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School Reform Predictions: Easier Said than Done
By David W. Kirkpatrick
It's
been said the only two constants are death and taxes. Not
true. There are at least two more: change and the need for
change.
The need for change is particularly true of public schools in the
United States, and has been since the emergence of the system with the
passage of Pennsylvania's Common School Act in 1834. Yet perhaps no
other institution has been so successful in resisting change and
outwitting all predictions of improvement.
Buckeye Voices
In this week's Buckeye Voices podcast, Conservative columnist and best selling author Robert Novak joins Buckeye Institute President David Hansen for a casual discussion about his new book "The Prince of Darkness" and the state of the presidential election in Ohio and nationally. Mr. Novak was the keynote speaker at a dinner hosted by the Buckeye Institute and the Federalist Leadership Center.
Vouchers Driving Population Growth
In
the Cincinnati
Enquirer, columnist Peter Bronson notes "While most of the
city has been losing families to suburbs that offer more land, newer
houses, lower taxes and better schools, this neighborhood is a magnet
for young professionals with large, growing families....Nearly all of
these Orthodox Jewish families were attracted by two things: Cincinnati
Hebrew Day School, and vouchers provided by Ohio EdChoice."
In
his tetimony Urban
Homestead Zones May Help Revitalize City Centers, Buckeye
Institute Senior Fellow Sam Staley proposed "Establish[ing] a legal
right to an educational voucher for households that invested in
residential renovation (a minimum of $120,000 under current
legislation) that can be used to offset tuition at private schools" as
a way to help spur population growth in Ohio's urban areas.
Incorrect Assumptions on Uninsured
According to the Toledo Blade, "With an estimated 47 million Americans lacking health insurance, doctors realize it is increasingly difficult for patients to get coverage despite some efforts to improve the system, said Dr. Aaron Carroll."
In
Who are Ohio's Uninsured?,
Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "While there are
certainly a good number of poor people among the uninsured, what is
left largely unexplored is the fact that a large portion of the
uninsured choose to go without insurance. And, in fact, it is likely
that a majority of the uninsured are only uninsured for a few months.
The people who choose to go without insurance or who are between
insurance plans do not fit the media stereotype, but they fill the
ranks of the uninsured in far greater numbers than do the families
living in poverty who want insurance but cannot afford it."
Government Health Care is Bad for Patients
In the Toledo Blade, Dr. Jonathan Ross claims, "National health insurance is not only necessary, but increasingly popular."
In
Single-Payer
is Bad Medicine for Ohio, Buckeye Institute analyst Matt
Hisrich writes, "Waiting lists, for example, are one common byproduct
of single-payer systems. In Denmark, women concerned with suspicious
breast lumps can wait weeks for a cancer screening. In Sweden, waiting
lists for a hip replacement can last anywhere from seven months to two
years. And, it is not as though such substandard care is truly 'free.'
One estimate places the cost of Canada's single-payer system at 21
cents for every dollar Canadians earn. Someone still has to pay the
bills; they're just not paid upfront."
Buckeye Institute in the News
In his weekly New York Sun column, Buckeye Institute Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Ken Blackwell discusses Barack Obama.
NBC 4 in Columbus quoted David Hansen in a story on the proposed stimulus plan for Ohio. Hansen also discussed this issue on the Bob Connors radio show as well as on WOSU.
The Hillsboro Times-Gazette published Joseph Zoric's column on NAFTA as well as the column on autism vouchers by Matt Carr and Beth Lear.
