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America’s current prescription drug epidemic is now killing more Americans each year than did the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and the heroin epidemic of the 1970s combined. But this epidemic differs from those of prior eras in that it could not have started without the aid of physicians. Yes, Florida pill mills typically employ [...]
Archive for April, 2011
April 24th, 2011
April 23rd, 2011
Category: Uncategorized
Siqi Zheng, Jing Cao and I have written a new paper about the demand for clean air in China’s major cities. China’s cities are very polluted, but their pollution levels have been falling in recent years. Common sense suggests that as their urbanites become richer that they will demand the same “blue skies” that we take [...]
April 23rd, 2011
Category: Energy and Environment, Politics and Leadership
Probably because they are posted in big red letters beside the road, because putting gas in a car is probably the single most universally and frequently experienced transaction Americans make, and because we seem to have this identity meme about being who we are because we can drive alone anywhere we want and park free [...]
April 22nd, 2011
Arthur Brooks, whom I teased in another context a couple of posts ago, straightens us out about fairness and taxes in that cave of wonders, the Washington Post opinion section: more taxes (than whatever number you have in mind, I guess) on people who have a lot of money are unfair. He sounds his horn [...]
April 22nd, 2011
Category: Religion and Politics
The Christian Right discovers that environmentalism is paganism. Or something.
April 22nd, 2011
Category: Uncategorized
I realized today that I am completely unprepared to offer the kind of searching insight and high-candlepower lessons RBC readers properly expect on the coming marriage of Kate and whatsisname…no, the other one…obviously a major event with import for every many some anyway a very big deal. I do not know whether the prince insists [...]
April 21st, 2011
Category: Education policy, Israel
This seems to me to be a pretty blatant attack on academic freedom. George Bisharat, a professor at the UC Hastings School of Law, organized a conference entitled “Litigating Palestine: Can Courts Secure Palestinian Rights?” It’s pretty much what you’d expect: lots of speakers decrying Israel, advocating BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) against Israel, and [...]
April 21st, 2011
It’s a long haul, but the criminal justice system in Mexico is moving in the right direction, lots of credit to our students, the Abogados con Cámaras. The injunction against their film has been lifted and everyone is watching it. Including people in high places, más aqui (en español). Did I mention that Negrete and [...]