Death to America?
There were intelligent and coherent arguments to made against the U.S. war in Iraq. On the other hand, the Belligerent Bunny Blog has quite a photo spread of an anti-war, anti-Bush, and yes, anti-America gathering on the Washington Mall. (Warning: At least one photo is vulgar; the rest depict what is, at best, moral blindness.)

Thanks to the Cornfield Commentary of David Hogberg for the tip.
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Pharmaceuticals Limit Canadian Imports
U.S. pharmaceuticals sell (under duress) their wares at bargain basement prices to other countries, notably, Canada. As American politicians strive to see who will be the first to import Canadian-style price controls to the U.S., the pharmaceutical companies are taking steps to limit the ability of their Canadian customers to re-sell to the U.S. market. The head of Pfizer said that imports from Canada have been reduced from $40 million a year to $10 million a year, thanks to restrictions on its Canadian customers.

It's too bad that (a) U.S. politicians who ought to know better bash pharmaceuticals; reforming health care policy, or at least providing income supports for the neediest would be a better path; (b) pharmaceuticals live under the patent-breaking threat of other countries (which is why they sell to Canada and others at much lower prices); and (c) the health of every U.S. resident (and those yet born) is threatened by attempts to impose price controls, which will at worst, distort medical research and at worst, greatly reduce it.

As it appears, Big Pharma can't do much about what happens in countries that practice socialized medicine. But it's good to see they are taking steps to make sure the problems of those countries aren't imported here.

Thanks to Chip Taylor for the NY Times link and comments.
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Minnesota to Advocate "Zipper" to Cut Down on Merge Rage
The Pioneer-Press points out one of the frustrations of highway driving today: "It's maddening when you're sitting in a long line of cars merging to a single lane on the highway and someone zips along in the open lane and cuts in near the front of the line."

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be advocating a "zipper" technique for dealing with the problem.

Electronic signs will tell motorists when to queue up early, old-style (one lane), and when to occupy two lanes up until the point where the second lane disappears.

A Department of Transportation official says "If traffic is heavy, the system will instruct motorists to use both lanes and take turns once they've reached the defined merge point just before the lane closure."

It's good to see the state trying to address a minor though common problem. Now if state residents would only learn how to yield and merge properly. My driving around the area confirms the news account that "Minnesota drivers are not good at yielding the right of way in general, and the state led the nation in 2001 with 15 percent of its accidents caused by failure to yield."
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College Scholarships Wasted by Poor High School Preparation
The Detroit News carries a wire service story about state programs that offer merit-based scholarships to graduating high school students. The bad news? Despite their high grades, many are not adequately prepared for college. Some end up taking remedial classes, which means that taxpayers are paying twice for what should have been done once.
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Raise My Taxes
The Detroit News--formerly a solid low-tax advocating paper--profiles the mayor of Huntington Woods, Michigan. Her latest project? Raise taxes. She is having some success winning over voters.

I am not too familiar with Huntington Woods, but I do have the sense that at some point some people have more money than sense. I've lived in such a city. At some point, people start thinking of government spending as a positive good. It is, of course, at a basic level, if it provides roads, a system of justice, and a few other items. But we have long passed that threshold in many communities.
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Taxing a Highly-Taxed Population to Solve a Non-Problem
Ann Arbor is one of the most highly taxed cities in Michigan. It's also the home of some wild-eyed ideas. (It's also home to a major university, which may explain both facts.)

Now, the city's mayor wants to add to the property tax rates a levy to buy development rights on land outside the city. All of this, of course, is meant to stop the scourge-of-the-moment, "sprawl." The mayor says "We have five to seven years to take action before the horse is out of the barn and sprawl has spread over the area."

Diane Katz, of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy takes a contrary view. She argues that existing efforts at "farmland preservation" are not working, and that the current fear of farmland loss is overblown.
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We Get Results
The Ironwood Daily Globe says that the Michigan department of Resources has reached an agreement with Porcupine Mountain LLC to manage the ski hill at the Porcupine Mountains State Park. The two parties are now working on a long-term lease.

