June 29, 2012

Lt. Gov’s Press Conference: Personal Responsibility and Free Markets

Two more points from the lieutenant governor's press conference, yesterday, raise questions about the direction of health care and about what freedom requires.

Posted by Justin Katz at 1:00 PM
Ocean State Current

It's a Tax on Your Body

The language of NFIB v. Sebelius ultimately requires the mandate tax to be a sort of property tax on one's body, with a corresponding tax credit applied to income for those who purchase health insurance.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:40 AM
Ocean State Current

Discussing Health Care on Rhode Island Public Radio

Justin appears on Rhode Island Public Radio's Political Roundtable to discuss the Supreme Court's ObamaCare ruling.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:45 AM
Ocean State Current

June 28, 2012

David Brooks Doing the David Brooks Thing

A David Brooks column leads Justin to question new and old statements of common health care wisdom.

Posted by Justin Katz at 11:32 PM
Ocean State Current

Lt. Gov's Press Conference, Medicaid Expansion, and Small Business Insurance

Lt. Gov. Liz Roberts's claims that ObamaCare will expand coverage for small-business employees does not address how the law will affect different small businesses.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:16 PM
Ocean State Current

June 27, 2012

Video: 06/27/12 - Stephen Hopkins Panel on 38 Studios

Complete video from the Stephen Hopkins Center's panel on "Unwinding 38 Studios."

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:49 PM
Ocean State Current

06/27/12 - Stephen Hopkins Panel on 38 Studios

Justin writes live from the Stephen Hopkins Center's panel discussion on the 38 Studios deal and its aftermath.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:33 PM
Ocean State Current

June 26, 2012

New RI Health Care Law Barely Affected by ObamaCare Ruling

The claim that recent health care legislation signed into law last week adjusts depending on the Supreme Court's pending decision on ObamaCare is a bit of an overstatement.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:45 PM
Ocean State Current

June 25, 2012

Union Lawsuits, Those Pesky Discount Rates, and the Economic Game

An attempt to consider whether Treasurer Gina Raimondo's investment assumptions are reasonable leads to deeper (frightening) considerations.

Posted by Justin Katz at 3:41 PM
Ocean State Current

The Current Week 06/18/12 - 06/22/12

The weekly roundup of Ocean State Current articles.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:30 AM
Anchor Rising

June 21, 2012

Non-Union Charters Do Better in Math and Science

With Education Commissioner Deborah Gist recommending that the charter expire for one of Rhode Island's charter school specifically on the grounds of its math scores, the question arises whether private-sector methods and non-union teachers might underperform their public-school peers. Comparing several charter high schools in RI shows that the lesson may be the opposite.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:23 PM
Ocean State Current

June 20, 2012

Americans Losing Confidence in Institutions, Especially Public Schools and News Media

A Gallup poll finding American confidence in public schools at an all-time low also points to a disconnect between Americans' opinions of various institutions and the priorities of government.

Posted by Justin Katz at 4:54 PM
Ocean State Current

The Ever-Growth Unfunded Liability

Various national organizations have attempted to calculate unfunded liabilities for Rhode Island and other states across the nation. The differences are dramatic and indicate reason for concern.

Posted by Justin Katz at 11:36 AM
Ocean State Current

June 19, 2012

Ev'rybody's Talkin' 'bout ALEC-Seein', Rep. Jon Brien, Taxes Bein', Workers' Pleadin'

A New York Times mention of Woonsocket's problems has the state buzzing; Justin suggests that everybody should look a little more deeply into the heart of Rhode Island's problems.

Posted by Justin Katz at 3:56 PM
Ocean State Current

June 18, 2012

Watching the Choice of Decline Being Made

Reviewing the latest budget in terms of RI's rankings according to various criteria puts the state's choice of decline or turnaround in clear terms.

Posted by Justin Katz at 2:44 PM
Ocean State Current

Payday Loans and Government Expertise

An unspoken assumption of advocates for payday loan reform leads Justin to question the ability and right of government to meddle.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:00 AM
Ocean State Current

The Current Week 06/11/12 - 06/15/12

This week's weekly-roundup of Ocean State Current content is up.

