Minimum wage
Opportunity Village and fewer opportunities
Indulging in fantasy this November,
voters became destructive
By Doug French
Nevada Policy
Research Institute
With majorities in the house and senate, Democrats are virtually certain to raise the minimum wage in early 2007.
They have been attempting the increase for years, but Republicans have stood in the way. No longer.
The head Republican, President George W. Bush, announced at a news conference: “I support the proposed $2.10 increase in minimum wage in a two-year period.”
The President went on to say that he wants to pair the increase with “targeted tax and regulatory relief to help small businesses stay competitive,” proving that he doesn’t understand who is really hurt most by a minimum wage boost.
Statism
Layoffs mount as kitchen closures begin
Smoking ban forces bars to choose
By Valerie
Miller
LV Business Press
New Year 2007 isn't starting on such a happy note for bars and taverns forced to choose between smoking and selling food.
Many are opting to let their customers light up, shutting down their kitchens and laying off staff as the Southern Nevada Health District gets ready to enforce the Clean Indoor Air Act.
Public abuse
Big developers
get pinched
By Jacob Laskin
TCS Daily
When the Supreme Court handed down its verdict in Kelo v. City of New London in June of 2005, few imagined the development industry in the role of victim.
On the contrary, most opponents of the decision supposed, not unreasonably, that construction companies and building firms would be the likeliest beneficiaries of municipalities' disputed right to seize private property under the "public use" clause of the Fifth Amendment: Who else would be contracted to develop their dubiously gotten gains?
Education
Dropouts flee
low-quality schools
Department of Education Reform
University of Arkansas
POOR QUALITY SCHOOLS are directly linked to higher student drop-out rates, according to a team of international researchers.
The study, based on data derived from Egypt and primarily focused on education in developing countries, also appears applicable to dropouts in developed countries, such as the U.S.
"Students perceive differences in school quality, measured as expected achievement improvements in a given school, and act on it," say researchers Eric A. Hanushek, Victor Lavy, and Kohtaro Hitomi.
"Specifically, holding constant the student's own ability and achievement, a student is much less likely to remain in school if attending a low quality school rather than a high quality school," concludes the study."
Giveways
Mesquite deal draws criticism, questions
No progress 14 months after land sale
By Matt Ward
LV Business Press
More than a year after the City of Mesquite agreed to sell 132 acres of city-owned land to a partnership between a Las Vegas casino operator and a commercial real estate developer, some city officials and business people say a foul odor still lingers around the deal.
Health
Sierra, Sunrise take impasse in stride
By Cristina Rodriguez
InBusiness Las Vegas
The insurance contract between Sierra Health Services and Sunrise Health System hospitals expired at the end of December, but neither party to the expired contract seems desperate to renew the deal.
Tort reform
Declaring war
on lawsuit abuse
American Justice Partnership
fights for tort reform, state by state
Directorship Magazine
The American Justice Partnership was launched in January 2005 under the auspices of the National Association of Manufacturers to stop abuses of the legal system at the state level and to lobby for tort reform. Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, helped create the AJP, which is chaired by Steven B. Hantler, assistant general counsel at DaimlerChrysler.
What follows are the highlights of a conversation with Marcus and Hantler.
Trust-busting
Minneapolis
busts taxi cartel
Reform benefits consumers and entrepreneurs
By Nick Dranias
Budget & Tax News
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) has signed reforms to the city's taxi ordinance that remove the government-imposed cap on the number of taxis legally operating within city limits.
The new ordinance, signed October 12, will increase the number of taxicabs allowed on the streets of Minneapolis from 343 to 523 by 2010. At that point the cap will be removed entirely, opening the door to all taxi businesses willing and able to serve the public.
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January 9, 2007
Vol. 1, No. 1
Also in this issue:
Layoffs mount as
kitchen closures begin
Dropouts flee
low-quality schools
Mesquite deal draws
criticism, questions
Sierra, Sunrise take
impasse in stride
Declaring war
on lawsuit abuse
Commentary:
Recently from NPRI:
Street smarts
Street Smarts Our congested roads reveal we need a more intelligent paradigm
Debauchery
of your money
continues
Last year the dollar lost 20 percent against gold
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Northern
Nevada |
Health fascism
Drop the Chalupa
By Jeffrey A. Singer
Goldwater Institute
Wonderfulness
100 hrs down the drain
By Brian Doherty
Reason OnlineReview
The real question is why so many experts are so optimistic.
By Bill Fleckenstein
MSN Money
Immigration
A market for citizenships
By Dwight R. Lee
TCS Daily
Immigration has become an increasingly divisive issue and chronic homelessness and panhandling are our plaguing our cities. I have a modest policy proposal for addressing these problems that would increase immigration and improve the well-being of all Americans including the panhandlers.
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