Should Colorado expand Medicaid per ObamaCare? No.
One of the most tragic failings of ObamaCare is that it will make it harder for many of the most vulnerable citizens – patients with no option but Medicaid – to get care. Continue reading
Lance Armstrong and Climate Change
When Tyler Hamilton swore up and down that he didn’t use illegal blood doping to help win bicycle races, I believed him. Then he confessed that he did. When Floyd Landis insisted that he didn’t use testosterone to help win the Tour de France, I believed him. Then he confessed that he did. So I […]
Neat Stuff We Learn About the Constitution When We Go Beyond The Federalist Papers
If you want to know more about the Constitution, don’t rely exclusively—or even primarily—on the Federalist Papers. For a good illustration of what other authors can teach us, read on. During the 1787-90 ratification debates over the Constitution, much more than The Federalist was written to illustrate the document’s meaning. True, The Federalist is among […]
Dougco School Board Challenges Union Leaders, May Seek Voters’ Input
Believe it or not, it’s been a whole three days since I last shared some thoughts on the exciting goings-on in Colorado’s third-largest school district. An arbitrator ruled that Douglas County leaders couldn’t get back all the tax-funded union leave dollars because they didn’t get a change to the collective bargaining agreement in writing.
So Tuesday […]
A Carbon Tax for Thee, But Not for Me
California state universities are upset that a state law designed to reduce carbon emissions could cost them $28 million a year. “The University supports the creation of a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program,” says Anthony Garvin, who works in the office of the president of the University of California. But, he goes on to say in […]
The Real Cost of ObamaCare
Having someone else pay for your medical care is the most expensive way to pay for it because it adds insurer overhead costs to the cost of the actual service. Colorado’s private sector began switching to consumer directed health policies (CDHPs) when they became more widely available in 2003. CDHPs encourage cash pay- ment for inexpensive and predictable care. Health savings accounts (HSA) qualified plans save excess funds in tax-free accounts that accumulate until retirement.
New PDK/Gallup Public Education Survey Results More Helpful in Context
Update, 8/22: Intercepts blogger Mike Antonucci makes some incisive observations about the need for better-informed voters while asserting that the PDK/Gallup results are not that significant, noting he “wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot poll.”
It’s late August and back-to-school season, which means it’s once again time for the new Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) / Gallup […]
Preventing Bankruptcy in State and Local Pension Plans in Colorado
State and local governments report the funding status of their pension plans in financial statements following standards set by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Historically, those standards allowed state and local governments to use an actuarial model and to discount liabilities based on the long-term yield on the assets held in the pension fund. The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) uses an 8 percent discount rate comparable to that used in most state and local pension plans. GASB also allowed state and local governments to use a smoothing technique to calculate the funding status of the plans. With this smoothing technique, losses incurred on assets in one year could be averaged over several years.
Ryan Medicare drama more hype than reality
The White House and Ryan Medicare budgets don’t differ that much. What does differ is their approach. The president’s approach is inflexible. Ryan’s approach has the advantage of making the cuts less painful by allowing market-based reforms instead of suppressing provider fees. Continue reading
Competing with Vouchers, Indiana Public Schools Step Up Marketing Efforts
As I told you a couple months ago, the nation’s largest voucher program — enacted by Indiana in 2011 — is growing quickly in both popularity and promise.
In the Hoosier State, more than 8,000 students from low- and middle-income families are taking advantage of the private option provided by the new choice scholarships. And […]
DeGrow: “More Than Budget Cuts” Behind Falling Teachers Union Membership
A story today on American Family Radio News (One News Now) featured comments from senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow about recent reports of a serious membership decline in Colorado’s largest teachers union. In an interview with reporter Bob Kellogg, DeGrow noted that there is more to the explanation than offered by the spokesman for the […]
US Health Care Spending Since 1960: Patients pay less, insurers & gov’t pay more
“In the past 50 years, the way health care is financed has changed, with private payers and public insurance paying for more care. This interactive graphic shows who paid for the nation’s health care and how much it cost.”
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