Featured Article
State Was Right to Dismiss Lead Paint Lawsuit
By David Owsiany
Last week, newly elected Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that his office was dismissing the public nuisance lawsuit the state had filed against lead paint manufacturers. Cordray's decision makes good sense and shows that, as he put it, "not every problem can be solved by a lawsuit."
New at the Buckeye Institute
The Buckeye
Institute today released a study chronicling the negative impact high
school dropouts have on government services and social welfare
programs. Report author Matthew Carr found that individual
consequences of not completing high school result in increased public
outlays for welfare services, health care, police and correctional
facilities.
Specifically, the failure of thousands of high school students to
graduate every year costs taxpayers an estimated $677 million annually
in Medicaid costs, income tax collections and imprisonment costs, the
study found. The reduced labor force participation, employment rates,
and average earnings for dropouts also mean lower tax revenues to help
offset the costs of providing these services.
Read the full study here.
Intern at the Buckeye Institute
We are still accepting applications for 2009 Spring interns!
Applications for 2009 Summer
are
accepted until February 27, 2009.
The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions is looking for
talented undergraduate or graduate students in the Ohio area for our
Spring, Summer, and Fall Internship programs. Dates for the internships
are as follows:
Spring: January - May, 2009 (specific start and ends dates are flexible)
Summer: June 6 - August 14th, 2009
Fall: September - December, 2009 (specific start and ends dates are
flexible)
Students
wishing to apply should have a basic familiarity with free-market ideas
and Ohio government, and should be up-to-date on current issues. Strong
writing skills are also necessary. Interested candidates should submit
a resume and a personal statement of 500 words explaining their
interest in the position. Finalists may be asked for recommendations, a
transcript, and a writing sample.
Applications should be emailed to Claire Kittle.
No telephone calls please.
For more information, click here.
Confusing Spending and Stimulus
The
Cleveland Plain Dealer
reports,
"Billions of dollars will start flowing this year to Ohio to build
sewers, roads and bridges, renovate schools and improve education for
disadvantaged children, thanks to the landmark $787 billion economic
stimulus bill passed Friday."
In
No, We Can't Afford This,
Marc Kilmer writes,
"Giving states billions to fund Medicaid programs does not stimulate
the economy. Neither does spending $1 billion on the Community Oriented
Policing Service, $142 billion on education, $200 million to plant
grass in Washington, D.C., or $276 million to upgrade State Department
computers. All of these things may have merit, but stimulating economic
growth is not among them."
Not the Way to Spur Economic Development
Crain's Cleveland Business reports, "When it comes to economic development programs, Gov. Ted Strickland both giveth and taketh away in his proposed state budget for the 2010-2011 biennium. The governor's budget provides money for new programs that are part of a strategic plan for economic development the Strickland administration rolled out last fall. However, several existing programs that boost local economic development efforts are scheduled to lose their state money under that same budget. "
In
Why Economic Development
Efforts Often Fail,
Buckeye Institute advisor James Stotter writes, "Economic development
is a by-product of profitable businesses. In short, however,
politicians respond to pressure and what they perceive will get them
re-elected. This usually means supporting an active minority. One
consequence of this short-term 'thinking' is that politicians approach
ED like most cold remedies approach a cold. That is, they offer
symptomatic relief rather than solving the problem. Thus, supporting ED
appears to politicians be a no-brainer. Since markets almost always
trump politics, 'no-brainer' pretty well describes their strategies."
Focus on the Students
"[Gov. Ted] Strickland's [education funding] plan invests an additional $275 million in local school districts over the two-year budget cycle. He also wants to expand the school year by 20 days, create a universal all-day kindergarten program and make it easier to fire bad teachers and shut down failing districts," reports the Akron Beacon Journal.
In
Shortchanging Students
in High Poverty School Districts,
Matthew Carr, Marc Holley, and Nathan Gray write,
"Ohio's school funding system has been the source of heated debate,
legislative amendment, litigation and general concern for so long that
it is difficult to accurately determine just when it all became such a
consuming issue. At the heart of all this controversy has been, and
continues to be, the question of how the state distributes education
resources. At present, disadvantaged students are being shortchanged by
the state's school funding formula, and policies that put the
preferences of teachers ahead of the needs of students are to blame."
Buckeye
Institute in the News
The
Washington,
D.C., Examiner mentioned the Buckeye Institute's lawsuit
against ACORN in an editorial.
The Denver Post quoted Buckeye Institute President David Hansen in an editorial on Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
The Hillsboro Times Gazette published Marc Kilmer's op-ed on how to reform Ohio's higher education system and he also discussed the issue with Maggie Thurber on her "Eye on Toledo" radio program on WSPD.
