National health insurance: A pragmatic perspective

Business & Money

Schwartz, Harry

Insurance

National Center for Policy Analysis

On October 12, 1984, a conference was held in Washington, D.C., attended by leaders from major public policy research institutes. The theme of the conference was: HOW IDEAS CAUSE CHANGE. 
The questions posed were profound: Why is it that some ideas cause change and not others? When an idea does lead to change, how does it do so? And, can an understanding of the answers to these questions allow public policy institutes to systematically produce ideas that cause change? 
The focus of the conference was on the privatization revolution now taking place in Britain, and the movement toward privatization that is occurring in countries all over the world. Privatization explores the "hows" and the "whys" of this revolution, and what research institutes can do to further privatization in the U.S.

Privatization

John C. Goodman

Controlling Healthcare Costs with Medical Savings Accounts

Musgrave, Gerald L.

Government controls 92 percent of the spending on elementary and secondary education in the United States. With limited competition, many public schools are substandard, particularly, in low-income areas and in inner cities. More affluent families can choose better schools for their children, either by living near good public schools or by sending their children to private schools, but those with lower incomes often are trapped. The tax-funded school voucher movement is one effort to allow low-income families to select the school that best meets their children's needs. 
Limited tax-funded school voucher programs now exist in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida. Organized interest groups that oppose school choice, primarily but not solely the teachers' unions, are fighting the voucher programs and other efforts to create competition for traditional public schools. In Ten Myths about School Choice, two veterans of the school choice battle expose in detail the inaccuracies, half-truths, distortions and occasionally, outright lies that opponents are using in their campaign against tax-funded vouchers.

Ten Myths About School Choice: Answering The Campaign Against School Vouchers

Howard L Fuller and Kaleem Caire

On November 17, 2004, the people of the Czech Republic celebrated 15 years of independence from communist rule. For the millions of Czechs who are old enough to remember what life was like behind the Iron Curtain, the contrast with their country today could not be more profound. For four decades, Czechs were virtual slaves within their own borders. They were told what they could and could not read, when and where they could assemble, how much they could buy and sell, and even what they could and could not say. They worked in state-owned factories, read state-owned newspapers, drove cars from state-owned companies, and ate food from state-owned farms. The result was a country whose economy and society were much poorer than those of Western European countries. Today's Czech economy is one of the most vibrant in Europe, with per capita income near $16,000 and a gross domestic product of $161 billion. Czechs are not only wealthier than ever before, they are also freer. Residents of Prague now can choose from more than a dozen newspapers. They can choose from an unlimited number of political parties -- five of them are now in the parliament -- compared to practically only one under communism. They can buy products from all over the world and sell them all over the world. They can travel to neighboring countries, form their own businesses, criticize the government, and assemble in city squares without fear of reprisal from government tanks. This book presents a long overdue restatement of Klaus' challenges to the socialist model and shows that his ideas are as relevant today in the struggle against the expansionary welfare state as they were in the struggle against communism. It consists of 45 of Klaus' most memorable speeches and lectures, organized into four chapters -- two of which look back at the lessons learned in the period after communism and two of which look forward to future challenges and opportunities.

On the Road to Democracy: The Czech Republic from Communism to Free Society

Politics & Social Sciences

Václav Klaus

Politics & Government

Presents information about the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a question and answer format.

Living With ObamaCare: A Consumer's Guide

Health, Fitness & Dieting

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