Posted by Justin Katz at 7:52 AM
Anchor Rising

June 15, 2012

MA Comparison Overwhelms One-Month Improvement in RI

RI's employment slide stopped in May, but comparison with MA shows just how much ground it has to recover.

Posted by Justin Katz at 2:00 PM
Ocean State Current

General Assembly Budget Gradually Undoes State Workforce Cuts

Under the radar, the state government of Rhode Island has gradually been reversing the workforce reduction achieved during Governor Carcieri's second term.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:00 AM
Ocean State Current

June 14, 2012

K-12 Enrollment Versus Expenditures in RI and Woonsocket

Although enrollment is down in almost every Rhode Island city and town, expenditures have continued to grow at several times the rate of inflation.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:00 AM
Ocean State Current

June 13, 2012

Afterthoughts

Still over-tired from the General Assembly's final night in session, Justin draws some lessons from the experience.

Posted by Justin Katz at 2:24 PM
Ocean State Current

June 12, 2012

06/12/12 – The Whole Mad Jumble of the Last Day

Justin writes live from the final day of the legislative session.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:00 PM
Ocean State Current

Nationally Recognized Investigative Reporter Joins the Ocean State Current

Kevin Mooney has appeared on Breitbart and Glenn Beck.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:00 AM
Ocean State Current

June 11, 2012

06/11/12 – Senate Floor and Committees

Justin tries to keep an eye out, live, during what may be the second-to-last night of the legislative session. EBEC, casino, budget, campaign finance, and felony dog leashing rules.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:00 PM
Ocean State Current

Netroots & Rhode Island More Alike than Patinkin Admits

In Justin's view, the similarities between Netroots and Rhode Island extend to similar internal contradictions.

Posted by Justin Katz at 12:29 PM
Ocean State Current

The Current Week 06/04/12 - 06/08/12

The weekly roundup of last week's Ocean State Current content.

Posted by Justin Katz at 11:40 AM
Anchor Rising

June 7, 2012

The Titles of Offices or Offices of Titles?

Justin muses about the inappropriateness of honorifics in American politics... especially in Rhode Island.

Posted by Justin Katz at 7:45 AM
Ocean State Current

June 6, 2012

Poll: Teachers' Union Opinion Downslide

NEA Executive Director Robert Walsh may disagree with findings of deteriorating opinions of teachers' unions, but technology and events of recent years suggest reevaluation may be in order.

Posted by Justin Katz at 4:05 PM
Ocean State Current

The State GDP Growth Race and Some Taxing Milestones

Trends in GDP growth for Rhode Island and three other New England states suggest that its general policy approaches during the last decade might be worth reconsidering.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:22 AM
Ocean State Current

06/05/12 – House Floor & Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

Justin whiles away the evening writing from the State House floor (campaign finance) and House Environment and Natural Resources Committee hearing (EBEC).

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:20 AM
Ocean State Current

June 4, 2012

Trading Budgetary Restraint for Economic Recovery

Projections of a sales-tax phase-out in Rhode Island show a stark decision for the people of the state, with a little government restraint yielding accelerated economic recovery.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:27 PM
Ocean State Current

The Current Week 05/29/12 - 06/01/12

This week's roundup of last week's Ocean State Current posts is up.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:25 PM
Anchor Rising

June 1, 2012

Video Blog: Counting up the Discount Rates

In a mildly whimsical video blog, Justin explains pension fund discount rates and the risk associated with shooting too high.

Posted by Justin Katz at 12:53 PM
Ocean State Current

Educating in America Is Not Like Educating Elsewhere

Teacher unionization may work in smaller, less-diverse systems, but that's proof that those systems are different, not that the United States should match them.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:24 AM
Ocean State Current

05/31/12 - House Finance Committee

Justin writes live from House Finance Committee; House budget.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:20 AM
Ocean State Current