Retirement Funding: Away from Pensions to 401(k)s
The Wall Street Journal reports ("One more reason to quite your job," November 25) that the money in 401(k) plans now exceeds the money in pension plans: $1.95 trillion to $1.59 trillion. Predictions that the rise of the "investor class" would change politics and policy may be overstated, but the scope of the class--people who actively participate in shaping their own financial future--cannot be denied. Overall, it's an encouraging development.

Labels: Pensions

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Chicago Building Fire Aftermath
It looks like some of the deaths in the Cook County Administration Building fire over the summer can be attributed to faulty policy.

"[In] a report expected to be released today, city officials say [one] factor in the tragedy at the Cook County Administration Building was a decision by building managers to evacuate tenants into locked stairwells contrary to their training in the city's high-rise evacuation procedures."

Wonder if anyone's going to lose their job over this. (permalink)

More Proof: Highly Educated Doesn't Mean Smart
Though the University of Chicago has an outstanding reputation, some of its students aren't that smart, apparently.

So-called "transgendered" students don't know what restrooms to use, and a group of students want the university to create unisex restrooms, preferably, single-occupancy restrooms rather than the multi-stalled setup common in institutional settings. (permalink)

High School Pettiness + Temperance Zealotry = Ratting Out for Fun and Profit
High school, as anyone remembers, is a time of petty jealousies, popularity contests, and a social status hierarchy.

The Illinois State Crime Commission and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are relying on those social qualities--plus the desire for cold, hard cash--to snare underaged drinkers. The groups, says the Daily Herald, are "offering the reward to anyone who can help local police break up an underage drinking party. Organizers aren't shy about admitting they're targeting disgruntled teens who can provide the best and earliest intelligence for police."

So we have in this country, the following ethic: sexual experimentation, good. (Bananas and condoms in grade school, anyone?) Abortion: good, or at least permissible. Judgmentalism: bad. Having a beer if you're under 21: don't you even think about it.

It would seem like we would have less trouble with alcoholism in this country if kids learned about alcohol in moderation, as part of family gatherings, as in much of Europe, rather than in clandestine parties conducted iin a climate of fear.

(For the record, the PolicyGuy was a teetotaler until well after the legal age.)

Labels: Education

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Unions Make Best of Worst
Michigan state workers have endorsed an agreement negotiated between their union and the state. "Under the agreements," says the Lansing State Journal, "workers will defer two hours of pay a week, but they will avoid the prospect of a 37.5-hour work week with reduced pay." This gives Jennifer Granholm, Michigan's governor, most of the employee concessions she relied on to craft a budget with the legislature.

Says the Journal, "The Granholm administration was preparing to impose a 37.5-hour work week absent concessions, a move that would affect pay, vacation time and retirement benefits.

With banked leave time, employees continue to work 40-hour weeks but are paid for only 38 hours.

Workers bank the other hours and can take additional time off or be compensated when they leave state government with contributions into their 401(k)s."

Getting paid late is bad. Not getting paid at all is worse. (permalink)

A Meaningless Comparison
Massachusetts now spends more money on prisons than on higher education. Perhaps the Bay State relies too much on prisons. Perhaps it doesn't. But if the state has any responsibility to the public, it's public safety. The case for taxpayer funding for higher education, by contrast, is much weaker. Much of the benefit (in terms of higher salaries) of higher education goes to the people who receive the education. But the public at large benefits if a violent criminal is locked up. (permalink)

Ain't Worth the Trouble
A few school boards are refusing the money from No Child Left Behind, finding it is more trouble than it's worth.

Labels: Education

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Tax Revolt in Ohio
The Republican-dominated state government raised Ohio's sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. Now there's an effort to repeal the tax increase. It will likely be successful. (permalink)

One More Step Towards Socialized Medicine
No, I'm not talking about the Medicare bill--though that's bad enough. Michigan, like other states, received federal money for a program for children's health insurance. Nationally, the program is called S-CHIP. Michigan, which calls its program MIChild, received $200 million more than required. For once, the federal budget crunches overestimated the demand for a program. Now, Michigan wants to use that money to prop up some programs for adults.

A spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services isn't offering much help to Michigan: "[The money] was originally intended to serve children, the disabled and the aged. Able-bodied, middle-aged people were not the intended target of this program." Meanwhile, others are calling for the state to find ways to spend the money on children: ""The money should really go for what it was designated for: children. There are many children still in Michigan who don't have health insurance."

Whether or not S-CHIP is a good program, or the adult-oriented program (called alternately, Plus Care or Care First ) is a question for another time. But it's worth pointing out that money is fungible. If Michigan gets approval from the feds to divert the money, it's yet another clue for advocates of taxpayer-financed health care: establish a program and get money for it in the name of children (the easiest sell, emotionally-speaking), and then spread the money around to everyone in a few years.

Labels: Health care

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The High-Stakes Search for New Drugs
As consumers, aided by a bipartisan coalition of politicians, whine for free drugs, the Detroit News reviews a few facts about drug development.

For example, for every drug that Pfizer (the largest drug company, and one with a substantial presence in Michigan) brings to market, there are 5,000 failures. In the 65 years that the company's research facility in Ann Arbor has been open, the staff have brought ... 7 drugs to market. The company hopes to raise the productivity of its research efforts to the point where it is successful 10 percent of the time. That would be a huge increase.

The result of this and similar records: $802 million per each drug actually brought to market in 2002.

Due to the complexity of chemical interactions, the human body, and the requirements of FDA approval, developing a new drug is a long and expensive process. It's easy for the consumer to see only a "white tablet," and focus on the very low cost of stamping out the one-thousandth pill, and forget the expense of being able to make the first one. That's one reason for the demagogic play against pharmaceutical companies.

Another reason is an entitlement mentality that has grown up around third-party payment of health care: someone else is going to pay, out of insurance, and my insurance better be cheap. And if I'm a senior citizen, well, I built this country, and ... blah blah blah.

Ironic. Something so valuable has health, and we expect it to be nearly cost-free.

