More Public Surveillance Means Less Liberty
The use of public surveillance cameras to fight crime has been a heated topic for quite some time. The issue was reignited last August when the city of Denver used federal funds to purchase an additional fifty High Activity Location Observation (HALO) cameras from the original thirteen cameras at $25,000 a pop to fight crime. Increasing the number of surveillance cameras may create a marginally safer environment, but at a significant cost to civil liberty.
Canadian Company Begins Real U.S. Health Care Reform
If you need health care, Rick Baker may be able to save you a lot of money.
In 2003, Mr. Baker founded Timely Medical Alternatives. It helps Canadians arrange for medical care in the United States. Though Canadian health care is paid for by taxes, waits are long and the system isn’t concerned with minimizing pain and suffering.
Courts Should Not Mess With School Funding
Colorado’s top judges have opened the door to re-crafting our school finance system from the bench when they should have avoided the possibility altogether.
Independent Thinking: A New Strategy to Increase Student Achievement
Watch this 3-part YouTube replay of the October 23 episode of Independent Thinking, with Education Policy Center director Pamela Benigno as guest host. Special guests Dr. Paul Hill, director of the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, and Jim Weigel, a former school board member and consultant for the Colorado Association of School Boards, discuss portfolio management — a new strategy to increase student achievement that has gained traction in several urban school districts.
Huge Win for Knife Rights
Originally published on Volokh.com An e-mail from KnifeRights.com reports that the “Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact.” The bill now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The bill makes technical changes in the definitions of the Federal […]
10/20/09
Newsletter October 20 2009
Colorado's School Finance Adequacy Lawsuit Drags On
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs professor Joshua Dunn discusses a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that the courts have a role in the school finance adequacy case Lobato v State.
TABOR Amendment has Saved Colorado
Do we really want to follow California’s disastrous abandonment of fiscal discipline?
Colorado’s War on Drugs a Fiscal Nightmare
Colorado lawmakers’ long-running devotion to the War on Drugs has helped push state prison spending to unsustainable levels. In the meantime, illicit drugs remain readily available throughout the state. This year, the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) has broken down into several sub-groups including a Drug Policy Task Force, to take a hard look at the state’s drug laws and sentencing policies.
Health Care Innovation
Dr. Keith Smith is a proud capitalist. The anesthesiologist often helps poor patients obtain surgeries at no cost while managing to keep his Oklahoma-based practice afloat.
Colorado's Charter School Legal Victory
The Colorado Supreme Court has refused to hear Boulder Valley School District’s legal challenge against Colorado’s Charter School Institute. Alex Medler, Chairman of the Charter School Institute, joins Pam Benigno in a discussion about the legal challenge and other recent current events surrounding the chartering authority.
Pay Your Own Doctors
What was the total cost of your last doctor’s visit? If you’re like most Americans, you have no idea, because somebody else is paying most of the bill.
Patients directly pay only about 14 percent of medical bills. The rest comes from insurance or government. This is the fundamental reason why health costs have skyrocketed. Patients have little incentive to monitor costs and look for good value, and sending routine expenses through third parties adds paperwork and administrative costs.
