Tracking Eminent Domain Abuse.
If you're interested in tracking the abuse of eminent domain powers, start out with the Castle Coalition, a project of the Institute for Justice. One nifty convergence of applications is the use of a Google Earth map to represent threatened, existing, and past cases of abuse. Click on a pushpin and read what happened in the specific case. (permalink)

Your government at work.
Think that higher gas prices will mean and end to ethanol subsidies?

Right.

Says the Saint Paul Pioneer Press,

"Today ethanol is booming as oil prices soar, yet Minnesota taxpayers still are priming the pump. Taxpayers are billed $26 million a year to subsidize 11 privately owned ethanol plants that are now profitable beyond anyone's dreams.

Purdue University economist Wally Tyner calculates that at today's fuel prices, even an ethanol plant costing $100 million can be fully paid off in less than a year. 'They're hugely profitable; that's why so many of them are being built,' Tyner said."

Reporter Tom Webb points out that the plants were profitable back in 2003, when oil was a mere $30 a barrel--less than half of what it is today.

Here's the cost to consumers:

"Over the years, $274 million in payments have been sent to Minnesota ethanol producers, along with $45 million in IOUs. On every gallon of ethanol, the state pays producers 20 cents -- 13 cents quarterly, and 7 cents more in deferred payments -- up to 15 million gallons per producer."

The article points out that ethanol was unprofitable in the 1980s, which was the (still lousy) rationale for the subsidies. The market wasn't ready. It's ready now. Time to end the subsidies. (permalink)

I'll Call Your Bias and Raise Your Incompetence.
Market-favoring education specialists are being scrutinized for self-interested bias by a network funded by ... the Michigan teachers union. (permalink)

A Program Announcement.
No blogging this week. Please check back the week of April 24. (permalink)

Got Benefits?
Among the many fiscal problems facing the city of Detroit: employee benefits that are on average 88 percent of employee salaries.

On the face of it, the distribution of cash versus benefits should not make any difference: it's all compensation that must be paid by the employer. But the types of benefits--pension liabilities and a health care model that encourages irresponsibility--matter indeed.

(Thanks to fellow Detroit News blogger Jeffrey Hadden, who also links to a story about the latest effort to bring the city's finances under control, complete with the usual complaints that are greeting the plan.)

Labels: Public employee pensions

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Terrible Tax Time.
My tax preparer tells me that I'm going to "owe money" when I file my state and federal taxes. Good.

Do you think that I would

(a) delude myself into thinking that making an interest-free loan to the government all year is good because I can "get my money back,"

and

(b) know that I will have to pay extra, pay up earlier than I am required to by law? (permalink)

Another Media Hoax.
A woman claims to have given birth to 6 children. Local news outlets publicize the story, citizens respond with efforts to provide donations.

It's all a hoax. (permalink)

More on that Arizona Tuition Law.
The Arizona Republic reviews the new tuition tax credit program.

The bottom line: An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 children will be able to get scholarships to private or parochial schools over the next year.

The creation of corporate tax credits for businesses that donate to private-school scholarship funds will be capped at $5 million annually for the next five years. It's estimated that each student will receive at least a $1,000 scholarship. Senate Bill 1499 directs the money to children in low-income families. The purpose of the private-school tax credits is to give poorer children the option to attend private schools and to save the state money as more kids leave public school to attend private ones.

There is also a sunset provision, after 5 years. That is the kind of compromise that is actually useful, rather than other kinds (No Child Left Behind comes to mind) that guts the strongest part of a proposal altogether.

In addition, enacting sunsets is probably a good idea anyway, even for those who support the legislation in question. In general, more laws out ought to be subject to such a provision.

Labels: Education

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Consumer-Driven Higher Education.
Some people would argue that there's enough "consumer-driven" logic in higher education already, but the Goldwater Institute has an idea for using it as a financial tool.

"Giving grants directly to students would expand their education options and would help make the delivery of higher education in Arizona more efficient."

This would not be a continuation of student financial aid; it would be a transition to funneling operating funds through students rather than line-item appropriations to the institutions. Capital funding would remain as is, however. (permalink)

Home Schooling Branches Out.
"What about socialization?" people ask home schoolers. Here's one way: home school families are developing musical program, athletic leagues, and public speaking tournaments.

RALEIGH -? The popular image of homeschooling is a mother and her children leaning over the kitchen table or gathered in the family room with their schoolbooks. This is not inaccurate for most families, but it is far from complete.

Studies show homeschooled students are involved in many after-school activities along with their public and private-school counterparts, such as scouting, 4-H, church groups, and sports leagues. Yet home educators also are building their own programs to provide more of the traditional high-school activities, such as varsity athletics, band, and academic clubs.

Hal Young reports for the Carolina Journal.

Labels: Education

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Educational Choice Expands in Arizona.
Arizona has found a new way to promote competition and choice in schools. The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation reports:

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Arizona enacts corporate tuition tax credit, expands
educational freedom for second consecutive year

INDIANAPOLIS — Up to 5,000 children in Arizona will now have the freedom to attend a school of their parent’s choice after Gov. Janet Napolitano allowed a corporate tuition tax credit bill to become law without her signature. [Note: the governor had vetoed an earlier version of the bill.]

"After two years of struggle, Arizona parents finally can breathe a sigh of relief," said Gordon St. Angelo, president and CEO of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, one of the nation’s leading advocates of school vouchers. "Thousands of children will no longer be forced to attend a school simply because of where they live or how much their family earns. Parents will now be free to choose a school based on what’s best for their child."

Senate Bill 1499 will create a corporate tax credit for businesses that donate to non-profit organizations that distribute private-school scholarships. The total credits are capped at $5 million annually and will allow scholarship organizations to provide vouchers to Arizona children whose family income does not exceed 185% of the income limit to quality for a free and reduced price lunch. The program, which provides vouchers worth up to $4,200 for K-8 and $5,500 for high school, includes a five year sunset provision. [One hopes that this program will be so successful that pressure will rise to continue the program.]

"The dedication and leadership of Senate Majority Leader Ken Bennett and House Speaker Jim Weiers serves as an example not just in Arizona, but for the country," St. Angelo said. "School choice does not happen overnight. But the tenacity of parents, opinion makers and legislators makes it happen eventually."

The addition of this program complements the existing personal tax credit, which provides over 21,000 students with scholarships worth over $28 million. Other school choice programs, such as one similar to Florida’s voucher program for children with special needs, are still being discussed in Arizona this session.

"Success happens when everyone works together," said Robert Enlow, executive director of the Friedman Foundation. "The local and national groups that have forged partnerships in Arizona have been a tremendous asset to the effort to provide greater educational freedom for children."

"This is the second year in a row that Arizona passed a school choice bill and the second year in a row that a Democrat governor allowed a school choice bill to become law. Arizona really is a state of choice; the only thing left for the state to do is pass a universal voucher program for all children," added Enlow.

Labels: Education, School choice

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