And Your Point Is?
Matthew Yglesias is somehow offended by the Antiplanner’s recent post on Cato’s blog about the huge decline in the productivity of our socialized transit industry since 1970. He never addresses or even acknowledges any of the arguments made in my article. Instead, his problem is that the article “fails to acknowledge any government role in […]
Medicare head Donald Berwick: rationing for thee, not for me
David Catron points out more ruling class elitism from Medicare & Medicaid head Donald Berwick:
Berwick praised the heavy-handed rationing methods of Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and said, “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care; the decision is whether we will ration with our […]
Back in the Air Again
The Antiplanner is in Nashville today speaking to the Tennessee Road Builders Association. Contrary to the claims of some, this is a rare event for me; I think I’ve only spoken to one road builder association in the past, and that was close to ten years ago. I won’t actually speak until this afternoon, so […]
Let’s Focus on Replicating Great Teaching Rather Than Shrinking Class Sizes
You’ve got to hand it to the teachers unions. They have so many people conditioned to call for more teachers and smaller class sizes as the leading remedy for what ails public schools. The tide slowly is turning to a greater realization of what the abundance of research shows us: namely, that the quality of the individual teacher is far more important than small differences in class sizes.
Will Colorado Authorities Push Anthem to be a Slumlord Insurance Company?
Will Anthem act like a slumlord health insurer if the CO Division of Insurance forbids them from increasing rates? The Denver Post reports that Colorado authorities are still deliberating about whether to permit Anthem to increase premiums. It’s taken as a given that government officials have a right to interfere with what should be private […]
Comments on FTA Cost-Effectiveness Rule
The Antiplanner has prepared several pages of comments in response to the Federal Transit Administration’s request for comments on its cost-effectiveness rule. I haven’t actually submitted this document to the FTA yet, so if you have any suggestions I am open to them. Comments are due on August 2. You can submit your comments via […]
How Do Common Core Standards Compare to Colorado’s New Academic Standards?
The deadline for the Colorado State Board of Education to decide whether to approve Common Core Standards (CCS) is fast approaching, now only two weeks away. The debate continues to pick up steam. Are these academic standards for K-12 students truly high quality and voluntary? Is there truly a benefit beyond the money tied to adopting Common Core?
FDA on your DNA: “You can’t handle the truth!”
From Paul Hsieh:
Recent advances in biotechnology have allowed private companies to offer affordable genetic testing directly to consumers, to help them determine their risks of developing problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and various forms of cancer. In response, the U.S. government has told these companies that their tests must be […]
Is Portland’s Plan Working?
A new census of downtown Portland employers reveals that, for the first time since the annual census began in 2001, the number of downtown workers taking transit to work exceeded the number driving in 2009. This isn’t because the number taking transit to work increased — it declined by 6 percent — but because the […]
The Problem with Transit
Table 12 of the historical tables supplementing the 2010 Public Transit Fact Book reveals that, since 1970, the number of workers needed to operate America’s public transit systems has increased by 180 percent. Table 38 reveals that, in the same time period, the cost of operating buses, trolley buses, light rail, and heavy rail (the […]
Glimpsing a K-12 Future: Pension Transparency and Education Entrepreneurs
It’s the middle of July. It’s hot outside. If they’re not swimming in the pool, people are more interested in political scandals than education stories. That’s too bad.
Whether we realize it or not, I’m beginning to believe I am lucky enough to be coming of age during a truly transformational time in public schooling and […]
Donald Berwick’s Five-Year Plan v. the iPhone
Paul Howard and David Gratzer, MD write
Last month, Apple released its new iPhone, a faster and more powerful version of its ever popular computer-phone. It’s a remarkable device – particularly remarkable given that its machine ancestors were large and expensive, often filling whole buildings yet able to crunch fewer numbers than […]
