The Jefferson Journal

Commentary

Jefferson Forum
December 27, 2017

The percentage of young people (ages 16 to 25) participating in Virginia’s workforce has been sliding over the past 15 years, while the percentage of old-timers (65 years or older) in the workforce has been increasing. The percentage change of geezers in the workforce increased 59% between 2001 and 2016,...

Jefferson Forum
December 27, 2017

For many years, I’ve been skeptical of a vehicle future dominated by all-electric vehicles. Not that zero-emission cars wouldn’t be great (assuming a low- or zero-emission electricity supply). It’s just that most of the media and consulting firm hype seemed so over the top, ignoring real problems such as low...

Gary Baise
December 27, 2017

State Attorneys General Curtis Hill, IN, Josh Hawley, MO, Leslie Rutledge, AK, Wayne Stenehjem ND, Sean Reyes UT, and many others have filed Bills of Complaint against California and Massachusetts in the United States Supreme Court in an effort to defend agriculture. (What a Christmas present!) Purdue University, through Jayson...

Jefferson Forum
December 20, 2017

A new “Healthcare Handbook” released by the Thomas Jefferson Institute offers a collection of 17 essays by practitioners and public policy specialists offering reforms for healthcare in Virginia. The essays especially focus on several issues, including Medicaid expansion, reform of Certificate of Public Need laws, and “Right to Shop” laws.

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Mike Thompson
December 13, 2017

The elections this fall brought a philosophical sea change to the General Assembly. The dynamics have changed. But critical issues remain and good ideas can hopefully prevail if the goal is to truly improve Virginia in a few critical areas. Medicaid expansion will be major issue confronting the General Assembly....

Jefferson Forum
December 13, 2017

The holiday selling season got off to a strong start on Black Friday but the results were mixed when comparing online versus in-store sales. Online spending for Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday selling season, was up 16.9 percent compared with the same day in 2016, according to...

Jefferson Forum
December 13, 2017

When Virginia lawmakers start cranking up the old Medicaid-expansion jalopy in January, they would be well advised to pay attention to a new study out of California — not exactly your reddest of red states, so this is not Republican propaganda. The study, published in the Journal of the American...

Jefferson Forum
December 13, 2017

Despite populist opposition in Charlotte, NC and parts of Texas, 2017 has been a banner year for express toll lanes (ETLs). At least eight new facilities opened to traffic this year, another dozen are under construction (or about to be), and at least another dozen new projects have been announced...

Gary Baise
December 13, 2017

Egg production costs soar nationwide, thanks to California’s cage regulations. Now other states are fighting back. Yesterday, the Attorney General of Missouri filed a Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Complaint in the United States Supreme Court, charging California with violations of the Constitution. The Bill of Complaint...

Jefferson Forum
November 29, 2017
The tax reform plan that Congress is producing will not be perfect. Nothing is...The starting point for any inquiry should be the purpose of the legislation and whether the developing product generally would move the law in the direction envisioned by the legislators. The stated purpose for this tax bill...