Breaking Barriers

Navigating Public Policy, Technology, Health, Data, and Innovation for a Fairer Future

Breaking Barriers

Navigating Public Policy, Technology, Health, Data, and Innovation for a Fairer Future

Author: cary

Who Is Robert Garcia and Why You Want to Know

He was five years old the first time he understood that possibility and uncertainty can arrive together. The air in Long Beach smelled of salt and sunlight as his mother led him off a bus from Lima. They carried little beyond a battered suitcase, their shared language, and the quiet hope that America might be.

Coke, Pepsi, and the Future of Autonomous Ride-Sharing. Why Austin’s Experiment Matters for Public Policy.

For years, autonomous vehicles have been framed as a distant technological frontier, an abstract promise of convenience, safety, and efficiency. But in Austin, Texas, that future quietly arrived. And with it, a critical public policy question emerged: how do we ensure that competition, consumer choice (i.e., Coke and Pepsi), and public interest guide the evolution.

When Revenue Rises but Stability Slips

Tariffs are back, louder, sharper, and more lucrative than they’ve been in decades. As of mid-June, the federal government has collected over $72 billion from tariffs in 2025, an 81 percent increase from the same period last year. That kind of growth would turn heads in any revenue stream. But when it comes to understanding.

What Happens When Washington Forgets the Heartland

Every so often, Congress confronts a decision that seems technocratic on the surface but reveals something deeper about our national character. The current debate over Medicaid funding for rural hospitals is one of those moments. At issue is a provision tucked into the Senate’s sweeping budget legislation. It would lower the threshold for provider taxes.

AI, Trump, and the Voices of History

Sheila Kennedy, one of Indiana’s sharpest public thinkers, just dropped a masterstroke of modern commentary. Her post, AI Talks to Trump, isn’t just clever, it’s necessary. The premise is simple but profound. What if ChatGPT could summon the rhetorical spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Jesus of Nazareth, and Ronald Reagan, then ask them to speak candidly.

Biosimilars Are the Billion Dollar Solution We Keep Ignoring

The United States pays more for prescription drugs than any other country. That is not a function of better drugs or better care. It is a result of a deliberately engineered system that protects monopolies, encourages price discrimination, and stifles competition from the very products that could save the system billions: biosimilars. Pharmaceutical companies insist.