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Buckeye Institute and CAGW Release 2009 Ohio Piglet Book
the Buckeye Institute for
Public Policy Solutions and the nation's premiere national taxpayer
watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the
2009 Ohio Piglet Book: The Book Ohio's Government Doesn't Want You To
Read. Buckeye Institute President David Hansen, CAGW
Vice-President for Policy David Williams, as well as several Ohio State
Representatives helped unveil the report. Rep. Kris Jordan (R
- Delaware) also announced the introduction of a bill
to create a State Government Efficiency Commission, more
commonly referred to as the Ohio Grace Commission, modeled after the
Grace Commission, which uncovered billions of dollars in waste and
fraud in the federal government during the Reagan
Administration.
Continue reading the announcement
The Piglet Book is available here
The Top 10 Little Piggies from the Piglet
BuckeyeVoices
In
this week's BuckeyeVoices,
Buckeye Institute President David Hansen and Citizens Against
Government Waste VP of Policy David Williams discuss the 2009 Ohio
Piglet Book -- the book Columbus doesn't want you to read.
On March 12, the Buckeye
Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law advised members of
an Ohio House committee that passage of HB 3, the "Home Foreclosure
Prevention Act," would violate the Ohio Constitution, raise interest
rates on home loans, and be the subject of a legal challenge.
Speaking before the Ohio House Housing and Urban Revitalization
Committee, 1851 Center Director Maurice Thompson questioned the
legislation's loan modification provisions. The bill authorizes judges
to rewrite existing mortgage agreements, and authorizes the Ohio
Department of Commerce to implement loan modification programs.
His testimony is available here.
Strickland Targeting Charter Schools
The
Cleveland
Plain Dealer editorializes,
"Charter schools should rise and fall individually, on the merits of
how well they serve children. To see the governor try to throw the
whole system on the chopping block is disheartening for Ohioans who
want to see the overall quality of education in this state improve.
It's frightening for families that have taken advantage of the
availability of charters to escape public schools that they consider
far worse."
In
Setting the Record
Straight on Ohio's Charter Schools,
Buckeye Institute analyst Matt Carr writes,
"throughout their existence, charter schools in Ohio have faced a
constant uphill battle. The statements of opponents have proven to be,
once more, focused on protecting the status quo and closing down
competitors rather than an honest attempt to improve what has shown to
be a generally effective and efficient reform."
Casinos Heading to Ohio?
According to the Dayton Daily News, "Ohio voters have said 'no' four times to casino gambling since 1990 but backers of a new plan for casinos in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo think the fifth time could be magic."
In
Casinos no Panacea for
Ohio's Economic Malaise,
Buckeye Institute fellow Sam Staley
writes, "the research on the economic impact of casinos is
underwhelming. University of Maryland economist Melissa Kearney, for
example, found very little evidence that commercial casinos generated
much economic development. Most visitors were 'day trippers' that
didn't patronize local shops or businesses."
Class Size Nonsense
"Ohio taxpayers have shelled out more than $6.5 billion over the past dozen years to build schools that in many cases won't meet the requirements of Gov. Ted Strickland's education plan. Under the governor's proposal, the student-to-teacher ratio in kindergarten through third grade must be 15-to-1," reports the Columbus Dispatch.
In Class
Size: Where Belief Trumps Reality, Buckeye Institute Fellow
David Kirkpatrick writes,
"A decade ago, Eric Hanushek at the University of Rochester reviewed
more than 300 studies of class size. Almost without exception they
concluded it made no difference. The few positive findings were so
minor as to be insignificant. And they were counterbalanced by a few
that found negative results -- that is, as class size went down so did
student achievement. Of course many in the education establishment
quote the few studies with any good news for them, while failing to
note that they are the exceptions and the gains are almost nonexistent."
Buckeye
Institute in the News
WTVN-AM 610, WSYX-ABC of Columbus, WBNS-CBS of Columbus, the Ohio News Network, WHIO-CBS of Dayton, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Coshocton Tribune, the Zanesville Times Recorder, WHIO, Gonwer News Service, and Reason magazine's Hit & Run blog reported on the release of the 2009 Piglet report.
1851 Center for Constitutional Law Director Maurice Thompson discussed the shortcomings of the proposed Home Foreclosure Prevention Act on the Bob Conners Morning Show, 610 WTVN.
