On March 19th-21st, the Subcommittees on Communications and Technology, Health, and Oversight and Investigations under the Energy and Commerce Committee conducted a series of hearings to evaluate the role of technology in healthcare and to examine the potentially harmful federal regulations impacting patient safety and innovation. Following the hearing series on March 21st, the Senate … Continue reading
The cost of health care is high. There are several news reports and analyses being released by various organizations about the cost of the healthcare as a result of the ACA. The American Action Forum analyzed a report conducted by the Manhattan Institute, which has graded the ACA based on cost containment and premium increases. … Continue reading
After housing indicators showed positive growth signs for the housing market last month, the first housing numbers released this month, from NAHB/Well Fargo, reported their third consecutive decline in their housing market index (HMI), with a decrease of two-points to 44. A suffering housing market suggests a struggling economy. The chart below shows the drastic … Continue reading
On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the unemployment report for February. 236,000 jobs were created and unemployment fell to 7.7% (a .2% decrease from January). This is good news for the slowly recovering economy … we think. One aspect that contributed to the lower unemployment rate was a rise in discouraged workers. These … Continue reading
Figure 1. States position on Medicaid Expansion under the ACA. Via: The Advisory Board Company To expand, or not to expand Medicaid, that is the question. Why are some states skeptical about Medicaid expansion and making the assumption that the “plan is [too] costly?” If the states expand their Medicaid program, they would receive federal … Continue reading
Budweiser’s proposed merger with Corona and Stella Artois was denied in early February by the Department of Justice, but several other big name companies have plans to get together. The big name mergers underway are: Office Depot with Office Max, US Airways with American Airlines, and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway with Heinz Ketchup. These corporate … Continue reading
During his State of the Union, President Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage generated enough buzz that congressional Republicans were barely to the steps of the capital building before they were voicing concern. Despite the surging popularity of this proposition, new research suggests that minimum wage increases may not benefit employees as matter-of-factly as … Continue reading
When pitchers and catchers report to spring training sights in Florida and the southwest, it is easy to feel like the sun is just a bit warmer and spring is right around the corner. For millions of small business owners across the United States however, the early months of 2013 have already felt like the … Continue reading
Today, February 26, both the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and S&P/Case-Shiller came out with their respective Housing Price Indexes and both reflect a vibrant, growing housing sector. S&P/Case-Shiller reported a national 7.3% increase in home prices for 2012, and 19 of the 20 cities used to calculate the City Composite had positive year-over-year growth, … Continue reading
And so we enter another manufactured financial crisis here in Washington. The U.S. government is on the precipice of implementing massive spending cuts to federal programs. Totaling $1.2 trillion over the next decade, these cuts, known as (cue the headline buzzword) the “sequester,” will cut nearly every federal program’s budget by 8.2%. Both the left … Continue reading
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