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Not all health care administrative costs are wasteful
Read more: Not all health care administrative costs are wastefulOne of the issues discussed in the health care debate today is the allegedly wasteful administrative and overhead costs of private health insurance, compared to — again allegedly — efficient government processes. The article Comparing Public and Private Health Insurance: Would A Single-Payer System Save Enough to Cover the Uninsured? makes some useful points.
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At Wichita city council, special pleading of selfish interests
Read more: At Wichita city council, special pleading of selfish interestsAt yesterday’s meeting of the the Wichita City Council, a matter was presented to the council that provided an illustration of basic economic principles that are foreign to the council.
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I’m not proud of Wichita’s airfare subsidy
Read more: I’m not proud of Wichita’s airfare subsidyIn today’s Wichita Eagle, editorialist Rhonda Holman gives Wichita a big pat on the back for its subsidy given to a low-cost air carrier. She goes so far as to mention a recent New York Times article that tells how Wichita was one of the first cities to do thi
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Wichita school district policy is misguided
Read more: Wichita school district policy is misguidedJohn Merrow’s education blog has an interesting interview with Eric Hanushek, a leading education researcher. This interview shows just how misguided are the current current path and goals of USD 259, the Wichita public school district.
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Free speech shouldn’t be victim of health care reform
Read more: Free speech shouldn’t be victim of health care reformAt a public forum on health care in Wichita held last Sunday, Dr. Douglas Bradham, DrPH, professor and chair of the Department of Preventive medicine and Public Health at the KU Medical School-Wichita, said this: “Direct-to-patient advertising for procedures and for pharmaceuticals, in my mind, should be eliminated.”
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Clarifications to Kansas unencumbered fund balances report
Read more: Clarifications to Kansas unencumbered fund balances reportLast week the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy released a groundbreaking research report detailing the several billion dollars hidden away in Kansas state government funds. My reporting on this, along with links to the study document, is at Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances. There’s been a bit of pushback. Some officials have said…
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Remembering Rose Friedman
Read more: Remembering Rose FriedmanToday we learn that Rose Friedman has died. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice has a notice at Remembering Rose Friedman. Also Reason has Rose Friedman, R.I.P.
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In Wichita, waiving guidelines makes for bad policy
Read more: In Wichita, waiving guidelines makes for bad policyI am here to ask you to deny the request for special assessment financing for the Lofts at St. Francis homeowners association to make repairs to their building. I’ve spoken to this council about how the facade improvement program, in general, is bad public policy. In this case, it’s bad public policy compounded by the…
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Travel should be the first Wichita expense to be cut
Read more: Travel should be the first Wichita expense to be cutAt tomorrow’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, council members have this item on their agenda: “Approval of travel expenses for Council Member Janet Miller and Kelly Harper, Wichita Area Sister Cities President, to attend the International Cities Conference in Paris, France and the Sister Cities Loire Festival in Orleans, France, September 21-27.”
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Wichita special assessments for repairs is bad policy
Read more: Wichita special assessments for repairs is bad policyAt Tuesday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, a privately-owned condominium association is seeking special assessment financing to make repairs to its building. In order for the association to succeed in its request, the council will have to waive two guidelines of Wichita’s facade improvement program.
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Wichita downtown revitalization discussed on Kansas Week
Read more: Wichita downtown revitalization discussed on Kansas WeekBob Weeks discusses planning for downtown Wichita revitalization and what he learned on his trip to the Platinum Triangle in Anaheim, California. Host Tim Brown and guest Randy Brown also appear. From the KPTS Television show Kansas Week, August 14, 2009.
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Wichita’s getting ready to plan
Read more: Wichita’s getting ready to planThe danger we face is that Wichita’s plan will end up like almost all other urban plans — a top-down effort micromanaged by politicians and bureaucrats, people whose incentives are all wrong. We already have the structure in place, with our mayor promoting the plan for downtown as his signature achievement, and a tax-supported downtown…