With all our recent talk about privatization of airports, how the hell did I not know one was being built in Branson? Thanks to the Cato Institute and my colleague Jen Roland for bringing this to my attention. I honestly had no idea this was happening, but it is very exciting. The nation’s first entirely privately funded airport is going to be serving Branson, and opens next month. I can’t believe I had to learn from the New York Times about a new airport in Branson. The next thing you know, I am going to have to listen when they tell me who to vote for. …
UMSL Professor Nails It on Development Incentives
There is a great op-ed on the Post-Dispatch today from a professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, which — speaking as a native, here — will always be UMSL in my heart and mind. Although the article is in a St. Louis paper, its content applies statewide — and nationally, frankly. It is very well done, and sounds similar themes to what we have written here at the Show-Me Institute.
I Could Have Told Them That (Or: Slow News Day in Mid-Missouri)
Thank you, Combest, for linking to this funny story. The attorney general has announced that if an African missionary wants you to wire him hundreds of dollars so he can send you a “free puppy,” it’s a scam.
The Wonders of the Market
I recommend this article in today’s Wall Street Journal about English education in China. Many Chinese children attend English-language classes in the evening; one such school is run by the Walt Disney Corporation.
In places, the article insinuates that Disney is just trying to push its brand and get Chinese kids hooked on Mickey Mouse and princesses. But the parents quoted point out that they chose the Disney school for their daughter because they already liked the brand, which shows that advertising can work both ways.
I think that for-profit schools like this can be successful, if kids are enthusiastic about the brand. Similarly, when I was in elementary school, one of my friends got to learn piano by practicing theme songs from different movies. That method has the potential to motivate students.
I bet most American kids would love to study math or reading after school in a miniature Disney World. Unfortunately, Disney would meet with a lot of resistance if it opened these schools in the United States, because the public is extremely suspicious of marketing to children and for-profit education. (If you want proof, take a look at the comments to the Journal article.) It’s fascinating that for-profit schools are more welcome in communist China than they are here.
From Cradle to Grave
I just read this article about a proposal for state agencies to encourage patients in Missouri to sign end-of-life directives. These are a type of legal document that instructs hospitals whether to perform various procedures that extend patients’ lives.
It’s not the government’s place to influence people’s decisions in favor of these documents. If we want to respect people’s decisions about medical treatment, we should also respect their decisions about legal documents. Promoting the use of specific documents is only a small step away from promoting specific treatments or other courses of action at the end of life.
Another problematic aspect of this idea is that it circumvents the legislature. If end-of-life directives are so important that the state needs to weigh in on the matter, someone should introduce a bill addressing them. Then the bill can undergo the same public scrutiny and debate that other legislative proposals are subjected to.
Show-Me Health Coverage
An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlines a health care proposal that passed the Missouri Senate last week. Like other health spending proposals, the plan would pay for medical treatment for people who meet certain income requirements. There are two unusual features to this bill, though. First, it limits participation in the program to three years (or five years for some students). Needless to say, lobbyists are appalled:
Lobbyist Amy Blouin, who represents the Missouri Budget Project, called the time limit “horrifying. It’s kind of like you can only be healthy for three years.”
It’s not really like that, since the program doesn’t even exist right now, and nobody is saying you can’t be healthy. On the contrary, we have government programs in place to help people pay for health care. But the lobbyists needn’t be so worried, because I’m guessing that if Show-Me Health Coverage does become law, the limits would be lifted quickly. Politicians are wont to introduce new programs as temporary measures, only to quietly make them permanent once they’re established.
Here’s the second aspect of the proposal that’s worthy of note:
Adults at higher income levels could eventually join the program but would be required to make deposits into health savings accounts.
If the program could help people transition from temporary assistance to permanent health savings accounts (HSAs), that would go above and beyond what the typical state program does. It remains to be seen whether HSAs will take a central role in this or other programs, but at the very least, it shows how much progress HSA advocates have made. HSAs are no longer just a crazy idea; they’re mainstream policy.
New Airport Possibility for St. Louis and Kansas City
I had pretty much spent the day researching airport privatization, with KMOX playing in my office (I love streaming radio), when Carol Daniel read the AP report that the Chicago–Midway Airport privatization deal had collapsed after the private consortium failed to raise enough capital by the deadline. Like the failure of the Missouri Bridge public-private partnerships, this one is squarely a victim of the economy, not policy. The good news is that this opens a large airport privatization spot authorized by the FAA — which Midway had, until now, been awarded.
The other lesson is that giving these ideas careful consideration is hardly dangerous for the public, given that Chicago has received a $126 million penalty payment from the private investors because they walked away from the agreed-upon deal. So, what KC really needs to do is move forward with this idea while protecting its flank, like Chicago did.