Labels: Health care

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When is a Tax Increase Not a Tax Increase?
Detroit Free Press columnist Chris Christoff pooh-poohs criticism of Gov. Granholm's tax plans. Michigan is planning to lower the income tax rate on January 1; Granholm suggests putting that off.

The head of the Republican party says that the plan is a "reckless tax increase." But is it really a tax increase. Christoff waffles by throwing in the question of whether the measure is "big": " I must not understand that postponing a minor tax cut is the same as a really big tax increase."

It's a fair enough point to make that we are dealing with word games here: delayed tax cut versus tax increase.

Yet in the venacular of federal (and perhaps state) budgeting, reductions in the projected rate of increased spending are called .... spending cuts. For purposes of symmetry, I suppose that delays in planned income tax rate cuts should be called tax increases. (permalink)

Why Drug Companies Can't Just Raise Prices in Canada
Drug prices in other countries are lower in Canada than in the U.S.--hence the shameful push for drug reimportation.

So why don't drug companies simply raise their prices in Canada? They can't. Blame Canada. And blame the U.S. government for the international agreements it has made. Kevin Hassett mentions the trouble with TRIPS agremeents.

TRIPS is an acronym for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; the official text is here.

"[The] current international agreement for drug trade (the so-called TRIPS agreement) essentially handcuffs our drug companies when they negotiate with other countries. It allows a country to violate a drug patent — steal the new drug — if the country is unable to negotiate a contract at "reasonable commercial terms."

UPDATE: Here is one analysis from the Thomson corporation that discusses compulsory licensing under TRIPS. It provides a reference to relevant paragraphs covering pharmaceutical patents. (permalink)

Longer, Fewer School Days?
A member of the Wisconsin House has proposed giving government school districts the options of holding fewer, but longer school days during the year. The idea is to save on expenses for heating, busing, food service, and other variable costs.

Good idea? I don't know. The teachers union is against the idea--which may or may not make it a good idea. They say that there's a danger in cramming too much information in one day. Perhaps. School and state officials ought to, before tinkering with schedules, consult the Six Habits of Fiscally Responsible Public School Districts.

Labels: Education

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The Governor Turned, At Least Partly
Somehow I missed this yesterday, but Governor Jennifer Granholm is now advocating that Michigan delay a scheduled decrease in the individual income tax rate. "All she's talking about is a pause," says a spokesman for the governor. But as Free political reporter Dawson Bell reminds us, the decrease--last of several that were planned back in 1999--"was intended to help change Michigan's high-tax reputation and make the state a more attractive destination for new business and professionals." If that's going to still be the case, the guv ought to, at the very least, set a date certain at which the decrease will go into effect. A better idea, though, would be to go through with the decrease on January 1, as scheduled. (permalink)

Economic Incentives Work--Even In Europe
In general, European countries have a much more extensive welfare state than the U.S. does. But now one country, France, is recognizing the fact that the safety net can become a hammock.

The unemployment rate now stands at just under 10 percent, and it is projected to increase next year. According to a report in The Scotsman, the new plans include sanctions to ensure that "jobseekers should not be able to turn them [job offers] down forever if the offers are appropriate for them in terms of qualifications and salary.” Currently, unemployed workers can get up to 75 percent of their former salary. For as long as two years. Unions, predictably, are planning a fight. (permalink)

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News
This post doesn't have much to do with policy, though it is about one of my favorite essays on higher education and status. Jay Nordlinger wrestles with this question: should you call a person with a Ph.D. a doctor, or is that an affectation?

I'm thinking of this on the occasion of fellow policy guru David Hogberg earning his Ph.D. this week. (Look over to "Cornfield Commentary" in the left side of this page.)

Here are some of my favorite lines from the Nordlinger essay.

• "First, the Times seldom refers to any Ph.D. as “Dr.” The head of Mt. Sinai Hospital, yes; the Nobel Prize winner in physics, perhaps. But an English prof or a sociologist or a drama teacher or something? Unusual."



• "Arthur Schlesinger Jr. — by the way, again — has fought all his life against being called “Dr.” He never earned a Ph.D., having been made a Harvard professor without one. Come to think of it, this may speak well for a Ph.D.)"



• "As for the Wall Street Journal, the stylebook says that a Ph.D. is called “Dr.” “if appropriate in context and if the individual desires it.” The editorial page, however — always independent and (gloriously) contrarian — won’t give you “Dr.” unless you wear a white coat and stethoscope."



• "The queer practice of “Dr. Castro” lives on among certain leftists .... Of course, absolute rulers are always lavishing titles on themselves (including “General,” although, as many have noted, it’s strange that Col. Qaddafi never moved himself up)."



• "In 1986, the Times achieved something of a stylistic breakthrough, assenting to “Ms.” This allowed Gloria Steinem to utter what must be the best line of her career: “Now I don’t have to be ‘Miss Steinem from Ms. magazine.’”



• "Condoleezza Rice, the current national security adviser, is “Ms. Rice” — her choice. Yet White House spokesmen routinely refer to her as “Dr. Rice.”



• Many years ago, another NR senior editor, Rick Brookhiser, surveying all the mail sent to Bill Buckley, adjudged that the most interesting letters were those from prison. And the least interesting? The ones from people who signed themselves “Ph.D.”

Two personal comments. First, I've been close enough to the work required for a Ph.D. that if someone who earned it wants to be called "doctor," I've got no problem with that. (I would, though, agree with Buckley's comment about preferring the rule of a random selection of citizens pulled from the phone book over that of the Harvarad faculty.) Second, I spent a week in Vienna some time ago. The Ph.D. came, of course, from the Germanic world. Even so, I was surprised at how many times I encountered Herr Doktor. A few weeks ago, at a meeting in a small town in Michigan, I met the director of the Hayek society in Vienna. Of course--she was a Ph.D. (permalink)

Is There Ethics in Government?
The Illinois legislature voted 167-1 (House and Senate combined) on a series of ethics reforms. Well and good. The package does seem to have some useful measures, such as creating an office of inspector general for each constitutional office.

