vouchers

14 Stories

Travel Nightmare Becomes 'Best Flight Delay Ever'

Allison Preiss got kicked off a United flight but walked away with a $10K travel voucher

(Newser) - It's everyone's travel nightmare, but in one passenger's case it (sort of) became a dream come true. The bad-dream part of things for Allison Preiss began Thursday morning at Dulles International Airport, where she says a broken seat on a full United Airlines flight to Austin, Texas,...

Ticketmaster Offers Millions of Free Tickets, Faces Backlash

Gig selection in class-action settlement leaves much to be desired

(Newser) - If you used Ticketmaster between 1999 and 2013, you could be eligible for up to 17 vouchers for free concerts—but there's a strong chance you'll have to settle for a band you don't like that's playing in a distant city. Fans were outraged Tuesday when...

If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them
If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them
OPINION

If Schools Want to Teach Creationism, Let Them

It's a distracting sideshow from education system's bigger problems: 'Time' columnist

(Newser) - It's the kind of story that seems like it should get people riled up: Among the private schools getting $1 billion in taxpayer money in tuition vouchers are religious schools that teach creationism in place of actual science, according to Politico . But at Time , Nick Gillespie isn't feeling...

Obama, Paul Ryan to Lunch
 Obama, Paul Ryan to Lunch 

Obama, Paul Ryan to Lunch

The president's charm offensive continues today

(Newser) - President Obama has invited Paul Ryan to come have lunch with him at the White House today, the latest step in his post-sequester charm offensive . "I appreciate the president's invitation, and I look forward to our conversation," said the House Budget Committee chair in a statement, per...

Teachers Now Backing ... the GOP

Republicans see more union dollars roll in

(Newser) - Talk about strange bedfellows: Some American teachers' unions, bruised by struggles with Democrats like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel , are lending their support to ... Republicans, the New York Times reports. Reaching across the aisle in states like Illiinois, Ohio, and Texas, teachers' groups gave $1.2 million to GOP state candidates...

Paul Krugman: Why Mitt Romney's Wrong About Vouchers for Veterans


 Why Romney's 
 Wrong About 
 Veterans' Health 
paul krugman

Why Romney's Wrong About Veterans' Health

Current system exemplifies effective healthcare: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - With his proposal to give veterans vouchers for private insurance, Mitt Romney’s trying to fix something that ain’t broke. In fact, the current Veterans Health Administration is “a huge policy success story, which offers important lessons for future health reform,” writes Paul Krugman in the New ...

In Budget Deal, Lobbyists Win Surprising Battle

Ron Wyden's voucher plan scrapped—though that won't save money

(Newser) - Soon after Democrats and Republicans settled on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Ron Wyden got a call from Harry Reid. “You lost free-choice vouchers,” he said. Translation: Somehow in the budget scuffle, those involved agreed out of the blue to kill a plan Wyden had fought...

House GOP Eyes Medicare Privatization

Voucher plan would apply to those 54 and under

(Newser) - House Republicans slammed Democrats for making cuts to Medicare, but now the GOP is mulling a renewed effort to privatize the program, the AP reports. House budget leader Paul Ryan is assessing support for his voucher-based system, in which the government would give seniors a fixed payment; they’d then...

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice
Health Care
Bills Don't Offer
Real Choice
ANALYSIS

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice

Legislation in Congress seem to settle for status quo

(Newser) - Health insurance firms are essentially monopolies because employers, not individuals, choose which plans to offer. This freedom from competitive forces has allowed insurance to become flaky and opaque—and the reform currently being debated in Washington would do little about it, writes David Leonhardt for the New York Times. Even...

Jackson Memorial Tix Hit eBay
 Jackson Memorial Tix Hit eBay 

Jackson Memorial Tix Hit eBay

One listed for $20K; most under $1K

(Newser) - Vouchers for Michael Jackson's memorial service hit eBay and Craigslist just after winners were notified of their good luck, CBS News reports. Most were advertised for less than $1,000, but one voucher was for immediate sale for $20,000. Some of the Craigslist postings were flagged for removal. The...

'Cash for Clunkers' Plan Hits Skids With Auto Experts

Critics call green scheme misguided, too narrow

(Newser) - “Cash for Clunkers,” a congressional effort to remove older, gas-guzzling cars from the road, is gaining traction on Capitol Hill, but remains controversial elsewhere, MSNBC reports. The plan would offer drivers a $4,500 voucher toward new, fuel-efficient cars in exchange for trading in their environmentally unfriendly vehicles....

DTV Date Switch Gains Momentum in DC

Fund to aid consumers' conversion has run dry; June 1 may be alternative

(Newser) - Pressure from an influential consumer group and a change in attitudes on Capitol Hill may push back the mandated switch to digital television, Broadcasting & Cable reports. A letter from the Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, to key lawmakers and the Bush and Obama administrations urges them to reconsider...

Drown Money Woes With Cups of Joe
Drown Money Woes With
Cups of Joe

Drown Money Woes With Cups of Joe

Starbucks hopes sweet new deals will combat sales slump

(Newser) - While Congress worries about what to do for Americans squeezed by gas prices, Starbucks has its own ideas. To lure back people who are cutting pricey lattes out of the budget, new promotions are being launched around the country, writes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 

Obama Quits School Reform Talk on Trail
Obama Quits School Reform Talk on Trail
OPINION

Obama Quits School Reform Talk on Trail

Senator may be caving to old guard where he'd been breath of fresh air

(Newser) - Barack Obama has been backing off post-partisan rhetoric on education, looking more like a stick-in-the-mud Democratic regular on schools and less like the reformer who supported test-based accountability and performance pay for teachers. The Chicagoan had bucked teachers' unions and other stodgy liberals, supporting charter schools in Illinois and mentorship...

14 Stories