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Academic Achievement - No Excuses, Please

By David Kirkpatrick

It is no secret that the public school system fails millions of students. Reasons given for this almost invariably concern the students, their families, their communities, their lack of ability, or other excuses that don't place responsibility on the system, or its practitioners.

Certainly outside factors do exist and need to be recognized so they can be dealt with. But a reason is not an excuse. To a degree little recognized by those responsible for the present system, its practices are a large part of the problem. Public educators simply don't know what to do with students who are not sufficiently motivated, or equipped with a proper background and value system to learn largely on their own. Self-education is a significant part of the reason why some students are high achievers.

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Socking it to Smokers

WTOL reports, "Smokers are stocking up on cigarettes. They're about to get socked with a price increase that has many stunned....The price hike by the manufactures is no surprise. Congress passed the increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes to pay for expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program."

In Should the Poor Pay for Health Insurance for the Middle Class?, Buckeye Institute analyst Marc Kilmer writes, "One thing that is often overlooked in this debate is that raising taxes on smokers will not pay the full cost of SCHIP's proposed expansion. Health care costs generally rise year after year; tobacco tax revenues generally decline as fewer people smoke. It is highly unlikely that smokers will pay the full cost of this program. In fact, the Heritage Foundation estimates that the country will need 22 million new smokers over the next ten years to make the math work. Since the number of smokers has been declining, it is clear that this means money for the program will have to come from elsewhere."

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Wrong on Charter Schools

"'Accountability and transparency are still missing from Ohio's charter school program,' Barbara Shaner, from the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, recently told the state school board," according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

In Setting the Record Straight on Ohio's Charter Schools, Buckeye Institute analyst Matt Carr writes, "Charter schools face the same academic accountability requirements as the traditional public schools. Their students take the same state exams and the results and subsequent ratings are reported in the same manner. Unlike the traditional public schools however, if a charter school receives the lowest rating for three consecutive years it will be closed. Also, unlike traditional public schools, charters that cannot attract enough students are forced to close."

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Re-Aligning Health Care Spending

The Dayton Daily News reports, "Ohio lags behind other states that are moving much faster toward giving people choices in home and community-based care. According to a study by the AARP, Ohio spent 30 percent of its Medicaid dollars on alternatives to nursing home care in 2007, ranking 39th among states in providing home- and community-based care."

In Give Individuals Control of their Health Care, Marc Kilmer writes, "The notion of consumer control also works with government health care programs. While these programs are too large and should be reformed, there will always be the need for some people to receive government assistance. Right now, however, policymakers direct this money to benefit the providers of service, not the users. That is one of the reasons why there are so many Ohioans in nursing homes. In general, people want long-term care in their own home or a community setting. They do not want to go to a nursing home. Home care is also less expensive for taxpayers. But the nursing home lobby is powerful and your tax dollars are directed as they see fit, not according to patients' desires."

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Buckeye Institute in the News

WBNS quoted Buckeye Institute President David Hansen in a story on Columbus's proposed income tax hike.

The Norwalk Reflector reported on state Representative Terry Boose's support for the Stowers family, whose farm was raided by the Ohio Department of Agriculture last year. The Stowers are being represented by the Buckeye Institute in a lawsuit they have filed against the state.