Daily Archives: April 12, 2012

In the letter below, Don Boudreaux responds to an economically illiterate missive from a Canadian who contends that the reason why the Canadian economy is faring much better than ours is due to that country’s governmental system of health care. To Don’s letter, I would only add that while government can shift costs, it cannotContinue Reading

Donna wrote last week about local governments hiring lobbyists to advocate on their behalf, using of course, taxpayer money to do so.  Now, add Asheville to the list of municipalities hiring lobbyists, not only to lobby in Raleigh but DC as well – to the tune of $100,000 in taxpayer money.  Vice Mayor Esther ManheimerContinue Reading

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their April update to the State and Local Governments’ Fiscal Outlook publication.  Here is the bottom line: They conclude, “The model’s base case simulations show that the fiscal position of the sector will steadily decline through 2060 absent any policy changes.” (p. 1) Why? The GAO researchers argue thatContinue Reading

Even if the Supreme Court fails to declare Obamacare unconstitutional, Michael Cannon argues here that it has a weak spot, namely the insurance exchanges that the states are expected to create. If they don’t, the plan collapses. And we have not yet reached the point in the dissolution of federalism where the feds can forceContinue Reading

Last year, I published a study of community college remediation rates from 2007 to 2010.  I now have the 2010-11 data, which reflects the percentage of 2010 high school graduates who were required to take at least one developmental/remedial course (in English, reading, or math) during the 2010-11 community college year. 2010-11: 65% 2009-10: 64%Continue Reading

Here is a review of an intriguing new book by University of Virginia professor Jonathan Haidt. Haidt’s argument is that conservatives know liberal arguments far better than liberals understand conservative arguments. Liberals (as Haidt refers to statists, authoritarians, collectivists…) are really not much interested in the battle of ideas. They’re mostly content to impugn theContinue Reading

The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Henniger has a wealth of insights in his opinion piece, “Destroying Paul Ryan.” It is worth a read.

It’s been nearly a week since the Triangle Business Journal reported that The Mint, a taxpayer subsidized eatery in downtown Raleigh, will close.  And we are still waiting for the two largest media outlets in the area – WRAL and the News & Observer – to say something about it.  Feels like a media blackoutContinue Reading