Bad Company? The Rise (Again) of Association Health Plans

This article first examines the rule adopted by the DOL and the criticism it has drawn. It then assesses the state of the small-group insurance market for small businesses, and the flawed approach that the ACA took to assisting them. Finally it takes a look at the uncertain future for small businesses and health insurance, and it suggests new approache

Blocking the Ballot Box: The Republican War on Voting Rights

This Article addresses threats to the right to vote that have arisen since 2018, when voter suppression efforts were key to denying Stacey Abrams, the Black Democratic nominee, victory over Republican Brian Kemp in the Georgia gubernatorial race, while Kemp, in administering his own election while Georgia’s Secretary of State, “laid out a chilling blueprint of voting suppression for other states to follow.” This Article begins by examining the early Republican voter intimidation tactics that resulted in a consent decree, as these can be viewed as part of a continuum to the present day. It discusses the two U.S. Supreme Court cases, in 2013 and 2021, that have effectively nullified the Voting Rights Act. It examines the actions and rhetoric of President Donald Trump, which have had the effect of supersizing Republican voter suppression efforts. It shares the examples of unprecedented state actions in 2021 to block the ballot box. Finally, it discusses the feeble Democratic congressional efforts to prevent and reverse trends that threaten our very democracy

Isolation Versus Engagement: The Economic Factors in Sino-Canadian Relations, 1960s-1970s

This essay seeks to present a historic overview of this relationship as it developed between the 1960s and 1970s and showcase how certain events impacted this development. Canada has had a steadily growing economic relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since the latter’s reform and opening up policy under Deng Xiaoping in 1978. The development of this relationship was not a forgone conclusion, as Cold War tensions initially heightened ideological tensions between Maoist China and capitalist democracies like Canada. The path of normalization was impacted by both domestic and international events involving both Canada and the PRC, which affected how both countries would attempt any form of engagement. The growing development of economic ties between Canada and China, and a mutual pragmatic desire for expanding trade, proved to be an important factor for both countries to put aside their ideological differences in a Cold War environment in order to normalize relations with one another

Does Janus vs. AFSCME Signal the Death of Mandatory Bar Associations?

In Janus vs. AFSCME, a closely-divided U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 41-year-old precedent and ruled that the practice of public sector unions charging agency fees to non-members in bargaining units, without affirmative consent, was “compelled speech.” The dissent warned that the decision had weaponized the First Amendment, and noted that “almost all economic and regulatory policy affects or touches speech.” Does the logic of Janus apply to mandatory bar association dues? There is strong evidence it does. And if it signals the death of mandatory bar associations, would that necessarily be a bad thing for the legal profession? This essay examines the evidence, particularly as it involves the author’s own licensing jurisdiction of the state of Washington, and makes the argument that the traditional bar association model is a thing of the past

The Long-Term Gender and Race Issues in Long-Term Care

Women outlive men, and, as a consequence, comprise the majority of residents in both the home health and nursing home long-term care settings. Their caregivers are also overwhelmingly-women -- 92% of nursing assistants in nursing homes, for example. And those caregivers are largely non-white. Long-term care has long been regarded as women\u27s work, beginning with its slavery antecedents in the home setting. This article explores the connection between the devaluing of long-term care, which is largely state-funded through Medicaid, and the gender and race dynamics of long-term care