Entries by Andrew Cline

As predicted, Massachusetts’ flavored tobacco ban is creating a black market

At Reason.com, Jacob Grier noticed that Massachusetts’ ban on flavored tobacco products has, predictably, created a black market in flavored cigarettes. The smuggling is so prevalent that law enforcement is running out of places to store seized products. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reports conducting more than 300 seizures in FY 2022, compared to 170 […]

, ,

Why universal school choice would help all N.H. students — and the public schools

“Healthy market competition is fundamental to a well-functioning U.S. economy. Basic economic theory demonstrates that when firms have to compete for customers, it leads to lower prices, higher quality goods and services, greater variety, and more innovation.” — Heather Boushey and Helen Knudsen, “The Importance of Competition for the American Economy,” The White House, July […]

,

Boondoggle: State study shows soaring costs, plunging ridership for commuter rail

The January, 2023, draft of the state’s Capital Corridor commuter rail study contains nothing that commuter rail boosters should like. The financial analysis, prepared for the state Department of Transportation by AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Manchester, envisions a nearly $800 million railroad serving fewer than 100 Manchester commuters per trip, at an operating cost […]

, , ,

Medicaid can’t continue expanding forever

As legislators consider more proposals to expand Medicaid eligibility or services to specific populations, they ought to consider that Medicaid is both like and unlike the universe. Like the universe, Medicaid is expanding faster than it should be. Unlike the universe, there’s no scientific possibility of Medicaid expanding forever. (Maybe the universe can’t either.) Two bills […]

,

A N.H. commuter rail question: Should Paul Revere have taken the T to Lexington (or Nashua)?

When considering commuter rail in New Hampshire, here’s thought experiment that offers a great place to start. Should the Massachusetts Bay Colony have built commuter rail in Revolutionary-era Boston? Assuming the technology had been available, would this have made any sense? We can get to an answer by looking at the primary obstacle to building […]