Archive for the ‘Recent News’ Category

Audio: The Ideology Behind Federal Health Care Reform

These two audio excerpts are from a presentation on the health care reform law by Burke Balch, director of the Powell Center for Medical Ethics. To say that the federal health care law is “sweeping” is an understatement, given that the American public has seen nothing like this before in...
July 26th, 2010 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

It begins: Some insurers won’t issue new policies for children

Some major health insurance companies will no longer issue certain types of policies for children, an unintended consequence of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said several big insurers in his state will stop issuing new policies that...
July 26th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

Banks Repossess Property at Record Pace

(Reuters) Banks took control of 269,962 properties in the second quarter, up 5 percent from the prior quarter and a 38 percent spike from the second quarter of last year. Repossessions are expected to top 1 million this year. (Read more…)
July 17th, 2010 | Economics, Recent News | Read More

State tests new parole system

(AlaskaWatchdog.org) The Department of Corrections is partnering with the Anchorage Police Department to test drive a new program intended to deal with probation violations more quickly and effectively. Commissioner Joe Schmidt said the program, Probation Accountability with Certain Enforcement, would...
July 15th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

Health Care: IRS to mop up mandates mess left by Congress

(CNNMoney.com) With a new mandate looming that will require business owners to file millions more tax forms, the Internal Revenue Service has begun the daunting process of figuring out how to turn the law’s sweeping demands into actual rules for taxpayers. (Read more…) The Alaska Policy Forum...
July 11th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

Government Contracts Should Be Easier to Access

By Jeremy Thompson July 7, 2010 It shouldn’t be this difficult. Earlier this year, the Alaska Policy Forum submitted public records requests to local governments and school districts looking for any sole-source contracts they may have, asking for the name of the vendor, date of the contract, and...
July 7th, 2010 | Fiscal Policy, Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Rates adjusted to address unfunded PERS/TRS gap

Kirsten Adams Friday, June 18 After two full days of presentations, discussions and review, the Alaska Retirement Management Board approved pension contribution rates today for fiscal year 2012 in an effort to reduce the multi-billion dollar unfunded liability. The rates are based on 2009 valuations...
June 27th, 2010 | Fiscal Policy, Recent News | Read More

Alaska Watchdog: Board to approve state’s retirement funds

By Kirsten Adams  Nearly a year after the close of the 2009 fiscal year, financial reports on the public employees’ pension systems for that year are finally complete, and ready for review by pension management. The Alaska Retirement Management Board, tasked with keeping an eye on Alaska’s multi-billion...
June 24th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

Audio: Anchorage School District’s next big spending project

David Boyle from the Alaska Policy Forum asks how the West Romig renewal will affect student achievement. (5:40) ASD's next big spending project - Click here to listen
June 22nd, 2010 | Education, Recent News | Read More

Health Care Costs in Massachusetts Still Rising

Five painful health care lessons from Massachusetts (CNN Money) The best guide to how President Obama’s historic health-care legislation will reshape the nation’s medical marketplace and fiscal future is the pioneering model in Massachusetts. The Bay State’s reform program started in...
June 22nd, 2010 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

40 percent of Connecticut Medicaid recipients smoke

(Boston Globe) A new study says nearly 40 percent of Connecticut’s Medicaid recipients smoke. The study by the Connecticut Public Health Policy Institute also estimates that the state pays about $507 million yearly for smoking-related health care for its Medicaid clients. (Read more…) No...
June 21st, 2010 | Health Care, Recent News | Read More

Who owns the resources makes a difference

From Ronald Bailey at Reason Magazine: If you’re looking for a place to stash some excess carbon dioxide, forests are your best bet. Trees and plants drink up CO2, believed to be a major contributor to global warming. So the United Nations is trying to hammer out an agreement under which governments...
June 18th, 2010 | Energy, Recent News | Read More

San Diego ballot initiative would bring contract transparency

Battle lines are being drawn in San Diego over a possible November ballot measure that supporters say would ensure competitive bidding for municipal contracts, but which opponents argue is deceptive and has hidden consequences. Councilman Carl DeMaio plans to submit more than 138,000 signatures to the...
June 16th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

State sees bonds as investment capital to close unfunded pension gap

By Kirsten Adams June 14, 2010 Selling up to $5 billion in bonds could either place Alaska further in the red or, as State officials hope, successfully decrease the multi-billion dollar pension unfunded liability. Deputy Commissioner of Revenue Jerry Burnett said the State would invest the bond proceeds...
June 14th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More

Millionaire Police Officers?

(Forbes.com) It is said that government workers now make, on average, 30% more than private sector workers. Put that fantasy aside. It far underestimates the real figures. By my calculations, government workers make more than twice as much.  Government workers are America’s fastest-growing millionaires. Doubt...
June 14th, 2010 | Fiscal Policy, Recent News | Read More

Public transit: higher cost, emissions

(Tennessee Center for Policy Research) By Randal O’Toole: Public transit is frequently depicted as both a more environmentally friendly and cheaper alternative to our everyday reliance on the automobile. Almost every major city n the United States, including those in Tennessee, has launched its...
June 10th, 2010 | Recent News | Read More
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