The "Porkies," refers to a mountain range, a state park, and a ski area. All are in remote northwest Michigan, on the edge of Lake Superior

According to the statement from the Department of Natural Resources, "State recreation officials moved to modify the hill operation early this year in order to preserve the skiing opportunity in light of ongoing state budget constraints."

This all comes just over a year after the PolicyGuy wrote an article for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, calling for the state to contract out the operations of this ski area. It's amazing how the thinking in state government can be affected by an economic downturn.

The Mackinac Center staff who uncovered and publicized this (I just wrote one of several articles on the subject) deserve a "thank you" from Michigan taxpayers, who will be free of at least one subsidy.
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Conservative Republican Turns Populist, Attacks Pharmaceutical Companies
Minnesota's governor, Tim Pawlenty, is the most conservative the state has seen in decades. His hold-the-line-on-taxes stance drew criticism from four former governors--including Republicans. But he largely got what he wanted.

Now Pawlenty is bashing pharmaceutical companies. Well, not exactly bashing, but he has jumped on the bandwagon--actually, he's now pulling it--that promises miracle cures at Blue Light Special prices.

"There is a rebellion brewing in America. It is the prescription drug equivalent of the Boston Tea Party. Americans are indeed fed up. They need and deserve change."

And I thought Minnesotans would never vote for Pat Buchanan. Pitchforks, anyone? It's a disgusting spectacle.

Baby Boomers are aging. The audience that once listened to the sardonic song that promised "Money for nothing, and chicks for free" now wants drugs for free--or at least on its own terms.
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No Surprise Here
Children who watch a lot of TV don't learn very well.
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But This Won't Help State Finances
Wisconsin may spend $3 million on a Hmong cultural center after all. Somehow I doubt this is an essential government function.
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Good News from Wisconsin
Tax collections over the last 3 months rose 3.1 percent, suggesting a strengthening economy.
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More Budget Cutting in Michigan
Governor Granholm has instructed state agencies to save $14 million by cutting back on magazine subscriptions, cell phone usage, travel, non-essential purchases, and other items.

That's fine, as far as it goes. And it beats what the last Democratic governor used--an increase in the income tax rate.

When compared with neighboring Ohio--where a Republican-controlled government raised the sales tax rate--it appears that the best partisan makeup for fiscal restraint is the combination of a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature.

Granholm and the legislature ought to use these difficult budget times as a way not to do more with less, but to do less with less. It could, for example, get out of the business of running fairs, and sell the state fairgrounds for millions; this would do more for the budget that buying fewer paper clips. As a bonus, it would begin to restore the state government to doing its core functions.
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Student Grades Online To Disrupt Status Quo
Schools in southeast Michigan are starting to put student grades online, where parents can get access to grades, assignments, and attendance records.

A professor of education, though, warns that teachers may not warm up to the idea: "You are basically having a window allowing parents to peek into the classroom. Teachers are used to being the kings and queens of the classroom. It's a sensitive area."

Students, especially teenagers, probably won't be thrilled with mom or dad looking in. But parents have to have some perks, right?
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Economic Development Through ... Poetry?
George Dila, who is founder and director of the Ludington Visiting Writers Series, says that what this vacation spot on eastern Lake Michigan needs is more poetry.

The Ludington Daily News says that Dila wants the city council to designate a week next year as "Poetry Week." He says "There’s no other poetry event like this in Michigan. I want to bring hundreds of people to Ludington, buses of them." He says he will ask for "additional help in the future."

I wonder if that means some taxpayer dollars for a poetry festival. Sounds as if Dila has been listening to Governor Granholm's "Cool Cities" initiative to keep the "cool" people from fleeing to the suburbs. (OK, Ludington isn't exactly a suburb of anywhere, except perhaps, during Summer weekends, Chicago).

Poetry is cool, isn't it?

UPDATE: Mr. Dila wrote to me with these comments: "Actually, Ludington Visiting Writers HAS received a grant from the Michigan Rural Arts and Culture Program to hold the Ludington Poetry Festival 2004. The event is scheduled for May 20 - 22. My presentation to the Council was to inform them of this grant and event, and to early-on enlist their support."

