Driverless Cars vs. High-Speed Rail
The Los Angeles Times says the California high-speed rail project “is a train wreck” that has become “a monument to the ways poor planning, mismanagement and political interference can screw up major public works.” But the newspaper still favors “Obama’s inspiring vision of a nation crisscrossed by bullet trains, providing cleaner, safer and cheaper competition […]
Nursing homes seek waiver from ObamaCare health control bill
Nursing homes seeks waver from health control bill. “We do not have much ability to increase prices because we are so dependent on Medicaid and Medicare” for revenue, says president of American Health Care Association.
The Road to Socialized Medicine Is Paved With Preexisting Conditions – Part 3
Yaron Brook & Don Watkins of the Ayn Rand Institute write: [W]ithout exception, the actual problems they point to are not caused by the market, but by government intervention–and the outcomes they denounce which are a product of the market are not really problems at all. Take the preexisting condition “crisis.” On the one hand, […]
The Wrong Measures
Late last week, with great fanfare, the Brookings Institution released a new report on “Transit and Jobs in America.” Too many people, the report found, live too far away from a transit stop, so it urged more investments in transit so that more people can use it. Data in the report itself discredited this logic. […]
Education Action Group’s Top 10 Indiana Reforms List No Laughing Matter
An email blast sent out Thursday by the Education Action Group (EAG) Foundation highlighted a list of “top 10 education reforms passed by the 2011 Indiana General Assembly.” If you follow this blog at all, you know right off the top what some of the biggies are — including limiting the topics open for teachers […]
Ed News Colorado Highlights Center Testimony on Educator Effectiveness Implementation
During public testimony at the May 12, 2011, meeting of the Colorado State Board of Education, senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow shared some preliminary insights concerning the implementation of educator effectiveness legislation (SB 191). Ed News Colorado’s Todd Engdahl highlighted one of the key points he made: Ben DeGrow of the Independence Institute said it’s […]
How health “reform” punishes ambition & increased earnings
More fallout from ObamaCare (HR 3590), reported by Daniel P. Kessler: Consider a wife in a family with $90,000 in income. If she were to earn an additional $3,700, her family would lose the insurance subsidy and be more than $10,000 poorer. In addition, she would also pay more in income and Social Security taxes. […]
LaHood Lied about Michigan HSR
When Immobility Secretary Ray LaHood gave $200 million to Michigan for high-speed rail last Monday, he claimed this grant would bring “trains up to speeds of 110 mph on a 235-mile section of the Chicago to Detroit corridor, reducing trip times by 30 minutes.” That’s a lie. In fact, the state itself says the top […]
Open Union Negotiations Push in Jeffco Gets Favorable Attention
A couple weeks ago I asked the leading question: Is momentum growing for open union negotiations in Colorado? It may have been wishful thinking, but just for the short term. I was so glad to see Mike Rosen take on the issue in today’s Denver Post column (following two 850 KOA radio talk show appearances by senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow), even if the news he had to bear was not my first choice for an outcome.
What about Interstate Compacts? A frank look at the problems
In recent months, there has been interest in states forming compacts with each other to opt out of ObamaCare or other federal programs. The idea is that because such compacts have the effect of federal law, they will supersede earlier federal laws (such as ObamaCare). The strategy is apparently being driven by one or more […]
LifeSharers: Organs for organ donors
“If you ever need an organ for a transplant operation, chances are you will die before you get one. You can improve your odds by joining LifeSharers. It’s free. LifeSharers is a non-profit national network of organ donors. LifeSharers members promise to donate upon their death, & they give fellow members 1st access to their organs.”
Memphis Blues
The Antiplanner has never visited Memphis, so when I was watching a video of the flooding in Memphis, I was surprised to see a huge pyramid. “Looks like a government boondoggle to me,” I said. Flickr photo by Exothermic. Sure enough. The Pyramid Arena opened in 1991 after being built at a cost of $65 […]
