Tag: FEE

Report: Thousands of Canadians Died Due to Delayed Care during COVID-19

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fee.org/articles/report-thousands-of-canadians-died-due-to-delayed-care-during-covid-19/

Graphic:

Excerpt:

A new report commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) looks at the broader health impacts of COVID-19 in Canada. The November report, called A Struggling System, explores a range of growing problems, from mental health issues to substance abuse and deteriorating social determinants of health. Sadly, the report also confirms a fact that many have suspected since the beginning: that delays in care have led to thousands of preventable deaths.

“Although it is not surprising that more Canadians died in 2020 than in a typical year,” the authors write, “the number of excess deaths was greater than can be explained by COVID-19 alone. While there may be several drivers of these excess deaths, delayed or missed care due to shutdowns of services and lack of sufficient capacity in overburdened health systems may be a contributing factor.”

After analyzing the data, the authors estimated that delayed and missed health care contributed to more than 4,000 excess deaths not related to COVID-19 between August and December 2020. Needless to say, the total number of preventable deaths over the pandemic to date is likely much higher.

Author(s): Patrick Carroll

Publication Date: 8 Dec 2021

Publication Site: FEE

Are Seat Belts Making You Less Safe?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fee.org/articles/are-seat-belts-making-you-less-safe/

Excerpt:

In the 1960s, the federal government—in its infinite wisdom—thought that cars were too unsafe for the general public. In response, it passed automobile safety legislation, requiring that seat belts, padded dashboards, and other safety measures be put in every automobile.

Although well-intended, auto accidents actually increased after the legislation was passed and enforced. Why? As Lansburg explains, “the threat of being killed in an accident is a powerful incentive to drive carefully.”

In other words, the high price (certain death from an accident) of an activity (reckless driving) reduced the likelihood of that activity. The safety features reduced the price of reckless driving by making cars safer. For example, seatbelts reduced the likelihood of a driver being hurt if he drove recklessly and got into an accident. Because of this, drivers were more likely to drive recklessly.

The benefit of the policy was that it reduced the number of deaths per accident. The cost of the policy was that it increased the number of accidents, thus canceling the benefit. Or at least, that is the conclusion of University of Chicago’s Sam Peltzman, who found the two effects canceled each other.

His work has led to a theory called “The Peltzman Effect,” also known as risk compensation. Risk compensation says that safety requirements incentivize people to increase risky behavior in response to the lower price of that behavior.

Author(s): Joshua Anumolu

Publication Date: 13 July 2017

Publication Site: FEE

Lockdowns Coincided With Record-Breaking Drug Overdose Fatalities, New CDC Data Show

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://fee.org/articles/lockdowns-coincided-with-record-breaking-drug-overdose-fatalities-new-cdc-data-show/

Excerpt:

An astounding 96,000 Americans died from drug overdoses over that one-year period, the latest figures released by the Centers for Disease Control reveal. That’s a 29.6 percent increase from the previous year. 

“This has been an incredibly uncertain and stressful time for many people and we are seeing an increase in drug consumption, difficulty in accessing life-saving treatments for substance use disorders, and a tragic rise in overdose deaths,” National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow said earlier this year. 

Author(s): Brad Polumbo

Publication Date: 14 Oct 2021

Publication Site: FEE

250 Top Business Leaders Just Warned Cuomo: NY’s Tax Hike Proposals Will Have One Huge Consequence

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fee.org/articles/250-top-business-leaders-just-warned-cuomo-ny-s-tax-hike-proposals-will-have-one-huge-consequence/

Excerpt:

Thanks to the recently-passed $1.9 trillion spending package, the state of New York is set to receive a whopping $23.5 billion in federal bailout money. This is more than enough to make up for any revenue gaps incurred over the last year. But progressive lawmakers are nonetheless considering a slew of new business and personal taxes—prompting 250 top business leaders to pen an open letter this week warning that these punitive tax hikes could have drastic ramifications.

“Significant corporate and individual tax increases will make it far more difficult to restart the economic engine and reassemble the deep and diverse talent pool that makes New York the greatest city in the world,” wrote the leaders, whose ranks include the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase, Blackrock, and Goldman Sachs. “Many members of our workforce have resettled their families in other locations, generally with far lower taxes than New York, and the proposed tax increases will make it harder to get them to return.”

Author(s): Brad Polumbo

Publication Date: 24 March 2021

Publication Site: Foundation for Economic Education

Why the New York Stock Exchange Could Soon Flee the State

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fee.org/articles/why-the-new-york-stock-exchange-could-soon-flee-the-state/

Excerpt:

State lawmakers in Albany, New York are considering imposing a tax on financial transactions. If they go through with it, the iconic New York Stock Exchange might actually leave the Empire State.

The tax legislation in question was recently proposed by state Senator Julia Salazar and several of her Democratic colleagues. It would impose a 0.5 percent tax on stock trades and smaller taxes on bond and derivative trades. These levies may sound minor, but they add up when applied across millions of trades—and Salazar says the tax would raise $12-29 billion in revenue. 

…..

“The New York Stock Exchange belongs in New York,” NYSE President Stacey Cunningham writes in a new Wall Street Journal Op-Ed. “If Albany lawmakers get their way, however, the center of the global financial industry may need to find a new home.”

“Financial transaction taxes have a dismal track record,” she continued. “They never live up to the promises about how much revenue they’ll raise. They damage capital markets and destroy high-paying jobs.” 

Author(s): Brad Polumbo

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: Foundation for Economic Education

‘Terrible Idea’ with ‘Dismal Track Record’: Top Economists Blast Elizabeth Warren’s Latest Proposal

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fee.org/articles/terrible-idea-with-dismal-track-record-top-economists-blast-elizabeth-warren-s-latest-proposal/

Excerpt:

In fact, wealth taxes have failed across the world where they’ve been tried.

“Warren’s proposal has a dismal track record in other countries that have attempted wealth taxation,” Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and economic historian Phil Magness warned. “It simply encourages the wealthy to relocate abroad, taking their businesses with them.”

Economists say that’s why the global trend has not been passing wealth taxes, but repealing them. Edwards pointed out that in 1990, 12 European countries had wealth taxes. Now? Just three still do. 

“Even most of the leftist welfare states in Europe have repealed their wealth taxes because of the complex administration, the negative impacts on growth, and the encouragement of avoidance and evasion,” Cato’s Edwards concurred. 

Author(s): Brad Polumbo

Publication Date: 4 February 2021

Publication Site: Foundation for Economic Education