Winters: Give K-12 Schools More Freedom to Boost Bang for Taxpayers’ Buck
Using important data to formulate his argument, Manhattan Institute senior fellow Marcus Winters makes the case that it’s time to give all public schools the same type of freedom charter schools have in order to help ensure existing funds are spent more wisely and productively in support of an excellent K-12 education system. One thing is for certain: it wouldn’t make public education any less “public” than it is today.
How Government Blocks Health Care Access for the Poor
State-level medical licensing laws prohibit doctors from providing charity care outside the state where they are licensed. Continue reading
Ugly numbers for Xcel ratepayers
Lobbying at the state capitol: According to January-April 2012 disclosure forms available on the Secretary of State’s Web site, Xcel Energy paid $126,393.90 for seven lobbyists at the state capitol. This included two lobbying firms and three Xcel in-house lobbyists. The highest paid was 5280 Strategies run by Mike Beasley, well-known Capital Hill insider and […]
CNN Does a Number on HSR Numbers
CNN reports that the cost of California high-speed rail has tripled, and it correctly points out that federal taxpayers will be expected to pay for most of it. While this is a somewhat belated report, it is nice to see this boondoggle get the attention it deserves. CNN gets some numbers wrong; as the Antiplanner […]
Former Gov. Jeb Bush Headlines Denver ACE Luncheon with Inspiring Message
Has it been a whole year since the last big ACE Scholarships luncheon? Funny. I was still 5 then, too. Last time around it was my edu-reform crush Michelle Rhee, only a few months out of her famous tenure as chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, explaining her change of heart about vouchers and praising Douglas […]
Obamacare’s Tax on Medical Devices: Cuts R&D by $2 Billion a Year
Reduced investment in medical device research & development will “yield an annual decline of about 1 million expected life-years for the U.S. population. … The economic cost of that reduction in expected life-years would be at least $100 billion per year.” Continue reading
Obamacare’s Tax on Medical Devices: Cuts R&D by $2 Billion a Year
Reduced investment in medical device research & development will “yield an annual decline of about 1 million expected life-years for the U.S. population. … The economic cost of that reduction in expected life-years would be at least $100 billion per year.” Continue reading
Two Driverless Models
After demonstrating its driverless car to Nevada’s governor, Google obtained the first official license for a self-driving car. Meanwhile, in Europe, Volvo is pursuing the convoy model of driverless cars. In this model, a human-driven truck or bus takes the lead and anyone whose car has the appropriate technology can follow with the cars being […]
Let’s Discuss Seriously How to Strengthen Successful Tuition Tax Credit Programs
What a hubbub. Having finally read last week’s desperate New York Times attack against K-12 tuition tax credit programs, I was left scratching my head. Really? The Old Gray Lady seems awfully cranky about school choice and short on facts or serious arguments when it comes to this one. In a way, it felt like […]
Colorado should let Medicaid recipients supplement Medicaid payments with their own money
If low-income families were allowed to add…their own money to the Medicaid rate … we could make high-quality, very accessible primary care available to millions of people. Continue reading
Time to Say “No”
Peter Rogoff, the FTA administrator who once said the federal government should say “no” to cities that want federal grants to build rail lines they can’t afford to maintain, is unable to say “no” to Portland when it asked the feds to pay half the cost of a ridiculously expensive light-rail line. Moreover, Rogoff insists […]
Another Federal Real Estate Screw-Up
One of the clearest messages from the American Founding was that the Constitution left regulation of private land within state boundaries to the exclusive prerogative of the states. This was an area completely outside the sphere of the federal government. When, during the debates over the Constitution, advocates were pressed for examples of powers outside federal competence they […]
