Here at Via Meadia, we’ve long held that 401(k) style defined-contribution pension plans are a much better option for workers and employers than defined-benefit plans. They’re more stable, less susceptible to abuse by politicians, and less prone to collapse should an employer or municipality go broke. With more and more states struggling with their pension costs, […]

An environmental law in California, designed with the best of intentions of course, has helped wreck middle class prospects—and state lawmakers are finally taking note. The California Environmental Quality Act, signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1970 and beloved by environmental groups, mandates strenuous reviews of the environmental effects of all proposed construction projects. […]

It’s no secret that New York City is expensive. Anyone who has spent time in Manhattan has almost certainly felt they were being overcharged for normal expenses—parking, hotel rooms, coffee, subpar lunch buffets, etc. But obviously the problem is worse than an $8 cup of coffee.ZeroHedge posted an infographic on Monday that highlights the costs of […]

Don’t look now, but Egypt is causing widespread suffering among Gaza’s Palestinians: As part of a crackdown against Sinai militants, Egypt’s military-led government destroyed at least 40 smuggling tunnels over the last two weeks, according to officials in the Gaza Strip. The move has exacerbated shortages in Gaza of construction materials and cheap Egyptian-produced gasoline, […]

Poland is considering paying Qatar an estimated 40 to 50 percent more for natural gas than it currently pays Russia’s Gazprom. For Warsaw, it’s a small price to pay to lessen its dependence on Moscow, which has a long history of leveraging its prodigious natural resources—natural gas, especially—to wield influence abroad.Qatar is the world’s biggest […]

The district of Muzaffarnagar, 80 miles north of Delhi, is still reeling from riots that killed 40 people and gravely injured many more this weekend. Thousands of police officers patrol the streets and curfew is strict.The details of the chaos are still emerging. The authorities claim that after two Hindu youths were killed two weeks ago, […]

A study of students at Northwestern University found that students actually perform worse when taught introductory classes by tenured professors, and were more likely to remain in the discipline when they took introductory classes with outside instructors. We can almost hear the murmurs of consternation emanating from teacher lounges across the land. The NY Times reports: According […]

Even though it’s called the “Affordable Care Act,” Obamacare’s main goal is expanded access, not lowered costs. But a piece at Wonkblog notes that the law won’t even come close to achieving universal access to care: The Affordable Care Act, the most sweeping health care program created in a half century, is expected to extend coverage […]

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing its latest Assessment Report (AR5) on the state of climate science, and is having to iron out disagreements between its scientist members. The vast majority of scientists agree that the Earth is warming, and that humans are culpable to some degree do to greenhouse gas […]

Here’s a trend we’d like to see more of: the WSJ last week reported that companies are increasingly setting up private exchanges similar to but separate from the ACA exchanges. The scheme is simple: the company gives its employees a lump sum of money, and they get to choose which kind of plan they buy on an internal […]