Colorado SB 11-213: Parents should value children’s health more than sweets & booze
If the state must compel taxpayers to fund CHP+, Senate Bill 213 would increase enrollment fees so eligible parents can more sensibly weigh the costs of their kids’ health care against the costs of booze, tobacco, sweets and movies.
5/19/11
Newsletter May 19 2011
D-11 Makes Open Negotiations Progress; Jeffco Board President Defends Secrecy
Finally, some good news on open union negotiations! The Colorado Springs Gazette reports on the latest developments from School District 11:
The board voted unanimously on a resolution detailing changes to the Master Agreement, including opening all steps of negotiations dealing with financial articles and at least some portions of other negotiations. Additional sessions could be […]
Why Cato’s Michael Cannon has boycotted PolitiFact:
Why PolitiFact’s claims are not always factual.
Are Auto Accidents a Disease?
Somebody thinks they are. The Centers for Disease Control just released a study saying that crash-related deaths cost $41 billion a year. This smells to me like a government agency seeking more funding by jumping into an area outside of its core mission. The first thing to note about this study is that it is […]
Please Ask First Before Using Students as Props for a Statewide Tax Hike
Perhaps you saw this week’s news that Colorado state senator Rollie Heath and several advocacy groups are “pushing ahead” with a proposal that would take more from wage-earners, investors and consumers all over the state to finance K-12 and higher education:
The plan would raise state personal and corporate income tax rates to 5 percent from […]
Does the Necessary and Proper Clause Grant “Broad Authority” to Congress? Actually, None at All
Probably no part of the Constitution has been so misunderstood as the Necessary and Proper Clause, which is located at Article I, Section 8, Clause 18. The Necessary and Proper Clause has been called both an “elastic clause” and a “sweeping clause,” and many have claimed it grants vast power to Congress. For example, a […]
Insurance company fined for selling illegal policies in Massachusetts
From Healthcare Finance News, April 26 2011: According to the [Massachusetts] AG’s complaint, U.S. Life sold health insurance policies in Massachusetts that were not authorized for sale and did not cover health services required by Massachusetts law. The mandated services at issue included mental health, maternity healthcare, infertility care, pap test screening, mammography and preventive […]
Market Asymmetry
Along with Michael Lewis’ The Big Short, Gregory Zuckerman’s The Greatest Trade Ever shows that at least some investors were aware that the housing bubble of the mid-2000s was likely to collapse, with severe repercussions on the economy. The book (whose alternate subtitle is “How One Man Bet Against the Markets and Made $20 Billion”) […]
Second Circuit Reverses Judge Weinstein’s Order against Firearms Stores
Originally published on Volokh.com City of New York v. Mickalis Pawn Shop was recently decided by a unanimous 3-judge panel of 2d Circuit Judges Sack and Wesley, plus Judge Eaton (Court of International Trade) sitting by designation. The case began several years ago when New York City Michael Bloomberg brought a public nuisance lawsuit against several […]
Another “Win-Win” Education Idea: Texas Takes a Look at Taxpayer Savings Grants
The movement to grow educational freedom and opportunity seems to be growing all over the nation these days. How many of you guessed Texas would be the next place for a proposal like Taxpayer Savings Grants to pick up steam?
The Taxpayer Savings Grant Program allows parents and guardians of school-age children to apply for a […]
Massachusetts: The Canary in the Coal Mine for ObamaCare
5 years ago, Massachusetts adopted its “universal health care” plan, which served as the template for President Obama’s subsequent national health care legislation. However, MA’s problems of rising health costs & worsening access foreshadow similar problems for the rest of America — as well as how to avoid them.
