New Issue Paper: Medicaid Block Grants and Medicaid Performance
“The case for Medicaid block grants is predicated on a … simple proposition: when people spend what they think
of as their own money on their own health care, they spend less and get more than if they spend other people’s money.” Continue reading
Wishful Thinking
Have American cities stopped growing at the urban fringe? Some people think so based on a trend of one or two years during the worst recession since the Great Depression. The Antiplanner’s loyal ally, Wendell Cox, doesn’t think so. Are Americans shifting in droves from from cars to public transit? Based on similar short-term evidence, […]
It’s Not Just the Mandate: ObamaCare’s Other Infringements
Paul Hsieh, MD reviews how ObamaCare violates our liberties in ways other than forcing us to buy politically-controlled health plans. Continue reading
Cold Feet on Rail Transit
The Virginia legislature appears to have rejected a plan to spend $300 million in state money on construction of the Dulles rail line. This is only about 10 percent of the money needed to finish the line to Dulles airport, but it will put a crimp in plans to do so. This is a line […]
"How could a former con law professor be so ignorant?"
Quite a few people have asked me how President Obama, as a “former constitutional law professor,” could prove so ignorant about the Constitution. This former con law professor suggests two reasons: * Obama was not a “professor” in the sense that most people use the term—that is someone who becomes an expert in the subject […]
Not much BTU for the buck
Congressman Cory Gardner was on my radio show this morning defending his plan to first extend and then phase out the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy. My colleague Michael Sandoval and I are on record as opposing the PTC, and all other energy subsidies. Now we have additional evidence that renewables are so […]
The Post: Not Even Loans for High-Speed Rail
The Washington Post, the newspaper of record from our nation’s capital, is somewhat of a bellwether of public opinion on high-speed rail. Back in 2009, when Obama first proposed to build a high-speed rail network, Post editorial writers were all for it as a way of reducing congestion. In 2010, the paper published an op […]
Baseball Season (and the Inevitable Comparisons with Education Reform) is Back
What role should value-added test scores play in evaluating teacher performance? While I’m not going to take both sides of the debate, like the nation’s largest teachers union has done recently, there is more nuance to the question than the purpose of this post is suited to address. Maybe you can come to next week’s […]
U.S. health care warning signs
Doctors struggling to make ends meet; ObamaCare at 2 years old: bad news;Commercial insurers have trouble staying in business;Drug companies are less ambitious; Super-high health plan premiums. Continue reading
PolitiFact Gets the Facts Wrong
Charlie Hales is the Portland city commissioner who admitted that rail transit doesn’t lead to economic development, so he demanded that the city subsidize such development. Then, he persuaded the rest of the city council to build a streetcar line, subsidized development along that line, and proudly proclaimed that streetcars led to economic development. He […]
Fordham Offers a Few Good Suggestions to Improve Colorado K-12 Accountability
Calling all Colorado education policy makers and policy wonks: I hope you’ll check out this new Fordham Institute report Defining Strong State Accountability Systems: How Can Better Standards Gain Greater Traction? My Education Policy Center friends and I can’t endorse everything in the publication.
But it’s worth looking at because Colorado is one of seven […]
DeGrow Questions High School “Diversity Day” Opt-Out Policy
Colorado Observer reporter Valerie Richardson quoted a comment from Education Policy Center senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow in her story about a controversial “Diversity Day” event at Niwot High School.