By the way, Ludington is worth visiting, whether you listen to poetry or not. Here's a link to tourist information.
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What's the Biggest Employer in Your State?
What's the largest employer where you live? If you're in Minnesota, it's the state government. The Taxpayers League of Minnesota has put out a nifty guide to public employment in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. (Be warned, it's a 1.4MB Acrobat PDF file.)

It doesn't print very well to the screen, so here are some of the most significant points:

• In the last 20 years, the state's population has increased 22 percent; state government employment, by contrast, has increased 31 percent, and local government employment has gone up by almost half: 45 percent.


• The top five employers 20 years ago: Honeywell, 3M, General Mills, Pillsbury, and Control Data. Today, the Target Corporation is the only for-profit organization in the top 5.


• Salaries for government workers are larger than those for private sector workers ($44,000 compared with $37,000).


• The State pays 68 percent more for employee health insurance coverage than the typical private sector business, and gives 25 percent more time off per year.

There are various caveats that one may throw into the mix. The government workforce may contain a disproportionate number of people with advanced degrees (though I am not sure of this), which typically command higher wages. It may also be older (and thus higher paid) than the private sector workforce. But the picture is clear: public service is by and large not a sacrifice; it is, as the Taxpayers League publication calls it, "A Pretty Good Deal."
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The Granny State
The Cato Institute has come out with a new report, War Between Generations, that predicts how large Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will become. (Medicaid is commonly thought of as a medical system for the poor, but over half of its budget is spent on nursing home care for the elderly.)

Rich Lowry finds the proposal to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare just the latest installment in Operation Please Granny. Pulling from the Cato report, he notes that

• Federal spending on these three programs went from 27 percent of the federal budget in 1980 to 41 percent in 2000.


• By 2040, the number of elderly (which will include yours truly) will increase 116 percent, contributing to the further expansion of these programs.


• Poverty among the elderly is down--from 35 percent in 1959 to 10 percent in 2001, a rate lower than the general population. (Some of that is due to simple prosperity, some of it is due to government programs).


• The typical 70 year old used to spend one-third less than the average 30 year old. Now he spends more.


• A man who is 25 now will, over his lifetime, surrender a net of $322,000 in taxes, compared with benefits he will receive in retirement.

It's common to bash baby boomers for being the most selfish generation ever--yet they are not yet collecting Security. (The leading edge of the boomers, born in 1946, are in 2003 57 years old). The problem could get much worse, but it is simply not sustainable. Personal savings accounts for retirement and medical savings accounts for health care will be commonplace once the full disaster of the present system has worked itself out.
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Pharma Strikes Back
As various states seek to rely on Canadian price controls on drugs as a cost-saving measure, pharmaceutical companies are striking back against Canadian companies. Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Wyeth, among others, are restricting their sales to Canadian pharmacies to make sure that they don't export their price-controlled products to the U.S.
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Milwaukee Residents: We Want Educational Choice
Approximately 100 residents of Wisconsin's 16th Assembly District tell their lawmakers that they want more school choice. Some complained that the politicians "were ignoring their wishes to let the choice program grow and serve more students."

One assembly member, Leon Young (D-Milwaukee) said that a recently proposal to expand school choice in Milwaukee was "passed by Republican lawmakers who don't live in Milwaukee, who have a hidden agenda and do not have the best interests of Milwaukee's children at heart."

Some parents objected, though. Said one,

"I don't doubt these people (Republicans) have an agenda. But what makes people think that as parents we don't have an agenda?"

True enough. And that agenda is to find a good education--now--for their children. Too bad some legislators are more concerned about foiling the plans of other legislators than in advancing the agenda of parents.
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All We Need Are a Few euphemisms
The folly of "smart growth" has come to Michigan, and the Detroit Free Press is on board. In an editorial today, it advises those who advocate these unnecessary (and in many cases, unwise) policies to further the cause by coming up with a few good slogans.

You see, a recent opinion poll taken by Wayne State University finds that popular support for so-called smart policies (isn't that a euphemism already?) depends on how they are described. No surprise there.

