Vouchers for SLPS

Posted on by Steven Bernstetter

There’s an interesting op-ed regarding vouchers over at the Columbia Daily Tribune this morning. The author argues that one possible solution for improving education for those stuck in the unaccredited SLPS would be to let those students exit the district through some sort of voucher program. According to the Tribune:

Vouchers provide more choice for K-12 parents and students. Privately funded schools at all levels educate many of our citizens who otherwise would have to be taught at public expense. To provide partial public subsidies for students otherwise trapped in poor public schools is a cost-effective way to enhance options for many who otherwise could not choose.

There are two key notions in this qoute that should be addresses, the first being cost-effectiveness.  County schools, and even some private schools, generally spend less per pupil than the city district. According to DESE, Saint Louis Public Schools have a current average expenditure of $11, 402 per pupil. As a comparison, my district, Mehlville R-IX, spent an average of $7,144 per pupil in 2006, while the state of Missouri, on average, spent about $8,221 per pupil in 2006 (DESE-MO, 2007). As a rough estimate, if the city is required to pay tuition, plus transportation costs?say an extra $1000 per pupil, per year? they would still save money by essentially contracting out to the county district. Whatever money is left over after this transaction would presumably be sunk back into the city, thereby increasing the per-pupil funds available to the district.

The second issue for consideration is one of equity; more affluent families already have school choice in the form of private schools, or simply moving to a better public district. In either case, an option exists for one class of citizens that does not exist for another, that other class having the most to gain from such choices, and the least to lose from whatever damage such choice might cause to their already failing local district. As the Tribune asserts:

Vouchers won’t be a panacea, but having that option in failing school districts represents progress, and it won’t destroy public education. How could anyone be against providing alternatives in a district like St. Louis?

Indeed. The time for change is now. Saint Louis has the opportunity to try something new and relatively groundbreaking, rather than constantly being a half-hearted follower of national trends. Hopefully the entrenched political interests will see it the same way, and do whats best for the students rather than themselves. But I won’t be holding my breath.

A Conversation Starter

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin, sponsor of legislation restricting the sale of baking soda, writes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "the primary intent of [the] bill is to create a dialogue on drugs."

I consider crack cocaine the urban core’s silent killer because we don’t hear anything relative to the abatement of this drug or dialogue as to its far-reaching and devastating impact on the moral, social and economic fabric of our neighborhoods and families.

HB 1189 may seem extreme, but the extreme conditions in our community require action. We are failing in the development of the community’s social and moral structure and failing to stop the scourge of drugs, poverty and violence.

This bill may not be the answer. But doing nothing definitely isn’t the answer.

If this bill isn’t the answer, why try to get it passed into law? There are much better ways to create dialogue than regulating businesses and restricting freedom. Like, start a blog.

School Choice for Special Education

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Gov. Blunt has announced he wants to spend more money to help autistic children:

In a visit Thursday to a non-profit group that provides services to autistic children — Giant Steps of St. Louis — Blunt stumped his plan to boost spending by $3.9 million. The proposal, now pending in the Legislature, would eliminate waiting lists that now can last as long as two years, Blunt said.

It’s a great idea to give more attention to autism, especially since most school districts don’t have the resources needed to educate children with the disorder. One way to direct help to autistic children more quickly would be to start a program like Ohio’s Autism Scholarship Program. Ohio allows parents of autistic children to choose between special education programs at public schools and private schools.

Although some people imagine that educating disabled children is too difficult for private schools, a growing number of them are able to rise to the challenge. Here’s an excellent essay at Edspresso about school choice for special-needs children.

MSN Poll On Taxes

Posted on by David Stokes

MSN and Zogby have released a new poll on how Americans feel about taxes.  Time for a fisking.  According to the article:

"Most Americans say they’re paying their fair share in taxes."

Good, we are at war and this is not the time to say you are paying too much in taxes unless you are now or have recently been spending some time in Iraq or Afghanistan. 

"But, according to a recent MSN-Zogby poll, that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it."

Our troops probably don’t care if you are happy about it. 

"People with $75,000 to $100,000 in annual income were most likely (45%) to say they pay too much in taxes, followed by those making more than $100,000 (43%)."

This makes sense to me.  The general income area of 75 to 100 K is where higher rates start to kick in ($77,100 for an individual) and deductions, such as IRA contributions and student loan payments, start to fade out.  A person in this area could easily be caught in the middle between higher rates and fewer deductions.  This area is also sort of a partisan battleground, with Democrats seeing $75 – 100 as high income and Republicans seeing it as middle-class level.  As people in it will almost always see themselves as middle class, there could certainly be some resentment toward being included with higher incomes in verious brackets.

"Just 3% said they pay too little."

About 3% of Americans probably consider themselves socialists of varying degrees.  I assume these are the same 3%. 

(more…)

More on Midwives

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

State Sen. Loudon’s bill to get rid of some restrictions on midwives is being stopped by a filibuster:

A bill sponsored by Sen. John Loudon, R-Chesterfield, would allow anybody to perform home births as long as they’re accredited through the North American Registry of Midwives, a private agency out of Georgia.