But three things give me pause:
First, nearly all unanimous votes mean that the item under discussion is meaningless (such as congratulating a sports team for its victory).

Second, changing laws may help, but more important is the culture of corruption that has surrounded the state's politics. That's going to take longer to change.

Finally, people are going to be involved in politics as long as politics has goods worth having. To reduce the influence of money and personal gain-seeking in government, there's only one sure cure: reduce the size of government. (permalink)

Don't Cry for schools Just Yet
Government-run schools in Michigan face losing $196 per pupil in state funding. But the Detroit News reports that together, they have $1.84 billion in "rainy day" funds.

The president of the teachers union says "All along, districts were supposed to be spending that money on programs and clearly they haven't. It makes it difficult for us to lobby legislators for additional funds for public education when they can look at us and say, 'that's why you have so many districts with so much money in the bank.'

That pretty much sums it up. (permalink)

Political Games With Ballots in (Where Else?) Illinois
Illinois law requires all candidates to be on the ballot by August of next year. But the Republican convention to formally nominate George W. Bush won't take place until September--meaning that by law, the president of the United States would not be on the ballot in Illinois.

Democrats in that state's legislature are willing to change the requirements of the law--for a price. That includes erasing some campaign-related fines imposed on high-ranking Democrats, and counting "hanging chads" as votes.

Now you see why I don't spend a lot of time talking about politics. (permalink)

The Road Tolls for Thee
The Detroit Free Press' transportation beat writer says that the goal of having 90 percent of Michigan's roads in "good condition" by 2007 won't be met. Matthew Helms agrees with Governor Granholm that the state should therefore not expand its road network. It sounds plausible--don't expand until you maintain what you have. But it is rooted in a false choice. Michigan should expand its road system and upgrade its current one. And it can, if it uses tolling to construct some of the new roads.

Labels: Transportation

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Ag Extension Services: Funding by Localities Next?
Agricultural extension services are a social welfare, research, and porkbarrel all wrapped in one. The Michigan version runs 4-H programs, conducts agricultural and environmental research, operates a "master gardener programs, and badgers parents to "eat healthy."

Most of this is mildly beneficial. But is this "helpful nanny" model of government desirable in a time of tight budgets? When newspapers, magazines, and Oprah implore ply parents us with information about nutrition, is a government effort to do so necessary? I have my doubts.

The anachronistic nature of an agricultural extension service is seen in the fact that it's got office in nearly every one (all?) of Michigan's counties, including such heavily urbanized counties as Wayne (Detroit); Kent (Grand Rapids); and Oakland (wealthy, suburban Detroit).

Yet such services do provide some form of social network for less populated counties. Two such counties now level local taxes to pay (in part) for extension services. At current funding levels--in rural Alger county, $55,000 in local money supplements $180,000 in state and federal money--local funding won't support the entire system as is. But that's just as well. If such a service is to be of benefit in the future, it's probably going to be in less populated counties, who ought to pay for it themselves. Or perhaps the whole thing ought to be scrapped altogether. (permalink)

Want This Old House? Buy It Yourself
Since I'm on a roll with the Tribune, how about one more story? "Historic preservation" is yet another form of unfunded mandates. The owner of a building with a " (permalink)

More on Chicago Fire (Not the soccer team)
Poking around the Chicago Tribune website, I find that my favorite Trib columnist, John Kass, wrote about the fire and the political questions a few weeks ago. (permalink)

What's a State Fire Marshal For?
A reader of the PolicyGuy blog sends in a pointer to a story in the Chicago Tribune (registration required) about some questionable spending.

Here's what happened, as I understand it. There was a fire at the Cook County administrative building back in July. Six people died. The state has a fire marshal who might otherwise investigate this. Actually, at the time he was (and still is) the acting fire marshal. Gov. Rod Blagojevich hired a former FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) official to do the investigation. For a cool $1 million.

Members of the state senate are now asking: why? Considering the state's budget situation, that's a fair question. I have no idea how much it should cost to investigate a fire such as this, so I can't say if the amount was exobitant or not. But it certainly seems to be a waste of taxpayer dollars to not use the resources already on the state payroll. I am all for contracting out when it makes sense; but somehow, it doesn't sound right in this case. (permalink)

Michigan Budget Cuts, Round 2
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm continues to stress budget cuts as the way to address the state's ongoing budget woes (current calculations: $920 million in the red.)

Meanwhile, a survey of 600 likely voters conducted by Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce shows that 68 percent of those surveyed prefer budget cuts; only 17 percent opted for tax hikes. On the other hand, only 32 percent said that current taxes were too high, signaling that there is support for a fairly expansive government.

Granholm concedes that "protests on the lawn of the Capitol because of cuts" are likely. She hasn't ruled out a subtle tax increase--the personal income tax rate is scheduled to decline from 4 percent to 3.9 percent on January 1, and there is take of pushing that off to a future date--but she has not talked it up, either. It's unlikely that the legislature would go along with that, in any case.

While Granholm's emphasis on tax cuts is admirable, I have yet to see any evidence that she has used the crisis as an occasion to fundamentally reform state government by shedding official functions, such as operating a State Fair. (permalink)

City to Drain Lake for a Wal-Mart
City officials in Arvada, Colorado, want to seize a lake and give it over to Wal-Mart. Through an abuse of the eminent domain principle, city officials may declare the lake "blighted" and then let the retail giant drain the lake and use it for a store. Why? To feed the ever-increasing appetite for tax revenues. The Rocky Mountain News finds this development an appalling one.

It used to be that condemnation through eminent domain required a clearly visible "public purpose", such as a road, airport, or something similar. Today, the model of hyperactive government has defined "public purpose" to simply mean the fattening of the government treasury. (permalink)

(No) Smoking in the Boys Room, or Anywhere Else
The City of Wauwatosa has become 16th first city in Wisconsin to enact a smoking ban. Taverns are exempt--at least for now. The city's council president is unfazed by criticism:

"We regulate businesses all the time .... We don't allow restaurants to serve bad food or impure water. We determine how late they can stay open."

