Publications -- Policy Backgrounder

Dec 18, 2007

BG #163 – Medical Malpractice Reform

In theory, the right to sue should ensure that injured patients receive compensation, and the adversarial justice system should ensure that only patients who are harmed by negligence receive compensation. However, the evidence suggests that the reality is far different. According to the Harvard Medical Practice Study, the vast majority of all instances of malpractice never lead to a lawsuit; of the suits that are filed, a significant number do not involve malpractice; and juries do not always make the right decisions.

Nov 03, 2006

BG #162 – Work and Retirement

Over the next three decades, the number of retirees will double. However, due to declining fertility rates, the number of workers contributing to the system will fall from three for each retiree receiving benefits to two for each retiree. This will place a severe strain on working Americans to pay promised benefits to the elderly.

Apr 15, 2004

BG #161 – Saving and Investing: A Challenge for Women

Careful studies have shown that the greatest degree of inequality exists among senior citizens, and the single most important cause of that inequality is not differences in preretirement income but differences in the degree to which people with the same income save rather than consume.

Apr 30, 2003

BG #160 – Ballistic Imaging: Not Ready for Prime Time

Following the sniper attacks that plagued Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in the early fall of 2002, gun control advocates intensified their demands that the federal government develop a "ballistic fingerprint" database.

Jan 29, 2003

BG #159 – Are We Running Out of Oil?

Over the past 150 years, geologists and other scientists often have predicted that our oil reserves would run dry within a few years. When oil prices rise for an extended period, the news media fill with dire warnings that a crisis is upon us. Environmentalists argue that governments must develop new energy technologies that do not rely on fossil fuels. The facts contradict these harbingers of doom.

Jan 10, 2003

BG #158 – Technology and Freedom: The Virtuous Circle

Without freedom, technologies that enhance human welfare would be scarce rather than abundant. Technology and freedom are symbiotic, forming a virtuous circle. By examining the relationship between them, we can find ways to preserve the circle and to accelerate activity within it.

Nov 02, 2001

BG #157 – MSA's Can Be a Windfall for All

The reasons managed care has not worked as a national policy in addressing the concerns of cost, access, quality and patient satisfaction are the same reasons Medical Savings Accounts and other consumer-driven programs are attractive.

Apr 27, 2001

BG #156 – The Evolving Technologies Of Internet Privacy

Two dynamic Internet software industries are emerging. One is the data-mining industry, producing software tools that firms use to analyze consumer behavior and preferences on the Internet. The other is the privacy software industry, whose products are designed to stop some or all of this individual information from being collected and analyzed.

Apr 27, 2001

BG #155 – School Choice vs. School Choice

Contrary to a widespread impression, America already has an extensive system of school choice. Yet the system is both inefficient and unfair. It discriminates against low-income families and racial minorities.

Oct 26, 2000

BG #154 – Defined Contribution Health Insurance

Many employers are concluding that it is time to rethink the way they provide health insurance benefits for their employees.

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