Opinion
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Facing Certain Defeat, Illinois County Board Stops Vote on Record Sales Tax
Opinion -Shoppers and diners in Chicago and surrounding Cook County, Illinois received a temporary reprieve October 1 when the Cook County board delayed a vote to more than triple the county's share of the region's sales tax. -
State, Local Governments Are Eager to Tax the Internet
Opinion -Since the federal Internet tax moratorium was first enacted nearly 10 years ago, local and state government officials have sought to retain the power and latitude to tax the Internet by opposing efforts to make the ban permanent. -
Vertical Equity Funds Are Not Reaching States’ Neediest Students
Opinion -In response to lawsuits over inequities in school funding, state legislatures nationwide have adopted spending policies whereby disadvantaged students are to receive extra resources to enhance their learning opportunities. -
Alternative Certification Is Being Undermined by Schools of Education
Opinion -A study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and national Council on Teacher Quality concludes alternative teacher certification programs are proving to be more of a setback to education reform than an asset. -
Film Exposes the ‘Dark Side of Environmentalism’
Opinion -The one big advantage environmental activists have is the presumed purity of their motives. They claim they want only to protect the Earth from a few particularly greedy people, and they say their efforts benefit everybody. -
Organic Food Industry Is Duping Consumers on Health, Environment Issues
Opinion -The Truth About Organic Food by Alex Avery Henderson Communications, 2006 231 pages, $19.95, ISBN 0978895207 Organic foods are quite in vogue--they constitute the fastest-growing segment of the food industry. -
Municipal Wi-Fi Plan Is a No-Go in Sacramento
Opinion -Plans to blanket Sacramento with free municipal Wi-Fi are on the verge of collapse only four months after city officials partnered with Metro Connect, a formidable coalition of experts in wireless implementation that includes industry heavyweights Cisco -
Avandia Controversy Shows Dangers of Politics
Opinion -Ever wonder how much of a role politics might play in medicine? If you consider an event that took place this summer, you might start to think it's rather significant. -
Big Names Join HIT Game
Opinion -A group of employers including AT&T, Applied Materials, BP, Cardinal Health, Intel, Pitney-Bowes, and Walmart has created Dossia.org, an Internet-based personal health record. -
Bottled Drinking Water a New Tax Target in Chicago
Opinion -The price of a bottle of water will climb at least 10 cents in Chicago if Mayor Richard M. Daley gets his way. Daley in October proposed a 10 cents a bottle tax on water. -
Consumer Power Report: Consumer-Driven Plans Deliver
Opinion -I was pleased to moderate a session at the National Consumer Driven Health Care Summit in September at which Jennifer Vachon presented the latest findings from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. -
Cook County Eyes $4 Phone Tax
Opinion -A Cook County, Illinois proposal to impose a $4 tax on all wireline and wireless phone lines has drawn fire from all sides, including the local phone company, consumer advocates, and the local utilities watchdog group. -
Drug Companies Asked to Disclose Too Much
Opinion -Drug companies are concerned about Minnesota's efforts to make them publicly reveal their financial dealings with doctors statewide--something many experts say is a valid concern. -
E-911 Ruling Impossible to Meet, Industry Says
Opinion -The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered the nation's wireless carriers to find a way, during the next five years, to enable police, fire, and other public safety first responders to trace the exact physical location of anyone using a cell -
Economists Warn Congress Against Energy Legislation
Opinion -As House and Senate leaders work to resolve differences in energy bills that passed each chamber this summer, 234 economists, including a Nobel Laureate, wrote Congress with a single message: More taxes, regulations, and subsidies will harm, not help, -
End Broadband Loans in Competitive Areas, House Committee Told
Opinion -The CEO of a privately held broadband company has called on the federal government to end low-interest loans for broadband to rural phone companies that face competition. -
Europeans Refuse to Understand American Health Care System
Opinion -This autumn in Rome, I debated Italian politicians on national radio, tried to explain our health system to government and industry leaders in Italy, and spoke at a conference at the Vatican about the fundamental values of health care and the common good. -
Groups Combat Childhood Obesity through School Vending Machines
Opinion -Kindergartners through high school seniors will continue to see more low-calorie vending-machine drinks after a year-old agreement between the American Beverage Association (ABA) and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AHG) was left largely -
Groups Urge CMS to Pay for Anemia Drugs
Opinion -The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on September 4 asking the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider its July decision not to pay for anemia drugs. -
Highway Tolling Projects Enter the Mainstream
Opinion -Highway tolling has entered the mainstream and has begun to influence local transportation decisions throughout the country. -
Hillary Clinton’s Plan Would Ruin U.S. Health Care
Opinion -What's past is prologue for the Hillary Health Plot, Part II. Just as she did in 1993, when she was the point person for the Clinton administration's health care reform proposals, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) wants to rule your health care. -
How Junk Science Is Used to Raise Taxes
Opinion -Junk science--the deliberate representation of false or misleading information as credible scientific research--is a growing problem in a variety of public policy debates. -
In the News
Opinion -Microsoft Offers Antidote to Scattered Health Info In October, Microsoft introduced HealthVault, a free, Web-based personal health record-keeping system the company said could be the heart of an Internet-based personal health records system. -
Industry Seeks Shield from Wiretap Litigation
Opinion -U.S.