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Federalism: Competition Among Governments

For much the same reason, competition among governments leads to better governance. In choosing where to live, people can compare public services and taxes. They are attracted to towns that use tax dollars wisely. Competition keeps town managers alert. It prevents...

Health Care Reform Open Thread

OBAMA: “You haven’t seen me out there blaming the Republicans.” OBAMA three minutes earlier: “I’ve heard that one Republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it’s better politics to ‘go...

How Much Money is in the Social Security Trust Fund?

Official National Debt Balance According to the Treasury Department, the current Total National Debt is $11.1 Trillion. As of 04/03/2009, Treasury breaks down the debt as follows: Debt Held by the Public: $6.868 Trillion Intragovernmental Holdings: $4.278 Trillion The...

Healthcare Spending by Age Group

Health Care Spending by Age Group Since my previous attempt to break down health-care costs demographically was a failure, I thought I’d try it again. Here’s what I came up with. Age Group 1990 Total 2006 Total Under 25 $1,057 $3,016 25 to 34 $2,081 $4,576...

Healthcare Costs are Up. Why?

Healthcare Costs are Going Up Healthcare costs are rising. This is not a repeat from 1960, 1980, 1990, 2000 or just about every year in between. The chart below is the Census Bureau’s Healthcare CPI over the last 25 years for Physicians, Hospitals and...
The National Balance Sheet of the United States

The National Balance Sheet of the United States

Is the United States Broke? Not Even Close. With all the hand wringing going on over the housing and financial crisis I decided to see if I could put some of the massive numbers being thrown about in a little bit of perspective. Asset or Liability Timeframe Amount...