Featured Articles
Accountability and School Choice
By Beth Lear and Matthew Carr
Opponents
of school choice argue that private schools are not
"accountable" because they are not subject to
detailed regulatory oversight by the state. School choice
supporters respond that parents hold private schools accountable
through the choices they make in the education marketplace.
The real issue for policymakers when considering school choice policies
is: does the ability of parents to choose their school hold those
schools accountable as effectively as the rules and regulations
promulgated by the state?
Buckeye Voices
In this week's Buckeye Voices podcast, a recently published Manhattan Institute report found that special education vouchers actually improve the performance of students who stay in public schools. The report's co-author Dr. Marcus A. Winters joins David Hansen on Buckeye Voices to discuss his findings.
Payday Lending Ban Passes House
The
Columbus
Dispatch reports,
"A bill that consumer advocates say would become a national model for
payday-lending regulation passed a divided Ohio House today, despite
industry warnings that it would drive their 1,600 stores out of
business."
In
Ohio's
Payday Solution a Bigger Problem, David Hansen and Citizens
Against Government Waste President Tom Schatz write "The Ohio General
Assembly should be mindful of the unintended negative consequences for
Ohio taxpayers if the Assembly imposes unnecessary new regulatory
restrictions on the payday lending industry or drives it out of the
state altogether. Doing so could invite less appealing
options, such as encouraging more credit card use or bouncing checks,
both of which provide hefty fees to banks and credit unions, while
hurting the credit ratings of individuals who may just need short-term
financial help."
Insurance Mandates Raise Price
"A bill requiring insurance companies to cover routine costs associated with experimental cancer trials got unanimous support from the Ohio House Tuesday," according to the Canton Repository.
In Health Care Regulation Misguided, Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "The desire to meddle with health insurance through imposing legislative restrictions is understandable. People do not feel they have enough choices and that government mandates are the only way health insurance companies will respond to them. These people are half right: they do not have enough choices. However, using government to 'fix' this problem is misguided. Government's heavy involvement in health insurance is the reason consumers do not have enough choices. The real way to help consumers is to lessen the burden government currently imposes on health insurance."
Ohio Overhauls Energy Regs
The Toledo Blade reports, "Gov. Ted Strickland signed an energy bill yesterday mapping Ohio's energy course for the foreseeable future, with the governor and state lawmakers keeping their fingers crossed that they've managed to keep a lid on electricity prices."
In
Washington and Columbus
Head Wrong Way on Energy, Margo Thorning and
Marc Kilmer write, "Ohio tried energy 'deregulation'
a few years ago. Unfortunately, it was deregulation in name only as few market-based
provisions were included. Now that 'deregulation'
has not proven the cure-all that was promised, both Republicans and
Democrats are rushing to re-impose government controls on the industry.
What Ohio needs is more freedom from government control, not less. Only
with the freedom to adapt to consumer demand and the liberty to
innovate will companies start to adjust their energy production to meet
the needs of Ohioans. Providing this freedom is also good for the
environment -- if consumers truly want
environmentally-friendly energy sources, companies will have the
ability to meet this demand."
Buckeye Institute in the News
The Hillsboro Times Gazette published Marc Kilmer's op-ed on health care reform.
