Here's some mainstream media items for your review and discussion.
A- Sun-Sentinel: Another huge tax cut proposal is being floated by Florida Republicans.
"It's the type of relief we need to get our economy back on track again and to make Florida affordable again," said House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R- Boca Raton.
Yes, he actually said that. I have an idea that would save Floridians tons of money: let's get rid of all its legislators.
B- Sun-Sentinel: Oopsie.
C- Miami Hurricane: UM students are pissed because some campus vending machines take cash only? WTF? I find it hard to be sympathetic towards someone who isn't able to keep a couple bucks on their person at all times.
D- Miami Hurricane: Where's YouTube when you need it?
Last week Rainwater was nearly struck from behind by a bike rider in front of Eaton Residential College.
"You can hear the skateboarders coming but the bikers creep up on you," Rainwater, a senior, said, adding that when the bike rider tried to go around Rainwater he lost control and slammed into a pole.
E- Palm Beach Post: But we can afford a stadium.
F- WSVN: I smell a lawsuit.
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13 comments:
Finally, a sensible suggestion to the problem of the Florida Budget Crisis, get rid of all the fat cat legislators!!
Referring to "A"...
What I'd like to see, from some Republican poster (that means you Cohiba), is any kind of evidence that points to a correlation saying that tax rates are the most important variable in explaining economic health.
In other words, why is it you asshats (it is extraordinarily hard to not be angry about this) think that the only variable that matters to the health/success of the economy is tax rates?(!) What about, oh I don't know, investments in infrastructure?
If you SOBs want to think of government as a business, then play the G%*damn metaphor out. If states "sell" (through taxes) a "product" (the right to lawfully live in a state), then why do you Republican idiots insist on forcing the state of Florida to sell freaking Yugos, or act like Spirit Airline, or (insert company with famously low-quality products here)?
You know know what type of "business model" morons like Rubio and Crist are running? Do research on "Sunbeam Products", especially the part about "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap. That's just one example. The fact is, there are many business examples of this same type of cutting and f*&%ed accounting. You know what happens? They end up with the companies being sold, chopped up, or dissolved. While that can't happen to a state, you know what can? We can end up with an economy dependant on outsiders to support what little we have (Hello, Rio de Janeiro), outsiders who only care about having their needs met (bigger roads, airports, etc.).
Tell me, you traitorous bastards, tell me we haven't started going in that direction already.
Sorry Rick, delete if you need to.
- g
Rick, I hope you don't delete the above because Anon makes some good points, the only issue is that you unfortunately can't think of government as a business. It's not designed to be one. It probably should, just like government services should function as businesses. Imagine how much better our public school system would be if it were run as a business. With accountability, and results. Running government as a business would probably result in fixing 90% of the problems with it. Oh well, unfortunately that will never happen, the legislators will never give up control (which they would have to) and they would never give up their side income (because we all know they make more money on the side than they do as legislators).
Allen,
Imagine how much better our public school system would be if it were run as a business.
The obstacle to this is defining what exactly we want out of public schools. This is important because it dictates what outcomes we care about. Let me explain.
Let's say that you happen to think that the only thing you care about in a school system is net economic gain/dollar spent. Let's also say you can reliably and validly come up with a value for that metric. One possible conclusion would be that Special Education (ESE) programs cost more than they return. At about 12% of the total school population, cutting these programs could result in a tremendous increase in efficiency.
Question, do you make the hard choice to cut ESE? What do you do with those kids? OR are the premises wrong from the beginning - that education is more than just an instrument of economic development.
One of the upsides of businesses is that they, often, sell products that are easy (easier) to set values for and can discretely define. Honda sells cars, cars with a history of low maintenance. States, have a harder sell...and only some of the "features" are under their control (climate, geography, social groups, infrastructure, etc.). Being forced to define major aspects of infrastructure (such as education) is meaningful but fraught with political challenges.
