During the past several years, a chemical used to make baby bottles and other plastic products has been making headlines. Activists suggest it can put infants at risk. Groups like the Washington Toxics Coalition claim that this chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), is “toxic” and could cause cancer and a number of other ailments.
The Children’s Safe Products Act of 2009 (HB 2367) was introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives in 2009.[1] It would have regulated chemicals in children’s toys, including BPA. But activists like the Oregon Environmental Council and Environment Oregon are also pushing legislation that focuses on BPA in food products and containers, such as baby bottles and canned goods-proposals likely to appear on the 2010 legislative agenda.[2]
WHAT IS BPA? Bisphenol A is a chemical intermediary used in the manufacturing of certain products, including polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. These plastics are used in a variety of products: baby bottles, five-gallon water jugs used in water coolers, medical equipment, sports safety equipment, cell phones and other consumer electronics, household appliances, and many other products. The resins are used for industrial flooring, adhesives, primers, coatings, and computer components. Its applications for food packaging and containers, particularly uses for water cooler jugs, canned foods, and baby bottles, have been the focus of much debate. . . . Read more!
While many members of Congress have been heading to their home districts to face town halls filled with concerned citizens, some Americans’ thoughts have drifted overseas. As we find ways to overhaul the U.S. health care system, pundits have pointed to other countries’ experiences with government-run health care. Some say that Canada has the solution. Others look to the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and even Cuba as a model for a U.S. overhaul. Little attention, however, has been paid to the lessons from several U.S. states. During the Congressional recess, I have crossed the country talking about the Oregon Health Plan while learning about the costly mistakes of other states’ experiences with government-run health care. . . . Read more!
Summary: Cascade Policy Institute announces the establishment of the Rural Oregon Freedom Project. Cascade will work with rural communities and the state legislature to remove barriers inhibiting rural economic opportunity and to advance balanced and creative approaches to rural community issues. . . . Read more!
Summary: Created nearly ten years ago, the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department’s “Vertical Housing Program” was designed to encourage mixed-use commercial/residential developments. But despite massive public subsidies invested in these projects, the program is not able to attract businesses to its retail spaces. . . . Read more!
In a world full of names, acronyms and management change plans, taxpayers can get lost. When the information to describe these programs is not transparent to the public, we cannot keep up with what our tax dollars are purchasing. Moreover, we cannot wander into discussions of government services without an entire world of letters swimming together to shorthand the names of agencies and programs. This alphabet soup is almost guaranteed to confuse those being asked to fund all these changes: the taxpayers. . . . Read more!
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As the Oregon legislature risks making matters worse by creating a brand-new health care system for us all (HB 2009), there are some small changes legislators can enact now that will make a real difference.
One way to give Oregonians more insurance choices is for the state to give its own employees the same ability to choose a Health Savings Account as federal employees have. . . . Read more!
Public policy advocates and lawmakers have proposed numerous programs allowing people to accumulate assets, as opposed to simply receiving cash benefits, in the hope of breaking cycles of poverty and government dependency. In the guise of an asset-building tool, the Federal ASPIRE Bill is actually another entitlement program. Policymakers realize this, and this is the reason it has not become law.. . . Read more!
Rob Kremer gave the following address at the Milton Friedman “Legacy of Freedom” luncheon at McMenamin’s Kennedy School on July 31, one of 50 events nationwide honoring the late Dr. Friedman on his 96th birthday.
I can’t tell you what an honor it is to be here today, and have the chance to pay tribute, on what would have been his 96th birthday, to a man who had a profound effect on my life. Though I never met him, I always felt as if my life and career was somehow steered by the power of Milton Friedman’s ideas.
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