Author Archive | Eric Boehm

Nabil K. Mark/TNS/NewscomIn a remarkable show of bipartisanship, Republican state lawmakers and a Democratic governor in Pennsylvania approved a pension reform bill moving most future public employees into 401(k)-style retirement plan, helping stanch a $70 billion unfunded liability. Gov. Tom Wolf, who signed the bill Monday, said “This bill is a win for Pennsylvania taxpayers. […]

Ron Sachs/CNP / Polaris/NewscomThe number of regulations on American banks has doubled since 2010, which means plenty of work for regulators in Washington but less time (and money) for banks to do the things they are supposed to be doing. The culprit behind those growing piles of financial regulations is the Dodd-Frank Act, passed by […]

Cortney Roth/NewscomOut in the suburbs, cutting grass in the summertime is one of those classic starter jobs, an opportunity for teenagers to get out of the house, make a little money, and gain a little independence. Everyone’s got a lawn, no one wants to mow it, and, hey, all these kids don’t have anything to […]

Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill that would have allowed grocery stores, gas stations, and other retailers to sell liquor alongside the beer and wine they already offer. The proposal to tear down Florida’s so-called “liquor wall” had cleared the state legislature despite opposition from groups that benefit from the mandatory separation of liquor […]

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/NewscomThe House-passed Republican health care plan would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by 23 million over 10 years, but would reduce premiums for those who maintain coverage, according to a new Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill released Wednesday evening. If the American Health Care Act were to become […]

Unnamed sources tell The Washington Post that Trump approached the director of national security and head of the NSA to publicly denounce FBI’s Russia probe. Eric Boehm|May. 22, 2017 8:17 pm Polaris/NewscomPresident Donald Trump approached several top intelligence officials, asking them to speak out against the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the connections between Trump’s campaign […]

RICHARD B. LEVINE/NewscomWith a party-line vote Thursday, the commissioners of the FCC took the first step in what will be a months-long process to repeal Obama-era rules categorizing internet service providers as common carriers subject to federal regulations written in the 1920s. It’s not the end of the debate over net neutrality, and it’s not […]

Jerry Mennenga/ZUMA Press/NewscomA Senate committee vote on Wednesday is a new high water mark for a long-sought-after regulatory reform proposal. Further progress, though, might be unlikely. The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the REINS Act (the acronym stands for “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny”), sending the bill to […]

Earlier this week, Aetna, one of America’s biggest insurance companies, pulled out of Obamacare’s insurance exchanges. Now its CEO thinks it’s time for America to start talking about moving to a single payer health care system. “Single-payer, I think we should have that debate as a nation,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told a group of […]

Polaris/NewscomPresident Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday evening to fire FBI Director James Comey—apparently without even seeing fit to tell Comey directly, if media reports are to be believed—is a truly stunning development even by the standards of the Trump administration. It will take days, perhaps weeks (perhaps longer) to understand all the ramifications of Tuesday’s […]