Singapore Has Found A Workable Alternative to the Welfare State

Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, died last week at age 91. Almost every obituary has remarked on the radical transition his leadership heralded. As John Fund wrote at National Review: “By embracing free trade, capital formation, vigorous meritocratic education, low taxes, and a reliable judicial system, Lee raised the per capita income of his country from $500 a year to some $52,000 a year today. That’s 50 percent higher than that of Britain, the colonial power that ruled Singapore for 150 years. Its average annual growth rate has averaged 7 percent since the 1970s.”

 

Part of the reason for Singapore’s remarkable climb up the international income ladder is bread and butter capitalism.

Read more at Townhall.com
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Healthcare Reform: Legislation That Helps, Not Harms

11/05/2009 - Health Care: House Republicans have introduced their own reform bill (Summary.pdf). Unlike the Democrats' legislation, this plan would actually keep the promises Barack Obama made in the 2008 campaign. Read more at IBD... Read More......

WSJ: The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

Article recommended by Karl Rove.
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/12/2009 by John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc. - "With a projected $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, several trillions more in deficits projected over the next decade, and with both Medicare and Social Security entitlement spending about to ratchet up several notches over the next 15 years as Baby Boomers become eligible for both, we are rapidly running out of other people’s money. These deficits are simply not sustainable. They are either going to result in unprecedented new taxes and inflation, or they will bankrupt us."

Mr. Mackey offers health care reform alternatives to empower the people rather than government. Here's a brief list of his reforms.

1. Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).
2. Equalize the tax laws so that that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.
3. Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
4. Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.
5. Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
6. Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.
7. Enact Medicare reform.
8. Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE Read More......