How's that for an explanation of the "nose under the tent" theory of governance?

Here's an alternative: if you don't like smoky restaurants, don't patronize them.

It's an odd day when "choice" is the rule when it comes to the question of whether to end human life through abortion ("if you don't like abortion, don't have one," is a common retort to the pro-life argument), but not in whether a person will eat (or work) in a smoke-filled room or not. (permalink)

Illinois Legislature to Take off Tax Caps
Tax and spending measures can be powerful tools for restraining the growth of government. But they can be gutted as well (see: California).

Local government bodies in Illinois were placed under tax caps (no more than a 5 percent increase per year, if I recall correctly) in the mid-1990s. Illinois has more local government bodies--library districts, mosquito abatement districts, park districts, not to mention villages and cities--than any other state in the country. The legislature voted this week to allow the Cook County (Chicago) and several suburban park districts to raise their tax burdens--without first getting voter approval, which would normally be required under the tax caps.

What do these 15 park districts have in common? They "had not maxed out their tax rates for taxpayer-backed loans before caps went into place in."

Lesson for local officials: get your tax rates as high as you can before tax caps are imposed. You may get relief from the cap later, but it may take a few years. (permalink)

Rearranging the Deck Chairs
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wants the State of Michigan--which took over the Detroit Public Schools in 1999, after years of mismanagement--to return control of the DPS to Detroit. Specifically, to him.

Kilpatrick deserves some credit for partially bucking the status quo-oriented teachers union when he initially backed charter schools. But he was unable (or was it unwilling) to broker an agreement that would have poured millions of dollars of private money into city charter schools.

The desire to return authority back to the city is understandable--how many suburban or outstate residents would like to see the duties of their local government school board taken away and handed to a group appointed by the state?

But such measures--the takeback, or the giveback--are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking ship of government-run schools. They may make people feel better, and perhaps actually do some amount of good. But they're no substitute for enhanced parental choice in schooling.

Labels: Charter schools, Education, School choice

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Agricultural Extension Programs Face Elimination
As Michigan legislators and the governor grapple with a continued budget deficit, one possible target for cost savings is the Michigan State University Extension Service. The mayor of Ludington, a small tourist town in an agricultural county, is against it: “They do a lot with families and kids. They teach about nutrition and parenting skills, and that ties into the 4-H program."

Hmm. Aren't family members, churches, friends and the like supposed to be the ones teaching people about "parenting skills"? (permalink)

Feds Bail Out States, but For How Long?
In an editorial today, The Oklahoman (registration required) says that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority will spend $34 million of a $99 million federal bailout to increase payments to doctors and other health care providers in Medicaid. Some physicians are currently getting only 72 percent of the going rate for Medicare; they will soon get 90 percent.

(Medicaid, Medicare, yes, confusing. Medicaid is the program for the poor; Medicare, for the elderly. Medicare has tremendous power through the rates it sets.)

This is all and good--if we are going to have a government program, better that the costs be explicitly known and paid for through taxes, rather than lowballing the businesses that provide services to the government. The Oklahoman applauds the decision to increase the low reimbursement rates. But, the paper asks, what happens when this federal windfall runs out?

The headline of the article is "Medicaid Buys Time With Fee Boost." But more fundamental reform is required, as the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs has noted in article written by your truly and Merrill Matthews. As The Oklahoman concludes its editorial, "A crisis-plagued Medicaid system has just gotten a major boost, but the next crisis could be just around the corner. " Make that WILL be around the corner.

Labels: Medicaid

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How About an Aggressive-Driver Campaign?
The campaign to compel seatbelt use got another boost from a federal report. Police in Michigan are also launching a new campaign to go after people for not wearing seatbelts. Arguably, the person in greatest peril from an unbelted motorist is ... the unbelted motorist.

Another danger which more obviously touches on law enforcement is aggressive driving--quickly weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds, for example. Perhaps police ought to go after those folks first. (permalink)

We're from the Government, and We Know Better Than You
Governor Jim Doyle is planning to veto a measure to liberalize the process whereby citizens can carry concealed weapons. Like a good politician, he knows the value of a photo-op, so he's going to have some sheriffs on hand when he carries out a public veto ceremony.

Most peace officers do a fine job. But they can't be everywhere. That's only one reason why conceal carry measures are important. It's a shame to see some of them go along with this political stunt. (permalink)

Community Service as Alternative to Jail
Criminal acts must be dealt with in some ways. Sometimes that means long prison terms. But it doesn't have to mean that, either. Waukesha County, Wisconsin has seen 161 jail inmates participate in community service programs this year. Inmates who perform community service reduce their sentence on a one-to-one ratio: one day out of jail sooner for every 24 hours of service.

The Salvation Army is a common place for inmates to volunteer. Some inmates have worked out so good as volunteers that the Army is looking for a way to hire them once they are released.

Says Mareth Kipp, a member of the county board, "It's saving jail days and we're silly if we don't think about that."

It also metes out community sanctions while allowing the inmates to do something for the community rather than sit around and watch TV. (permalink)

Rube Goldberg to Fix Health Care--Again
In a measure to game the Medicaid system (and taxpayers in other states) the Illinois General Assembly is considering a measure to tax hospital bed stays. Thanks to federal matching funds, the hospitals get the money back, and more, while insurers pay most of the initial tab. The goal is to bump up Medicaid payments, which are historically low, to hospitals, without spending any more state money. (For more details, see here).

The Assembly is also considering a similar scheme to promote insurance coverage, especially in rural areas. In brief, local governments take money already in the budget and transfer it to the state. The state records the money as "state effort" dollars, thus attracting federal money. The state takes the old, local money, and new, federal money, and gives it over to not-for-profit, local corporations. The new corporations sign up a bunch of people in such numbers that they form an insurance group. The corporations, using the new federal money, subsidize the insurance policies, so employers and employees can buy into the new insurance at a discount.

You have to give some credit to the first person who came up with this idea--credit, at least, for creativity.

