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