document to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and accountability across dozens of state agencies. The motive is ...
No Free Lunch: The True Cost of ObamaCare
Far from providing “affordable” care for everyone, as President Obama has promised,1 the main health care proposals working their way through Congress would in fact come at a painful price – higher insurance premiums, more and higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower wages, a reduced standard of living and an erosion ...
Ending drugmakers’ exemption will cost jobs
During the past 10 years, Michigan has had a declining population, a shrinking job market, and the worst personal income growth of any state. Now Michigan stands to lose even more jobs in one of the state’s remaining robust sectors. The biopharmaceutical industry currently employs more than 100,000 Michiganders and ...
Michigan can’t afford ‘FDA defense’ repeal
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 ...
