Kit Carson Becomes First Innovation District: Case of One Size Doesn’t Fit All
One of the great cliches in policy is that “one size doesn’t fit all.” Well, cliches get to be that way by having some truth behind them. Kind of like my dad’s spiffy loafers are a little big for my feet when I try them on, sometimes even the best state policies need to be tweaked to meet the needs of local communities. Such is the case for Kit Carson R-1, which became Colorado’s first school district to receive innovation status.
Medicare Loses Nearly 4 Times as Much Money as Health Insurers Make
Next time someone decries insurance company profits, remind him that fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid far exceed these dollar amounts. Check out Jeffrey Anderson’s article in the Weekly Standard: “Medicare Loses Nearly Four Times as Much Money as Health Insurers Make.” See also my previous post: “Medicare & Medicaid fraud far exceeds insurance company profits.”
Why Do Reporters Love Trains So Much?
As C.P. Zilliacus noted in one of his comments yesterday, Slate published an article subtitled, Why Do Conservatives Hate Trains So Much?. The writer, David Weigel, covered most of the bases, but a couple of clarifications are in order. First but not foremost, Weigel seems to confuse passengers with passenger miles when he writes, “Amtrak […]
Head Start Hasn’t Lived Up To Its Promises: How About Just Getting Out of Debt?
Adults can be strange sometimes. Create a government program. Make it about helping little kids like me. Give it a catchy name like “Head Start.” Spend billions of dollars. And then when the evidence repeatedly shows it doesn’t work? Just ignore it.
Wait, huh?
Okay, not all adults have that mindset. But it’s funny to see […]
Xcel’s Green Energy Accounting: Even Worse than I First Thought
In a recent post, I explained how Xcel maneuvers around the 2 percent annual rate cap on green energy spending. In a nutshell, the utility avoids the rate cap with accounting tricks that function to underestimate the cost of renewable energy and overestimate the cost convention energy. Thus, Xcel suppresses the annual “incremental cost” of […]
Fact of the Day: Xcel’s Projected Revenues Far Exceed Projected Sales
Through 2020, Xcel projects energy sales to increase an average of 1.1 percent annually, but it projects sales revenue to increase 4.7 percent annually, according to its 2009 Renewable Electricity Standard compliance plan. Why would revenue outpace sales by such a significant margin? The answer, of course, is that green energy costs more than conventional […]
The Chinese Have a Phrase for It
A new trend in Chinese is to turn an active verb into a passive verb–usually with a sinister context–by prefixing the character “bei” (pronounced “bay”). For example, bloggers who have been censored will say they’ve been bei huh-shyeh, or “harmonized”–a reference to the Chinese government’s efforts to create a “harmonious society.” This new, and formerly […]
Indiana Study Adds One More Proof to Pile: Charters Thrive in Right Conditions
Indiana is one of those states where an ambitious education reform push is underway. Interestingly, the Indianapolis Star reports today on some new evidence (H/T American Federation for Children) bolstering part of the legislative package supported by Governor Mitch Daniels and State Superintendent Tony Bennett:
The Star looked at charter schools’ scores on ISTEP [Indiana Statewide […]
Hey Colorado Pols: Hospitals pass hospital “fee” on to patients
The bill that would repeal the Colorado hospital tax has died. But Colorado Pols incorrectly states that it’s hospitals that pay the fee. This expense, or a large part of it, probably gets passed on to patients. Nor does the fee bring in matching funds from the feds.
Antiplanner’s Library: Too Big to Fail
The Antiplanner finished reading Too Big to Fail, a 539-page tome describing the events of the financial crisis from the Bear Stearns collapse in March, 2008 to the Treasury’s forced purchase of billions of dollars worth of shares in nine major banks in October, 2008. New York Times reporter Sorkin says the book is based […]
School Choice for Kids Adds Brief Podcasts to Enhance Parent-Friendly Experience
When Mondays come, especially when the Monday is cold and wet and foggy, I’m on the lookout for good news. For parents seeking a better educational option for their kids, I just might have the sort of news you’re looking for.
First and foremost, my Education Policy Center friends have added a new feature to […]
Xcel's tiered rates penalize families
This is personal. I have a big family that includes me, my husband, my three kids, two dogs, a cat and during the last two summers — two additional house guests. In 2009, we hosted two college-aged baseball players for the summer. We had seven people living in a 5000 square foot house. According to our […]
