Patrick R. Gibbons
Doing less with more?
Americans spend more on education than at any time in the past, but instead of seeing results we're asked to keep paying more, and more, and more...
Health insurance is cheaper in California?
About 21 percent of Nevadans are without health insurance, according to the Council on Affordable Health Insurance. For Nevada, individual insurance costs are too prohibitive for many to afford the coverage on their own. Because this has become a problem for many, politicians are scrambling for solutions.
Capitalist Free World = Yugo Filled World
This morning on the way to work I saw a woman driving a brand-new quad cab Ford F-150 with four-wheel drive. But what got me about this vehicle was her bumper sticker, which read something like "A Capitalist Free World."
Eating cake and having it too
While I'm always impressed with the depth of research done by the center-left Brookings Institution, its conclusions sometimes leave a lot to be desired. In this case, its conclusion is downright ironic.
Spend, spend again
Our current approach on education ensures we won’t succeed.
The education establishment consistently bemoans Nevada's lower-than-average per-pupil spending on education. Implicit in their constant return to this statistic is a misguided belief that spending more money on education naturally leads to better education results.
Pink slips for the poor
Today (July 24, 2008) a new federally mandated minimum wage took effect, jumping from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. The $0.70 jump represents more than an 11 percent increase over last year.
Trade-offs: the hidden cost of safety regulation
Your salary is only a fraction of the cost of your employment. Employers must factor in payroll taxes, health-care benefits, and days of vacation and sick leave to calculate your total cost to their budget. On top of this, any other regulation the government imposes upon the company factors not only into your employer’s bottom line, but into yours as well.
Think gas prices are high? Think again
From 1961-2005, federal and state education spending per pupil grew 247 percent after adjusting for inflation. That is massive growth.