But this is simply another Rube Goldberg operation, tinkering with and playing in the same old broken system of third-party payers and government programs.

There are many ways to make insurance more affordable, besides playing such games. Of course, boosting incomes through economic growth (better schools, lower taxes, etc.) would help, though these are long-term solutions. More directly, significant tort reform would lower the cost of medical care. Opening up Association Health Plans to all states would be a private sector-friendly alternative to a new government group. Liberalizing the use of Medical Savings Accounts would help out. So would legalizing basic insurance (that is, not filled with mandates). Tax parity between employer-sponsored and individually-purchased insurance would remove a hidden subsidy to third-party payers. Letting people buy insurance from a company licensed in any state--not just Illinois--would spur competition.

As the above list suggests, state policy makers have limited options. The biggest problem in health care is the discrimination against individual health insurance in the tax code--at the federal level. But there are options for the state as well--options that don't rely on (yet again) scheming the federal rules.

Labels: Health care, Medicaid

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Private Libraries Allow More Parental Control than Public Ones
Public libraries have long since left the books-only age, and now offer Hollywood flicks. There are, of course, private film libraries, such as Blockbuster Video.

Parents may hesitate about getting a library card for minor children, though, if they want to control what movies fall into the hands of their offspring.

As the Daily Herald puts it, "Even though they'd have to be at least 17 or be accompanied by a parent to see these [R-rated] movies in theaters, children don't need fake ID cards to take home the video versions -- only their library cards." The DH says that some libraries even hand out NC-17 (near porn) films to minors--films they could not get into at the local cineplex.

I'll give you two seconds to figure out what librarians think of this policy: They're all for it. Intellectual freedom, you see.

Actually, a few libraries in suburban Chicago do place limits on what kids can check out. Perhaps their head librarians don't belong to the American Library Association, which looks askance at librarians actually, exercising judgment.

The ALA does have one leg to stand on, though--most are, after all, government employees, and government restriction on free speech (and access to speech) is not highly esteemed in constitutional law.

There ought to be some middle ground though. Minors are, after all, legally dependent on their parents (though that distinction is being steadily chipped away) for all sorts of things, including a library card. Why don't libraries simply customize cards according to parental choice? If daddy doesn't want junior to check out "Silence of the Lambs," well, put a "No R movies" restriction on junior's account.

Then again, when libraries have become government-operated versions of Blockbuster, one must ask: why have taxpayer-funded libraries anyway? (permalink)

Beware Town Meetings
Writing in the Detroit Free Press, Dawson Bell warns not to read too much into the results of Governor Jennifer Granholm's "deficit tour." While the Guv should get credited for her skillfull maneuvering between fiscal conservatives in the legislature and government employee unions, the people who show up to her televised public forums tend to favor higher taxes--it's in their best interest.

Granholm's studio audiences were representative, Bell says "in the sense that they were of different races, genders, vocations, etc. But they were unrepresentative in one really critical area -- almost all were the kind of people who pay attention to and care about state government. Local elected officials, community leaders and those with a direct stake in state spending (like Merit Award scholarship kids) were present in numbers way out of proportion to their share of the electorate. To conclude, as many have, that their in-studio support (when Granholm asked for a show of hands) for raising the income tax to help solve the crisis gives her or lawmakers a green light is just short of cuckoo." (permalink)

Retirement and Health Costs Loom Large for Local Government
Milwaukee county governments, already with short-term troubles, is facing a long-term crisis in retirement and health care costs. That's the word from a series in the Journal-Sentinel, which begins today.

Says the paper, "While governments typically set aside and invest money ahead of time for pensions, fewer than one-fifth of state and local governments in the United States - and none in Milwaukee - have done so for retiree medical coverage." The result: an unfunded liability of anywhere from $2.1 to $2.9 billion. The cost to taxpayers: double-digit tax increases for as long as 30 years, if the money is found only through tax increases and no other changes are made.

The situation is only going to get worse, when, in 2007, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, will require local and state governments to list the costs for retiree health insurance as a liability--meaning they will be paid off at once (unlikely), or carried as debt.

Similar accounting changes in the private sector have contributed to the rise of defined-contribution plans, which shift some of the risks, and decisions, to employees

The reason for the liability: soaring costs for health care. While the wages of unionized workers have risen four-fold since the 1970s, the cost of health care has risen 12 times.

The unions may play this in a "pity us" mode--their wages have not kept up with health care inflation. Yet health care coverage, like wages, is a form of compensation.

The head of the local chamber of commerce describes the problem well: "Because public employees pay so little for insurance, cost is not an issue when buying medical care. We have created an army of rotten consumers that have helped drive up medical costs. Private companies are also part of the problem, but the public sector is a significant contributor."

And of course, standing in the way of any changes are the lawyers.

Labels: Health care, Public employee pensions

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We're Number ... Uhm, We're Average
Michigan students rank in the middle when students across the country were tested by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (or its equivalents, including the MEAP.)

The Detroit News finds a parent who says that "education is not getting the dollars it needs." Yet Michigan ranks fourth in annual teacher salaries ($54,000); Connecticut is second. Yet when it comes to reading scores, money--at least on teachers--does not guarantee results. The Nutmeg State ranks first in fourth-grade reading scores; Michigan falls far behind at 32

But bolt the doors, say the teachers union. A spokesman for the Livonia Public Government-run Schools fears that the wrong lessons--that educational choice is required to improve educational performance--will be drawn from the test results. (permalink)

Community-based, Family-focused Mental Health Program a Model
According to the Detroit Free Press, a Lansing-area mental health program for children is attracting national attention for its good track record. The Freep says that staff "let parents choose their therapist; make themselves available 24 hours a day; hold therapy sessions at the child's home, and look for situations where the child succeeds and strive to duplicate them."

An academic on the subject lauds the effort, saying "They have great respect for family input, and good clinical skills and support for the staff who go into the home."