Either way, the point is that Republicans usually give lip service to their own (possibly insightful) ideas. Thinking of government as a business is helpful, but as long as people like Hasner propose ideas like this what we are left with is right-wing hypocrisy.
- g
I understand your point and agree with you in regards to the many obstacles in regards to treating schools as a business. However, in regards to the ESE programs, considering that I have a lot of experience in that venue I would say that they do cost more, but not more than they return. Students in ESE, from the lowest functioning to the highest, generate returns. They just do not generate these returns in the same measurable forms as do other students (test scores, graduation rates, etc.) but they are still able to learn (within their capacity) and some even reach a level of self-dependence.
While in the case of average and above average students we expect more than merely a level of self-dependence, getting this result from ESE students does demonstrate a measurable success, especially in the eyes of the parents and students themselves.
Also, I would further say that if your argument were correct, then there would not be private schools that teach ESE, when in fact, there are. I would much rather see an education system that is run the way the airline system is run (with Government regulating it, not running it). An idea I recently read on Some Cranky Guy. I think that the charter schools will eventually outnumber regular schools because they seem to provide better levels of service to the community and are a better way for the government to spend its money (or so it seems to me).
Allen, I have a daughter who is autistic and my experience is that, at least in Miami, very few private schools accept ESE students and those who do have tuition rates so high (e.g: Cushman) that ANY student generates a return.
There's simply no way a private school with an affordable tuition can match the services the public school system is obligated by law to provide to students.
G: I agree with all your points.
That being said, I like the idea of a property tax cap if they had the stones to propose doing away with Save Our Homes as well. The net result would be an increase in revenue and equal taxation for all homeowners. The other result would be a massive recall of any legislators that go out on that limb, by furious high-voting segments (read: the elderly). Hey, win win.
Alex, I won't argue with your points because as a parent you see things from a different perspective than I do (my wife and sister are teachers of students with Autism). That being said, I just think that with the waste there is in our school system things would be better off if schools were regulated rather than government-run. I have seen the waste in the public school system and it is always the students and teachers that get the short end of the money while the higher salary types get the bulk of the money.
No argument there. There's a lot of waste and you guys do get the short end. But as a user and shareholder I just haven't found an alternative in the private sector.
Allen,
I should clarify, I was pointing out the political obstacles involved in the discrete boundary-setting of government programs. While doing this makes the "product's" effects easier to measure (cost-benefit), it is also politically difficult.
I am not advocating for the example I gave.
Government program evaluation is hard. You have to monetize complicated variables (What is the monetary value of a person who has been taught independent living skills? What is the added value of an HOV lane? What is the cost of cleaner air?).
I will say this.
1. Charter schools - We won't know the value of them until they also are required to take FCATs.
2. Alex is right about public schools being able to provide services private schools can't afford (an economy of scale issue).
3. Save our Homes is an abomination.
4. Teacher salaries are infuriatingly low. You won't get good employees by paying crap wages.
5. Cutting state funding of schools is piss-poor economic development.
- g
PS No Cohiba. Odd that he sits out the substantive discussion.
Allen,
BTW, what are the examples of waste. This isn't me challenging/confronting you. I really don't know and would like to learn.
- g
Cutting state funding of schools is piss-poor economic development.
Amen.
But then, you gotta know where and what to fund. Hint: it's not mostly brick and mortar.
g, you make some great points up there.
nonee, you are right, there is a lot more than brick and mortar, but I don't think the brilliant minds in legislature have any clue or desire to fund the right things
and g, to answer your question in terms of waste, I can tell you only the things that I know of from having seen them in person (or having my wife/sister see them in person). Some of these wasteful examples include 5 or 6 members in an office staff with only 1 or 2 of them actually doing any work, bloated administrator pay (including paying Broward's superintendant for 6 or 8 months after he was fired) along with ridiculous secretary pay. I am sure I could come up with others, but I need coffee and I can't think of any more at the moment.
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