It has been 10 years since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. Touted as a tough but worthy fight by then-Vice President Joe Biden, the ACA has undergone numerous legislative battles since 2010 that have rightly questioned its validity and purpose within health care. While Biden has correctly...
The Trump administration on Jan. 31 announced travel restrictions aimed at reducing the number of people coming to the United States from China to flatten the infection curve of the novel coronavirus that emerged out of Wuhan. The reaction from the People’s Republic of China and the American left was immediate: harsh criticism that President Donald...
Obamacare was signed into law 10 years ago today. Although the public’s attention is squarely focused on the coronavirus crisis, the law has been the dominant issue in our nation’s politics over the past decade, and it’s important to understand how it’s working. Unfortunately, it’s not working at all. As employers and families know, Obamacare...
A recent study in the Cardiovascular Research journal trumpeted a staggering claim: According to new calculations, more than 3.6 million people died in 2015 as a result of air pollution from fossil fuels. The problem? It’s blatantly untrue. The scientists and media outlets perpetuating this 3.6 million myth aren’t the first to fall for the anti-fossil fuel movement’s statistical shell...
One year ago, on March 5, I became an American citizen, just a few miles away from the Alamo. It is only fitting that this special milestone in my life also happened just three days after the anniversary of Texas’ Independence, because I found in Texas what I was looking for in America. To me,...
While Alcatraz is now a tourist attraction, the nearby San Quentin prison remains the nation’s oldest prison, having been built in 1854. Of course, prisons can be renovated, but the criminal justice system is too often stuck in the past — including when it comes to technology. Now, the current coronavirus epidemic has placed a...
The latest information on Coronavirus COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan Flu, from Johns Hopkins University shows widely varying numbers of confirmed cases and apparent mortality rates by nation. The People’s Republic of China, the virus’ epicenter, was reporting 81,058 cases as of March 17 with 3,230 deaths, with 4.0 percent of those diagnosed subsequently dying. Italy...
March 2 was a big day for Texas. It marked, of course, the 184th anniversary of our independence. But it also began an important transition for some of the most vulnerable Texans — children in foster care. Since 2017, the state has been working to make its foster care system more responsive to the needs...
In between pleas for us to wash our hands, stock up on supplies and — above all — not panic, we’re now being told that the coronavirus outbreak shows that we should unanimously support Medicaid expansion. The irony of this statement is that the states with the highest incidence of acquiring the infection are those that expanded Medicaid. According...
The city of Austin has spent nearly $300,000 on holiday parties over the past two years. Officials defended this splurge, saying that city employees deserve recognition for all their hard work. However, a tip from an employee was what spurred an investigation by local news media in the first place. Their analysis yielded an interesting find: the city of...
Advocates are attempting more and more to link the Austin homelessness crisis to Texas’ refusal to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. But the advocates’ proposal is a recipe for disaster that will cause further harm to our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and make it more difficult for the poor to access health care. The plan is...
Sky-high property taxes are perpetuating an affordability crisis, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pointed out. Abbott told the Rotary Club of San Antonio, “One thing that is driving up the cost of housing and the cost of living is skyrocketing property taxes—skyrocketing property taxes that are beginning to force people out of homes they’ve lived...