Patient-first policies aren't easy to implement, but the Ingham Community Mental Health Authority deserves some credit. This reminds me of the "cash and counseling" program being carried out in Florida. (permalink)

Health Insurance for Part-Timers
Part-time jobs are sometimes dismissed as "McJobs" that don't have stability, don't have health insurance, and so forth.

But being on the county board of Gogebic County, Michigan (the farthest west county in the state) isn't a bad part time job. According to the county website, the county has fewer than 20,000 residents, and 50 employees.

A reader to the Ironwood Daily Globe points out, though, that the county commissioners receive, at taxpayer expense, the same BlueCross BlueShield policies made available to county employees.

It's not as though the commissioners get rich through their pay; even the chairman of the board tops out at $3,300 a year. So perhaps it's not a bad way to compensate the commissioners to supplement that pay with health insurance. Then again, I don't know how much those policies pay; it's conceivable that total compensation would top $10,000 a year. And I don't know how much time the commissioners spend each month supervising a staff of 50. But rank does have its privileges, including the ability to decide on the form of one's compensation.

Labels: Health care

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Don't Take Our Drugs: Canada
Governor Rod Blagojevich, like his colleagues in other states (Republican and Democratic alike) hope to score some political points and stretch state tax dollars by encouraging the importation of prescription drugs from Canada. Yesterday, pharmacists from Canada pleaded: don't take away our drugs.

With drug companies starting to enforce their contracts with Canadian pharmacies--we are selling you discounted drugs under legal duress, don't re-sell them to the U.S.--pharmacists in Canada are worrying that Blagojevich and Co. will lead to shortages up north. (permalink)

Another Attack on Monster Homes
Many Chicago suburbs are seeing a debate over teardowns and monster homes. (For the record, the Policy Guy has never lived in a monster home, and most likely would never want to--too much to keep clean.) The Daily Herald says a study of 3,000 houses found that "homes 3,000 square feet or larger produced two to three times the amount of traffic that their smaller neighbors produced. "

The potential explanations are weak--more stay-at-home moms, cleaning maids and landscaping crews, and more cars per house. Perhaps they are responsible for some increase. But that much? (I have not seen the study; presumably it can be obtained by sending an email to DOT@dupageco.org.)

No matter; officials in DuPage county are set to use this study as a means to justify higher taxes ("impact fees") on new houses. A study from the Chicago-based Heartland Institute questions the values of impact fees. Since bigger houses are, presumably, beyond the means of the "working class," the proposed tax increase based on house size does go some way to mitigating the concern that fees are regressive. On the other hand, setting the fee is an inexact science and prone to subjectivity. (permalink)

Government-Owned Sports Teams
The Milwaukee Brewers baseball club got a new ballpark a few years ago, courtesy of the taxpayers. A 0.1 percent sales tax is expected to raise over half a billion dollars for the park by the year 2014.

Now the Speaker of the Assembly says that the state ought to have unlimited access to the team's financial records. The quality of the club's ownership roster is under question.

Sounds like Wisconsin taxpayers simply threw good money after bad. (permalink)

When Parents Have More Money Than Sense
Spring break trips to Mexico. For high school students? Alone? (permalink)

Government Schools Enter the Fundraising Business
Government schools are getting into the business of fundraising--and I don't simply mean beating the bushes for tax hikes. The Plymouth-Canton (Michigan) schools are trying to create a $100,000 endowment for the drama department. (A far cry from my days in drama; my teacher cursed the "smelly socks" atmosphere of the gymnasium we worked in.) A school in Dearborn is hoping to raise $250,000 for a Model UN program. (Here's a hint: Just burn the money; it will do more good than emulating yet another UN conference denouncing free markets and issuing blather about social self-realization.)

I suppose this is all better than a tax increase. Still, the best result of this trend may be the realization that schooling is an entrepreneurial business. That could open the door for increased school choice.

In a related story, one teacher grades students on how many advertisements they sell for the drama department's program. The account does not mention what class this is for. If it's a business class, making sales a component of the final grade may be appropriate.

Labels: Education, School choice

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Do Bottle Deposits Promote Recycling?
For 27 years now, Michigan law has placed a 10 cent deposit on bottles for soft drinks, carbonated water and certain alcoholic drinks. Is that a good idea? This question came up this year as various parties in the state considered extending the requirements to other containers.

Based on my anecdotal evidence, I would say that the law has reduced the amount of littering, especially around roadsides. But has it been cost-effective? Has it actually wasted more energy by increasing the demands for fuel, for example? It's not something I've thought about, but I'd like to know.

It's not clear, though, that the "bottle bill" encourages recycling. (When, and how recycling "works" is another question entirely.) Michigan's recycling rate overall is 20 percent, which is the lowest of the Great Lakes states. As far as I know, it also the only Great Lakes state with a bottle bill.

One thing does encourage recycling, though: prices. At home, I can choose my trash hauler. I can also order a 30 gallon container, a 60 gallon, and so on. The bigger the container, the higher the price. Thanks to throwing some stuff in the curbside recycling bin (for which I also pay a fee--probably by city dictat), I free up some space, allowing me to purchase a smaller container. (permalink)

State Fiscal Update
Chip Taylor has several new posts about state fiscal matters that are worth reading. First, state revenues are up, spending is growing only slowly, and things are looking up. But the optimistic outlook could be foiled by budget gimmicks, which are in great demand in California. A number of anti-tax groups are advising incoming Governor Schwarzenegger to meet that state's fiscal crisis by borrowing. Again. But they swear, "we've got it right, this time." Well the plans are good, perhaps--but who knows if fiscal restraint will hold in the future. (permalink)

The Trouble with Employer-Paid Health Insurance
Two quotes worth pondering:

"If car insurance were designed like health insurance, our employers would pay for coverage that included everything from gas to new paint jobs--and millions would not be able to afford a car at all." -- David Gratzer ("Miller's Centrist Tale", National Review 9/29/03)

Let's see what happens when I depend on my employer for my health insurance. What happens if my wife is an alcoholic, my son has AIDS, and my daughter wants an abortion? My employer is the last person I would want to know about this. -- Greg Scandlen (quoted as well as I can remember from several public speaking engagements.)

