In case you missed it…

Sharon Rossie

 

Healthcare:

It’s bad enough that Americans are facing fewer and fewer health insurance options, but the massive increase in cost is beginning to take its toll as well. Under Obamacare — officially known as the Affordable Care Act — consumers in 19 states will be facing double digit rate hikes in 2017 as insurance companies struggle to remain profitable under new regulations. (Read more)

 

Unionization:

The National Labor Relations Board says graduate students at private universities should have the right to organize as a labor union. On Tuesday, the board ruled that graduate students at Columbia University were within their rights to form a labor union for their work as teaching assistants. (Read more)

 

Free markets:

Many politicians have been quick to blame “corporate greed” for the massive price increase consumers are facing for EpiPens — an emergency medical device used by individuals with severe allergies. What is not being mentioned, however, is that the federal government is responsible for protecting the monopoly that has made such price gauging possible. A little less government, and a little more free-market competition, would do far more to lower prices than piling on a mountain of costly regulations. (Read more)

 

Federal regulation:

The Department of Energy has been aggressively adding countless new energy-efficiency regulations over the course of the last several years. Just since June, the DOE has set or initiated standards for dehumidifiers, ceiling fans, battery chargers, and wine coolers. Even the little light underneath your microwave is subject to energy efficiency regulations. The end result is that consumers are faced with increasingly fewer choices when it comes to every-day household appliances. (Read more)

 

Economic recovery:

The slowest recovery on record continues to grind along — but at a much slower pace than originally thought. Despite initial estimates already being lower than economists had hoped for, estimated second quarter GDP growth has been revised downward. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy grew a mere 1.1 percent in the second quarter of 2016. (Read more)

 

Socialism:

Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign may be over, but he still has plans to bring about a political “revolution.” Sanders announced a new non-profit this week, dedicated to spurring his followers into action. “And let me — speaking only for myself — tell you what to me the political revolution means. And it means to me nothing less than the transforming of the United States of America,” Sanders told the crowd. (Read more)