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Obamacare's 'Giveaway' Is Anything But Free | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: "Indeed, as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations in December, the Obama Administration reportedly offered to change from the 90/10 match for Medicaid expansion to a “blended rate formula,” which would merge the new expansion reimbursement rate with existing Medicaid and SCHIP formulas, creating a federal funding level somewhere in the middle, but below 90/10. While the administration eventually backed off that offer, it shows just how tenuous federal funding promises really are."
Monday, February 11, 2013
Eric Cantor Hawks Medical Industrial Policy | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute
Eric Cantor Hawks Medical Industrial Policy | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: "empirical studies suggest that the rate of return on publicly financed research is much lower than that of research financed by the private sector. While the private sector may be more focused on applied research, and the government is more effective at basic research, the distinction between those categories is rapidly disappearing.
Second, we should ask whether government funding of medical research is really necessary. There is no proof that the private sector is incapable of financing medical research, either for profit or as charity. While private companies undoubtedly have an incentive to fund research that they believe will ultimately prove profitable, even “orphan” drugs — one of the least profitable lines of research as they are designed for a small number of people with rare disorders — have found funding through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other charities."
"No evidence shows that government bureaucrats have either the qualifications or the incentives to make better decisions than private individuals and organizations about what research should be funded. After all, government involvement in research inevitably injects politics into scientific questions.
If a disease affects a favored political constituency or can mobilize a telegenic celebrity spokesman, it is likely to receive boatloads of money. If not, it is likely to be relegated to the back of the scientific bus.if private companies believe governments will pay for research, they may simply withdraw their own money. Thus, government funding in this area doesn’t result in more research, just a different funding stream."
"former NIH Director Elias Zerhouni has warned that congressional mandates to spend money on specific diseases have undermined the agencies’ research."
"an analysis of NIH grants found that black research scientists were 10 percent less likely to receive research funding than a white scientist from a similar institution and with the same research credentials.
Some researchers worry they can have their grants cut for challenging the scientific consensus or for reaching conclusions that are politically controversial. This is dangerous, because a willingness to rethink current theories is a key to scientific advancement."
Second, we should ask whether government funding of medical research is really necessary. There is no proof that the private sector is incapable of financing medical research, either for profit or as charity. While private companies undoubtedly have an incentive to fund research that they believe will ultimately prove profitable, even “orphan” drugs — one of the least profitable lines of research as they are designed for a small number of people with rare disorders — have found funding through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other charities."
"No evidence shows that government bureaucrats have either the qualifications or the incentives to make better decisions than private individuals and organizations about what research should be funded. After all, government involvement in research inevitably injects politics into scientific questions.
If a disease affects a favored political constituency or can mobilize a telegenic celebrity spokesman, it is likely to receive boatloads of money. If not, it is likely to be relegated to the back of the scientific bus.if private companies believe governments will pay for research, they may simply withdraw their own money. Thus, government funding in this area doesn’t result in more research, just a different funding stream."
"former NIH Director Elias Zerhouni has warned that congressional mandates to spend money on specific diseases have undermined the agencies’ research."
"an analysis of NIH grants found that black research scientists were 10 percent less likely to receive research funding than a white scientist from a similar institution and with the same research credentials.
Some researchers worry they can have their grants cut for challenging the scientific consensus or for reaching conclusions that are politically controversial. This is dangerous, because a willingness to rethink current theories is a key to scientific advancement."
How will the Catholic Church handle a living ex-pope? - CSMonitor.com
How will the Catholic Church handle a living ex-pope? - CSMonitor.com: "That could produce a situation where the former pope says one thing on an important matter, while his successor says something different."
Being Protestant and not having one church leader that seems like a weird problem to have.
Being Protestant and not having one church leader that seems like a weird problem to have.
Drone Policy Must Include Checks and Balances | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute
Drone Policy Must Include Checks and Balances | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: "Courts, the memo argues, should not interfere in the president’s evaluation of due process rights, which he extinguishes by labeling you a terrorist."
"So a president, consulting with officials he can fire, is using a secret process that he can change to kill whomever he wants, wherever he wants, whether or not there is a war on, by saying the words al Qaeda. "
"So a president, consulting with officials he can fire, is using a secret process that he can change to kill whomever he wants, wherever he wants, whether or not there is a war on, by saying the words al Qaeda. "
Get the Feds Out of Infrastructure | Cato Institute
Get the Feds Out of Infrastructure | Cato Institute: "Consider the two oldest federal infrastructure agencies — the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. Their spending, often on water infrastructure, has always been based on pork-barrel politics, not “directed to the most effective” projects. Both agencies have been known for fudging their analyses of dubious proposed projects to gain approval. In his 1971 book on the Corps, distinguished engineer Arthur Morgan found that “there have been over the past 100 years consistent and disastrous failures by the Corps in public works areas … result[ing] in enormous and unnecessary costs to ecology [and] the taxpayer.”"
"Routes through rural areas account for only a small fraction of riders and cause most of Amtrak’s financial losses. Those routes exist because every lawmaker wants a train through his or her state, but it means that investment gets steered away from where it is really needed, such as the Northeast corridor."
"Routes through rural areas account for only a small fraction of riders and cause most of Amtrak’s financial losses. Those routes exist because every lawmaker wants a train through his or her state, but it means that investment gets steered away from where it is really needed, such as the Northeast corridor."
BBC News - Twins' DNA hinders France sexual assault investigation
BBC News - Twins' DNA hinders France sexual assault investigation: "Police have been told it would cost upwards of 1m euros (£850,000) to conduct an ultra-sophisticated genetic test that would be able to tell one set of the twins' DNA from the other."
The Secret To Fixing Bad Schools - NYTimes.com
The Secret To Fixing Bad Schools - NYTimes.com: "The district’s best educators were asked to design a curriculum based on evidence, not hunch. Learning by doing replaced learning by rote. Kids who came to school speaking only Spanish became truly bilingual, taught how to read and write in their native tongue before tackling English. Parents were enlisted in the cause. Teachers were urged to work together, the superstars mentoring the stragglers and coaches recruited to add expertise. Principals were expected to become educational leaders, not just disciplinarians and paper-shufflers."
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