You can get hard details on the credit issues and penalty payments here. The Kansas City Business Journal also has some old reports that indicate how long this idea has been around, and how Mayor Mark Funkhouser supported it (or, at least, supported its consideration) while serving as city auditor.
Apply Today to Be a Summer Intern!
The Show-Me Institute has a very limited number of spaces available for its summer internship program, and applications are due by May 1. If you, or a college student of your acquaintance, is interested in devoting the summer to gaining experience in the world of Missouri public policy, be sure to peruse the details and apply ASAP.
Here’s part of a testimonial from one of our summer 2008 interns, Dan Grana:
I began the summer by attacking an ineffectual bill that will impose nominal regulatory burdens on textbook producers starting this school year. Although the issue is relatively minor and the legislative action I criticized succeeded, I found immense satisfaction in combating the absurd economics used by students, like me, to justify a mistake. Scholars of regulation repeatedly note that massive damages come in incremental steps. The Show-Me Institute takes this truism to heart, and I appreciate its support of my opinions regarding one particular issue that is especially relevant to me.
I will end the summer by researching different formulations of state education budgets and the taxes that they come from. I understand that this information will be used in an exciting paper […] on Missouri’s educational funding. This project has familiarized me with research methods and policy issues I would not have otherwise encountered. I am certain that this knowledge will prove valuable in my remaining years of economics education, where I will increasingly be asked to raise original ideas in assignments, and beyond. I can only hope that I’ve been as helpful to this project as it has been to me.
During the time between these two endeavors, I’ve found satisfaction in blogging about diverse issues and helping around the office. For what it’s worth, even the most stereotypically inglorious intern duties have provided a newfound understanding of the practical necessities behind a successful office’s operation.
Perhaps more than anything, I’ve benefited from the Show-Me Institute’s exceptional staff. In addition to being extremely friendly, the members of this organization have been great educators. By talking with them about a variety of topics, I’ve gained an understanding of different political philosophies that draw on the same respect for economic freedom.
St. Louis Beacon Writer Misses the Point
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Democrats for Education Reform meeting held at Harris Stowe University. The event featured a panel discussion that included a number of distinguished guests, ranging from elected officials to clergymen to union representatives to school choice advocates to journalists. The panel’s discussion was wide-ranging, although it (naturally) revolved around the question of what can be done to give children in St. Louis the educational opportunities they are currently being denied.
I was intrigued when I read the St. Louis Beacon‘s story on this event, because the reporter ignored the vast majority of the discussion in order to focus on what Ray Cummings, the panelist representing St. Louis Teachers Union Local 420, had to say, as well as one union member’s suggestion that many people in the room had adopted their education policies in order to secure donations from Rex Sinquefield. Nearly one third of the Beacon article is dedicated to the ideas expressed by advocates for the teachers union, and the remainder is, in my opinion, not particularly representative of the discussion.
The recurring theme of the panelists’ comments was that efforts to reform urban education must focus on the children, not the institutions. Kevin Chavous, cofounder of Democrats for Education Reform, passionately insisted that while for years we’ve been waiting for the public schools to come up with a solution, millions of African-American children have been passing through those buildings without being equipped to succeed in life. He invoked Malcolm X, saying that elected officials and parents have to be committed to getting their kids educated “by any means necessary,” whether or not it fits comfortably with the party line. Regarding the common argument that the problems of urban education cannot be solved with programs that help individual students, Chavous invoked Harriet Tubman’s perspective: When similar doubts were raised about the abolition of slavery, and the politicians kept talking about the big picture, she said she’d be out there bringing slaves to freedom, one at a time.
The Beacon article also neglected to describe Rep. T.D. El-Amin’s response when the questioner suggested that campaign donations were driving his interest in education reform. He pointed out that he’s been advocating school choice since long before Rex Sinquefield offered his support. Rep. El-Amin said that “selling-out” is when you adopt an opinion so you can get money, and that there is nothing wrong or questionable about accepting money because the donor agrees with an opinion that you have previously expressed.
All in all, Saturday’s panel generally agreed that urban communities — and particularly black communities — have to marshal the courage to speak out in favor of reforms that focus on the children. Several of the panel members said that they frequently hear people (especially black elected officials) say, “I understand and agree with what you’re saying, but I can’t say it myself.” The panelists said that school choice is this century’s frontier for civil rights, and that people have to have the strength of their convictions, to go out and make sure that their communities’ children don’t become part of the number that have been allowed to pass through the public schools without learning. That is the story that the Beacon‘s reporter should have told.
