California

Less-bad news is still bad news

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
09/09/2013
If you were told that your health insurance premiums would be doubling next year, would you be celebrating? Only if you were expecting them to triple. A new study of ObamaCare health insurance premiums in 17 states and the District of Columbia suggests that the cost for consumers will be lower than the previous Congressional Budget Office...

Detroit: A story that must be told

By Ted Dabrowski
08/23/2013
Two weeks ago I took in the demise of Detroit with my own eyes. I was fortunate to be with my colleague, Detroit native Paul Kersey. As we embarked on the trip, he told me “Detroit is a story that must be told.” He was right. I’d seen the pictures and knew the history, but...

TAGS: Detroit

Pool of ObamaCare insurance providers continues shrinking in Illinois

By Jonathan Ingram
07/17/2013
The nation’s largest insurance company, UnitedHealth Group, won’t be participating in Illinois’ health insurance exchange, Crain’s Chicago Business reported on Monday. UnitedHealth Group is the second-largest insurance company in Illinois’ nongroup market, the market in which the exchange will operate. Although state officials recently predicted 16 insurance companies would participate in the exchange, Crain’s reports that just...

Houston woos Dwight Howard with state income tax

By Hilary Gowins
07/05/2013
In the wake of Lebron James’ second-straight NBA title and the end of the professional season, free agents across the league are considering their next moves. Some of the biggest names to enter the free-agent fray include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dwight Howard and New York Knicks sixth-man, J.R. Smith. As these athletes consider their decision, they’ll...

TAGS: progressive income tax, taxes

Illinois’ seemingly endless appetite: another $1.3 billion borrowing

06/27/2013
by Ted Dabrowski As if Illinois didn’t have enough debt to deal with, the state borrowed another $1.3 billion. The state says it needs the money for infrastructure projects. Illinois tapped the bond markets despite the current fallout from the state’s failure to reform pensions and the recent bond market instability, which drove states like...

Illinois’ 102 county online transparency audit

By Brian Costin
06/27/2013
One of the best protections against corruption is transparency, and in today’s digital age one of the easiest ways for government to be open and accountable is through posting public documents on the Internet. Unfortunately, most Illinois counties need to dramatically improve when it comes to online transparency. The Illinois Policy Institute recently audited all...

Moody’s downgrades Illinois credit rating: 13th credit downgrade under Quinn

06/06/2013
by Ted Dabrowski Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Illinois’ credit rating to “A3” from “A2” after the General Assembly failed to move forward on pension reform before the end of the spring legislative session. The rating agency also says it has a negative outlook on Illinois’ credit: “The negative outlook reflects our expectation that Illinois’ pension...