But after a filibuster by Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, and Sen. Yvonne Wilson, D-Kansas City, neared a fourth hour, Loudon withdrew the bill from debate.

The current requirements placed on midwives keep people out of the business, which allows the remaining midwives to charge more for their services.

It’s funny that another kind of occupational licensure has helped make midwives so popular. Milton Friedman explains in Capitalism and Freedom that licensing medical doctors drives up the cost of traditional health care. That encourages people to turn to midwives, chiropractors, alternative healers, and others who don’t have traditional medical licenses.

If people think hiring a midwife is too risky, the best course of action is not to impose lots of licensing requirements on midwives. Instead, we should try to lighten the regulations on traditional doctors so they’ll be a more affordable option for patients.

Health Insurance for High-Risk Patients

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Missouri legislators want to expand the state’s high risk health insurance pool:

The bill makes it easier to get into the high-risk pool. It also sets the maximum price for a high-risk policy at 135 percent of the market price for a similar policy for a healthy person, down from 170 percent now.

Losses on the high-risk pool are ultimately picked up by taxpayers.

There are two problems people with chronic conditions face:

1. Routine medical procedures for them are expensive.

2. Catastrophic insurance, to cover unexpected problems, is also expensive.

Subsidized insurance might be appropriate to address the second problem; the first problem should be solved in other ways. If people don’t have enough resources to pay for ongoing medical care, that could be covered by Medicaid. Health savings accounts could allow those with greater means to save and prepare for medical expenses they know they’ll face. Unfortunately, some patients will always be dependent on taxpayers for their medical care, but that shouldn’t be the default.

Assessor’s Office Is Very, Very Busy

Posted on by David Stokes

Word on the street is that St. Louis County Government is currently getting deluged by phone calls regarding the on-average 22% increases in assessments this year.  The Post-Dispatch had a good article on it the other day, and I heard part of (Revenue Director) Gene Leung’s appearance on Charlie Brennan’s show this morning. 

I will never forget being on the receiving end of these calls back in 2001, when in response to the reopening of the appeal period after the drive-by assessments scandal, the Council alone received several thousand phone calls in a week.  2005 was also a busy year for helping people with appeals while I was working for Councilman Kurt Odenwald.  I think that the only upside to the drive-by assessment scandal was it made many more people aware of the importance of the reassessment notices you get in March / April of odd-numbered years, which, for legitimate reasons, do not include the tax amount owed.  Too often people used to ignore the reassessment notices and then wonder what the hell happened when they got their tax bill in November.  I believe that now many more people in St. Louis County carefully review their reassessment notices and plan accordingly, whether by appealing, budgeting, lobbying local officials to roll-back the rates properly, or applying for property tax assistance programs. 

Property taxes, in general, are not a bad tax.  I certainly prefer them to income taxes as a way to fund the necessary doings of government.  Every year legislation is introduced in Jefferson City to cap the rates of assessment increase, and every year that legislation fails.  I would like to do away with the entire reassessment system by requiring certificates of value to be filed with every property purchase statewide, not just in St. Louis and Kansas City, and then tying assessment increases to the CPI (or even better, a Missouri-specific real estate value index) until the property is sold again.  Wham, I just eliminated the entire reassessment process and significant increases in one fell swoop!  Isn’t blogging amazing?

There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, Part 1

Posted on by David Stokes

Today’s Post-Dispatch has a valuable AP story on recent Kansas City-area participants in the ABC television show, "Extreme Makeover," and their recent tax complications.  The story closely resembles the issues audience members of Oprah Winfrey had when she gave them all cars.  At the time, I recall thinking what a bunch of ingrates the Oprah audience members were when they complained about the, surprise, gift tax bills on the cars.  So what if they owed $6,000 in taxes, they still were given a $30,000 car which they were and are free to sell at any time.  But I digress.

The Kansas City story is different, if only because the family in question was genuinely in need of help, as opposed to being a TV audience member, and they appear to truly need the home.  I have to imagine the producers have some rule against selling the house right away, lest the whole point of the show be lost and replaced by just handing people a check, which nobody would dispute is taxable.  ABC is trying to claim that the dramatically improved home is not taxable (as income) as if falls under perhaps the only example of a free lunch in US tax policy – the rule that home rental is not taxable income if you rent the home for two weeks or less.  The IRS is having no of this, stating that the improvements are a gift and taxable as such. 

The family has, in my opinion, received a second gift from the Jackson County assessor, which valued the new, improved home at $200,000.  As the improved home is 4,500 sq. ft. with new fixtures in the Kansas City-area, the 200 K number seems impossibly low.  The solution to the issues is clearly tucked away in the article.  As the family owns the home outright, they should merely take out a large home equity loan to pay off all other monies due, and then treat the home equity loan like a mortage…a very small mortage for the house they live in.  I wish them the best.  I will certainly try to watch the show on May 13.  In the past I have only watched the final five minutes of the show, as my wife and I turn on ABC in preparation for the greatest TV show since Jason Batemen defined high school for a (very brief) generation.   

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