Mitt Romney, mandatory health insurance, & the phony free-rider justification
“[I]f the individual mandate’s purpose is to prevent free riders from shifting the cost of their emergency care to others, all it should require is … insurance to cover a trip to the emergency room. Instead, both RomneyCare and ObamaCare require everyone to be covered for numerous benefits going far beyond emergency care.” – Jeff Jacoby
California HSR Fading Fast
You know you are in trouble when a liberal bastion such as the Washington Post questions your big-government program. So last week’s editorial questioning the California High-Speed Rail Authority for being “bound and determined to start building the railroad before its long-term funding is clear” should be one more sign that the rail project is […]
Education Sector Report Adds Valuable Perspective on Colorado Growth Model
The first time I heard of the Colorado Growth Model, I thought maybe it would be a scientific system to help determine how tall I would grow up to be in our high-altitude environment. No, we’re talking about our state’s system for measuring student progress toward proficiency in math, reading and writing, sorted by district […]
The case for replacing Medicare with vouchers for commercial insurance
This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains how a “premium-support” plan would solve Medicare’s fiscal crisis and improve the overall healthcare system. This voucher-based system also would protect seniors from bureaucratic rationing.
Top Down or Bottom Up?
America’s transportation system needs more centralized, top-down planning. At least, that’s what the Brookings Institution’s Robert Puentes advocates in a 2,350-word article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. If that seems like an unlikely message from America’s leading business daily, perhaps it is because Puentes couched it in terms such as “spending money wisely,” solving congestion, […]
Nevada Teacher Makes Case for Ending LIFO; No More Coin Flips in Colorado?
There are just some silly policies out there in K-12 education. One that has justly received a remarkable amount of attention in recent weeks and months is the issue of “Last In, First Out” (aka LIFO). Thanks to many union bargaining agreements and some state laws, many teachers are able to retain their jobs or […]
Health care updates from Cato Institute
The latest health care commentary by Cato Institute scholars on: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, mandatory insurance as elitist, unconstitutional, and based on phony justification.
Canada: 18-month wait for spinal surgery
Question on Canada’s Globe & Mail “Ask a Health Expert”: “My father-in-law needs cervical decompression surgery. He’s been told it will be 12 to 18 months and that the only way he will get the operation sooner is if he degrades further, potentially to the point of paralysis. …”
Halting TIF’s Rapid Growth
Tax-increment financing (TIF) costs taxpayers around $10 billion per year and is growing as fast as 10 percent per year, according to a new report, “Crony Capitalism and Social Engineering,” published by the Cato Institute. Though originally created to help renew “blighted” neighborhoods, TIF today is used primarily as an economic development tool for areas […]
GOP blocks Liu from federal judgeship
There has been much attention recently on the Republican decision to block President Obama’s nomination of law professor Goodwin Liu for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Attention is focused on his allegedly out-of-the-mainstream legal views. But to this ex-law professor, Liu doesn’t look that unusual. He looks like just another […]
What’s Left Unsaid in CTQ Report on Implementing Colorado SB 191
The Center for Teaching Quality recently released a report by 21 Denver-area teachers regarding the implementation of Colorado’s educator effectiveness law (SB 191). The report offers some valuable perspectives and insights, but what they left unsaid may be the most telling of all. For example, how do we go beyond discussions to accomplish the transformation of teaching from the industrial union model to a true professional guild?
When Is a Fee a Tax?
Years ago, Oregon voters approved a ballot measure that required a vote of the people before any local increase in taxes or user fees. As the Antiplanner supports user fees as a way of improving government efficiency, I asked one of the measure’s authors why he included user fees in the measure. “You know if […]
