Karen Cyphers - page 16

Reposted from Context Florida Say you notice that in City X there was a dramatic drop in speeding tickets issued year-over-year. You could assume that drivers just stopped speeding (yeah right), or that cops decided to turn a blind eye (unlikely).  Or you could look back at the conditions and notice that prior to the ticketing decline, roads weren’t equipped with proper signs, resulting in unnecessarily high violations.   When speed limit signs were placed in the right spots, eureka!, prevention.…

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“It’s been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first,” said Ronald Reagan. Well, at least in Nevada, the two fields have a formal (albeit not exclusive) relationship.  The Nevada Brothel Owners Association has hired help in the form of lobbyist George Flint.   Take: even hookers have lobbyists. Turns out that Nevada’s regulated brothel industry has suffered with the recession, and has also lost business due to women…

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Heading into Labor Day, Gallup wanted to know how Americans feel about labor unions — an historic force behind Monday’s work pass.  While the majority of respondents still “approve” of unions, the plurality (38%) would prefer to see labor unions have less influence than they have today, while 33 percent would prefer unions to have more influence.  Another quarter are happy with how things are right now. Regardless of their personal feelings toward labor unions, 52 percent of respondents believe…

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Of the millions of sound bites generated in Florida politics this week of August 26-30, these bubbled to the surface: SETTING THE TONE Florida’s consumer confidence level was unchanged in August, matching July’s revised reading of 77, according to a University of Florida survey. July’s level was the first time confidence had declined after four months of increases. The housing market continued to rebound in Florida this week, according to data unveiled by the Florida Realtors and replayed via Kevin…

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This week, when the Cato Institute released its summary of findings on state education spending, I was expecting yet another prosaic memo on per-pupil expenditures, void of metrics that make such data meaningful.  But what I found was a far more unique piece, looking only at the scope and public accessibility of state education spending data. Cato ranked each state on the public accessibility of  information regarding per-pupil school expenditures, overall expenditures, and salaries. Most studies on these factors are…

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If you live in California, Kentucky, Texas or 18 other states, and want to consult with a physician that you cannot get to in person, your insurance will cover a virtual visit.  Medicaid enrollees in 41 states have similar options, sparing unnecessary commutes or enabling patients and their primary care physicians to reach specialists. Coverage for telemedicine is not guaranteed in Florida, but two state legislators have their sights set on changing that.  Representatives Mia Jones and Cary Pigman, M.D.,…

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Right-to-work laws have an overall positive impact on the economy of states that adopt them, according to a study released today by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.    The study measured each state’s economic performance based on annual growth rates in employment, inflation-adjusted personal income, and population growth. The data span a 64-year period beginning in 1947, following federal changes that allowed states to give workers the choice of whether to support unions as a condition of employment.  The…

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