2011 Drug Law Reform in Colorado a Mixed Bag
In 2010, Colorado lawmakers took a meaningful step towards drug law reform by passing House Bill 1352, which nibbles at the edges of the disastrous War on Drugs by amending some of Colorado’s controlled substance statutes.
And while lawmakers continued that reform momentum in 2011, those efforts were tempered by other bills that expanded an already intrusive and expensive drug law regime that returns questionable public safety value.
If You Don’t Like the Data, Attack the Messenger
California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office announced this week that the state is about to waste $6 billion or more starting construction on a high-speed rail line that will never be completed. “The availability of funding to complete a usable segment is highly uncertain,” said the report, to which the Antiplanner responds, “Duh!” Yet some people aren’t […]
Health care & the myth of United States’ poor life expectancy
If you really want to compare medical care outcomes in different countries, just looking at life expectancy is wrong. The best way to do it is [to measure survival rates and longevity] at the point of medical intervention. Continue reading
The mystical problem with wind
Yesterday Complete Colorado headlined a Denver Post story about wind power “Another Bubble Bursting?” The reason for the headline is that in 2012 federal tax credits for wind power are set to expire and, as we revealed several months ago in a post about Xcel Energy’s latest compliance plan, wind power is not economically viable […]
“Thanks Obamacare” for special-interest politics & higher insurance premiums
Progress Now and the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative “thank Obamacare” for a mandate that violates the rights of insurers and employers to trade freely. It also increases insurance premiums. Continue reading
Colorado K-12 Funding: Follow the Money
In this 20-minute podcast presentation, senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow addresses where Colorado’s K-12 education dollars come from, as well as how much is spent and where the dollars go. A link to the accompanying PowerPoint presentation is provided to make it easier to follow along.
Pat Stryker and the West Wing
White House visitor logs reveal that a “Pat Stryker” had a meeting in the West Wing in October 2009 according to the Sunlight Foundation. So far Sunlight has been unable to confirm if the meeting was with the Pat Stryker, Abound Solar investor, billionaire heiress, and Obama bundler. Although, it’s hard to believe that another […]
27th Annual Founders’ Night Dinner
The 27th Annual Founders’ Night Dinner was held Thursday, February 16, 2012 in the International Ballroom at Infinity Park in Glendale. We honored Jake Jabs, President & CEO of American Furniture Warehouse with the David S. D’Evelyn Award. Our special guests were Ann Coulter and Nick Gillespie View the event photos here!
The “Essential Health Benefits Package”: disease constituencies clamor to make it huge
Paul Hsieh, MD describes how interest groups are clamoring to have government require all legal health plans include certain mandated benefits, hence driving up the costs of the most basic health plans and requiring you to buy a plan with benefits you may neither want or need. Continue reading
Remember When “Transit” Meant “Transportation”?
Portland’s TriMet transit agency is spending more than $370,000 to install solar panels on a downtown building. This will initially save the agency less than $3,700 a year, and even if the savings increase over time, when interest is counted there will be something close to a 100-year payback period. Someone comments on the above […]