Labels: Health care

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Deer Hunting on the Way Out?
Deer season is underway in several states, and will soon be coming to Michigan. But the Detroit News reports that deer hunting may be on the way out. The number of hunters in Michigan has remained steady for two decades, but the median age of hunters has increased. (So has the median age of the general population, but I suspect not as much as that of the deer hunting population.)

Among the reasons: development is taking out the trees that house deer. A more important reason: kids aren't taking it up like they used to, in some measure because more of them live in suburbs and thus are not used to rural traditions. (permalink)

Governor Granholm Privatizes Cost-Cutting Tour
Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-Michigan) continues to show leadership as the state addresses budget difficulties. She has taken several trips across the state explaining to the public and local officials the need for budget cuts. Now, she is asking for private donations to cover the travel expenses of these trips.

Passing the hat is not necessary, of course: she was, after all, traveling on official business. But it shows good sense on her part, or at least that she has an excellent PR staff.

Meanwhile, Illinois's governor, Rod Blagojevich, is under fire for spending $1,800 in taxpayer money so that he could commute by plane from his home in Chicago to the state capitol of Springfield. (permalink)

Help Rural Development by Shutting Down Certificate of Need Programs
Economic development is the justification for many bad public policies, such as subsidies to businesses. Another cause of bad policy is the alleged need to help rural or less populated regions develop, by throwing government offices their way, or subsidizing broadband development.

But here is a simpler way to help the rural areas: reduce government regulations that make them a less attractive area to live in. The Ludington Daily News reports that Ludington's (and, I think, county's) only hospital will petition the State of Michigan to relax the standards for obtaining a Certificate of Need (CON).

Through the CON process, the state decides what hospitals can have what medical equipment. Without the appropriate CON, residents of Ludington must currently drive at least one hour to megavoltage radiation therapy (MRT), a treatment used on some cancers.

There will always be disadvantages to living in remote areas. To the greatest extent possible, though, government policy should not contribute to their number.

(Over a decade ago, the Michigan-based Mackinac Center published an op-ed criticizing the CON. Though old, the piece is still relevant.) (permalink)

Unintended Consequences, Again
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says that new medical privacy regulations may be hindering the quality of medical care. Even worse, it may often be happening unnecessarily. An official with the state pharmacy association says "This is an extremely complex law that is very difficult to follow. Look, it took them seven years just to get rules and regulations in place from when it was passed. The guidelines are hundreds of pages long." (permalink)

Do SUVs Destroy Roads?
Chicago, like many Chicago cities, has its own vehicle tax. Mayor Richard Daley wants the city to charge SUV owners another $90 on the premise that their vehicles do more damage to the roads. A professor of civil engineering tells the Sun-Times that the argument is full of potholes: "You'd have to weigh what a truck weighs -- at least double the weight of an SUV" for the argument to be valid.

Labels: Transportation

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It's Veteran's Day. Do We Believe in What We Fight For?
In honor of Veteran's Day, the Wall Street Journal runs a long story about "Why You've Heard Of Jessica Lynch, Not Zan Hornbuckle." (Though the WSJ site is available only to paid subscribers, you can read the article in the Detroit News.)

Hornbuckle, a captain in the Army, lead an ad hoc team of 80 soldiers who guarded an intersection outside Baghdad. His group came under heavy fire from some 300 enemy troops. Hornbuckle's crew held their position, killed 200 of the enemy without losing one of their own. Afterwards, they were nominated for at least 34 medals.

So why hasn't this story been more widely told? Partly, says the Journal, because of Hornbuckle's self-effacing nature: he did not release the details of the battle to the public affairs unit of his home base, as the Army encourages commanders to do.

But a larger reason for Hornbuckle's obscurity is less noble. Richard Olson, a public affairs officer, says "An aspect of a solder is that he's trained to kill. And I don't know that the public is comfortable with that."

John A. Lynn, a professor of military history, agrees. "We want to fight wars but we don't want any of our people to die and we don't really want to hurt anybody else. So Pvt. Lynch, who suffers, is a hero even if she doesn't do much. She suffered for us."

Pvt. Lynch, of course, does deserve our gratitude for serving in the military, and sympathy for her wounds. But how about praise for the likes of Hornbuckle?

She suffered for us. Call it the glorification of the victim. It's consistent with an obsession with self-improvement (Oh, woe is me for my terrible condition) that we see in culture. It's consistent with -- and I know this is a stretch, at first -- lawsuit abuse. "Hey, I knew that coffee was hot, but, well, they did this to me." Victims are glorified today.

World War II resulted in "To Hell and Back," which chronicled the military career of Sgt. Audie Murphy, who killed 240 Germans in combat. Recently, though, big time Hollywood flicks have focused not on men who kill, but soldiers who had to be rescued: Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Behind Enemy Lines, and most recently, Saving Jessica Lynch.

A shift from glorifying killing is not always a bad thing. Neither is a new respect for other cultures. (I have made friends with people from every continent, and have profited from it.) But what is at work here, at least in part, is something that the Journal never mentions: postmodern thought and multicultural politics have eaten away at the pride Americans used to have to be, well, Americans. We have stopped believing that there is much special about this country to fight for. If there's nothing special about us, why bother going to war against someone else?

I'm not someone who agrees with "my country, right or wrong," if that means there is no room to criticize the culture or government policy. I believe in America, but mostly because it is based in truth (the truth that men are meant to live free.) But the culture has moved beyond a proper, dedicated willingness to criticize and has slipped into outright cynicism.

Bob Dole, whose courage in and shortly after battle inspire me much more than his political career ever did, brings some word of encouragement, though. In an op-ed on the Journal's pages today, he reminds us that even during World War II--arguably the most "black and white" war ever fought--there were people who thought that Western democracies had lost the conviction that there was something worth fighting for.