The Freep finds that Michiganders will accept "well-packaged ideas." On the other hand, "Imply that a land use strategy might mean fewer backyards, or less housing for young families, and interest nosedives." It encourages proponents to play on phrases such as "crops-are-tops" (so-called farmland preservation) to get further acceptance of, well, fewer backyards and less housing for young families.

Cute.

But cute doesn't make for good policy.
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He Who Has the Gold Makes the Rules
Chip Taylor reviews a New York Times article on health care financing. Over 25 new
specialty hospitals are going up in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and other cities. Says Taylor, "So what's wrong with that? More heart hospitals are a good thing, right?

Building more heart hospitals is good if it is a response to more demand for them. But that isn't what is going on." Medicare funding formulas and decisions are a large mover behind what is being built and what isn't. For example, psychiatric care, preventive care and case management risk are probably underfunded.

Taylor concludes "if third party payers were providing most of the money to buy cars, your choices would largely be limited to the models that provided the manufacturers the largest payments relative to cost. That's what happens in health care."
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Trash is Expensive
Cities in the Milwaukee area are thinking of ways to cut down on the costs of trash collection, the Journal-Sentinel says. Like governments in most places, they need to find ways to save costs. Some are imposing monthly fees, others are taking measures believed to increase the efficiency of collection crews.
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Escape Clause in No Child Left Behind Isn't Working in Chicago
According to the Sun-Times, approximately 270,000 Chicago Public School students are in underperforming schools, and are thus able to transfer to other, better schools. But the CPS says its better schools have room for only 1,100 students.
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Budget Crisis Looms in Michigan
The Ludington Daily News offers an outstate view of the budget situation in Michigan. It notes that two-thirds of the state budget is protected by constitutional provisions, or tied to federal funding (meaning that cutting these funds would be extra difficult).

It's time for some smart thinking in the state; even a 5 percent across-the-board increase wouldn't suffice.
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Lousy Charter Schools
The Detroit News investigates charter schools, and finds that a quarter of students in Michigan's charter schools are under-performing those in Detroit Public Schools. However, the News also partly takes back its criticism by noting "It is impossible to say conclusively whether charters outperform traditional public schools because changes to state tests and limited data make it difficult to track students over time. "

But think about this: alternative schools are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. If charter school students outperform those at government schools, they're "skimming the cream." If charter school students don't, then the schools are a failure.

Parents, also, are able to remove their students from charters and return them to the traditional, government schools. And if things get bad enough, a school's charter can be revoked. On the other hand, a government school, by definintion, can never be shut down, even for gross mismanagement or incompetence.
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State Troopers Patrol ... Football Fields
"Is football a religion in the South?"
"Oh no, it's much more important than that."

This alleged exchange may explain why, on any given Saturday in the fall, there are more Alabama troopers working the football fields and locker rooms than the roadways. Says this AP story printed at ESPN.Com, "As many as 17 state troopers are busy escorting 10 different football teams and their coaches on any given Saturday this fall, according to the Department of Public Safety. That's about three times the number of troopers who typically patrol state highways at night."

Now, I like college football as much as the next person--perhaps even more. But for a state that has such a dire situation that the Republican governor invoked the name of Jesus to tout a tax increase ballot question (it lost), there's definitely a question of misplaced priorities here. But at least, as the AP reports, the teams and universities are starting to cough up the money themselves.
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Sales Tax Rollback in Ohio
Pete DuPont tells OpinionJournal why Ohio taxpayers may soon vote to repeal a recent hike in the sales tax rate.

In the last decade, inflation has been low and the state's population has barely increased. Yet the state budget has increased 70 percent, the highest of all state budgets. Last year, the Republican governor and General Assembly imposed a temporary increase in the sales tax rate, from 5 percent to 6 percent. Critics fear it won't be temporary for long.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell is lending his support to an effort to repeal the tax hike via popular initiative. (Interestingly, if you first type in "RepealTheTax.Org," as I first did, you get taken to the site of the Ohio Taxpayers Association, which blasts Blackwell as being part of the problem.)
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