If you thought the Congressional elections of 1994 marked the end of liberalism and a new era of conservative government, look at what the education establishment is doing to school choice back home. A current example comes from Delaware, where the State Board of Education has blunted a new public school choice law by insisting it comply with racial quotas.
What would you think of a doctor who prescribed the same treatment to every sick person he treated, whether the patient had a cold or lung cancer? Yet, isn't that the way we handle welfare today? The fourth-generation welfare mother, the educated person temporarily on hard times, the drug addict, the man who is simply incapable of holding a job – they're all treated pretty much the same by federal welfare policy.
Although the poverty rate receives the most attention, another recent Census Bureau report adds an important perspective on the state of the poor in America today.
As Congress considers whether to reduce the tax on capital gains, much of the debate has focused on who would benefit from such a reduction. Opponents claim that those with high incomes would gain disproportionately.
The House Republicans have proposed a major revision to Medicare that, if enacted, will provide greatly improved health care for America's senior citizens.
My grandmother told me that bad news comes in threes. Over a lifetime, I've concluded that she was right. This especially came to mind last week, as I read in the papers three pieces of bad news that could torpedo the Gingrich Republican revolution of 1994.
The Republican Medicare reform plan allows the elderly to choose a catastrophic health insurance policy coupled with a Medical Savings Account (MSA) rather than remain in traditional Medicare.
Critics assert that Medical Savings Accounts are good for the healthy and bad for the sick. The facts tell a different story. People with high medical expenses are almost always better off if they can switch to a Medical Savings Account plan.
The U.S. Congress is on the verge of enacting the most sweeping reform legislation in the 30-year history of Medicare. Under the legislation, Medicare recipients would have new options, including the choice to remain in the traditional Medicare program, enroll in a health maintenance organization (HMO) or select a high-deductible health insurance plan with a Medical Savings Account (MSA). This Brief Analysis explains how MSAs work.
In the last few years, the FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications has limited the drug companies' freedom to send out reprints.
Congress is on the verge of passing a major reform that ends the entitlement status of Aid to Familes with Dependent Children, a status it has held since 1935. Instead, each state will receive a specific amount of money in a block grant and will have the freedom to design programs that meet its particular welfare needs.
The Republicans have accomplished what no one in the Washington establishment contemplated when the Republican budget blueprint was adopted by Congress earlier this year. They have proposed a Medicare reform plan that actually offers the elderly a better system than Medicare, while still meeting the budget targets.
Social security programs in most countries, including the United States, follow the model first adopted in Europe: they are financed by mandatory payroll taxes and provide benefits to current retirees. A financial crisis facing these pay-as-you-go systems is approaching rapidly as fertility rates decline and life expectancies increase worldwide.