I'm hoping that today, we will also find the conviction that some things in this world are indeed superior, and are worth fighting--and yes, killing, and dying--for. Postmodernism--the belief that there is no truth, and that any claim to truth is merely a cloak for power--is corrosive. But it also fails to ignite the best of the human spirit. Here's hoping that it will die a quick death. (permalink)

State Regulation no Guarantee of Quality
According to the Daily Herald, Illinois has among the highest enforcement rates of all states when it comes to nursing home regulations. Yet, it says, homes that are fined for violations often slip back into non-compliance.

The paper suggests that lack of funding for more enforcement officials is the problem. But as the population ages and various other demands are made on state budgets, it's not clear that beefed-up inspections will do the trick. Great competition among nursing homes, spurred on through private payment of stays, could offer some help. But as it is, most nursing home stays are paid for through government funds, separating the patient from the payer.

By the way, the Center for Long-Term Care Financing is a good resource for long-term care policy. For example, it offers a response to a recent article in Readers' Digest, which informed readers how to shift their assets around and thus qualify for Medicaid.

Labels: Medicaid

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What Price Open Records?
Marshall Osborn filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking data on admissions standards and patterns for the University of Wisconsin system. The state said sure, Mr. Obsorn--if you pay us $44,000 for our costs of preparing the information, we will give it to you.

This incident is the hook for an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel over open records law. (permalink)

Set the Prisoners Free?
The Detroit Free Press says that Michigan may give early release to some prisoners in a cost-cutting move. Since it costs the state nearly $30,000 a year to incarcerate each prisoner, the move is attractive.

Public safety is at the core of government responsibility. It is not, however, an excuse to do the same old thing. There are many options that should be considered, including early release of some non-violent offenders, alternative sentences (especially those involving community organizations), and continued contracting out of certain in-prison functions--or even the operation of entire prisons. (permalink)

Another Reason for School Choice: Religious Freedom
The Detroit Free Press reports on a debate within Dearborn Heights: Should the school district give kids the day off for a Muslim holiday?

Government-run schools used to be defacto Protestant-monopoly schools. (Why else do you think Catholic schools were created?) No longer. First, they were disestablished (no Bible readings, no government-sanctioned prayer). Religious conflict is now taking a new form. The Crestwood School District of Dearborn Heights is now split between the halal-pepperoni-eaters and everyone else. (Halal food is prepared according to Islamic law.)

Religious conflict will only increase, due to (a) multiculturalization as public policy and(b) the natural increase of the Muslim population. School choice--allowing parents to choose where to send their children to school, including religious-based schools--will diffuse this problem.

Labels: Education, School choice

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Is Insurance the Problem With Health Care?
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (requires paid subscription) points the way to one possible element to better health care: cash. It is in a story titled "Pay-as-You-Go M.D.: The Doctor Is In, But Insurance is Out."

Dr. Robert S. Berry operates the Patmos EmergiClinic, which does not accept insurance. Patmos, it turns out, is an acronym of sorts for "Payment at Time of Service." Cash, please, in other words. No lengthy forms. No co-pays. No collecting receipts to turn into the insurance company. No lengthy waits to see if the insurance company will pay up, and if so, for how much. And for the doctor, no need to hire anyone to push paper.

While Berry's services are not for everyone, his idea has a place in the health care debate. Simply put, one problem with the health care system is that we spend too much on the system--a system of third party-payments, insurance regulations, and administrative review.

By taking out the "system," prices for actual services plummet. While a typical office visit in eastern Tennessee, where Berry works, is $55, Berry charges $35. A blood test that costs at least $100 elsewhere is $20.

The Journal story mentions another cash-only doctor, Todd Coulter, of Mississippi. "I was tired of being dishonored and disrespected [by insurance companies.]" Now, he says "I don't have to spend all day begging Blue Cross & Blue Shield for money." Since Coulter went all-cash, he dropped the fee for his office visits from $60 to $40; his expenses have dropped 35 percent.

Is this a realistic model? It works well for people who must, for whatever reason, pay cash. For example, some of Berry's patients are Mennonites, who shun insurance for religious reasons. Without insurance, they have had a hard time finding doctors willing to see them.

But even the general public may find this kind of arrangement worthwhile for some services. One of Berry's patients has to pay a $20 co-pay when she charges her visits (elsewhere) to her insurance company. That's nearly 60 percent of the way to what she pays Berry out-of-pocket. "For the extra $15," she says, "it's worth coming down the street." Combined with Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), which allow people to accumulate money for out of pocket expenses, cash-for-service could make a valuable contribution to health care.

One group that is connecting doctors and patients in a return to the cash society is the American Association of Physicians and Providers, which promotes cash-only services under the name of SimpleCare.

Labels: Health care

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Michigan Schools Could See Less Money
The Lansing State Journal says that schools could receive $196 per pupil less than expected. It's the fallback position if the state can't find other ways to make up a deficit. Don't feel too bad for the schools, though: they already get state aid ranging anywhere from $6,700 to $11,000 per student.

In response to the challenges facing the state, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) takes a courageous and innovative stand. Uhm, No. It wants to raise taxes. You'd think that a teachers' group could come up with a smarter, more responsive response than that.

HOLD THE PRESSES. The Detroit Free Press tells us that the MEA does have a better idea after all. They say that government school districts have $1.8 billion stored away. They want schools that have the funds to spend them before getting more state aid. The idea is to make the state money go farther. And, of course, to increase pay rates for MEA members.

Labels: Education

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States Freezing CHIPS
A number of states have stopped enrolling new beneficiaries in CHIP, a government-run heath care program for children whose parents are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. The reason: tight budgets.

This story from Stateline teaches several lessons. Here is the first: the existence of a government program does not mean that the people who are supposed to benefit actually do. Would you like your children's health to be the hostage of the political process, in which one program competes against another for limited dollars?

What states (and the federal government) need to do is make the cost of health care more affordable for all. This starts with curbing lawsuit abuse, which drives up medical costs. Another goal should be to promote the use of true insurance, rather than what we have, which is an expensive form of pre-paid services. True insurance will be cheaper, and won't drive up health care costs as much as the current system does.

Another lesson from this story is the need to promote