Resolving the Conflict Between Man and the Environment: A Model in the Philippines
The Philippine eagle population has declined from an estimated total of 500 in 1981 to just 63 today. The eagles’ natural habitat has been depleted by the economic needs of the millions of Filipinos who sell forest products or farm using slash and burn techniques.
A private group, The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEFI), has developed a program which has improved the economic life of the local residents while preserving the habitat of the eagles. Their efforts illuminate the importance of maintaining biodiversity if natural ecosystems are to flourish.
Stop That Train Part II: A Reply to RTD
Executive Summary: In March 1993, the Independence Institute published an Issue Paper titled Stop that Train, which contended that the plans of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to build a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system throughout the metro area were flawed. The Issue Paper suggested that expanded use of special traffic lanes for busses and carpools (HOV lanes) would be a more cost-effective method of improving mass transit.
Stop that Train: RTD's Light Rail Boondoggle is on a Fast Track for Disaster
RTD is pushing a major public relations campaign to build an expensive light rail transit (LRT) system in southwest Denver, and eventually the whole metro area.
In nine US cities that constructed LRT projects, actual costs exceeded projections and ridership fell short of projections. Actual cost per rider exceeded projections by an average of 5.4 times.
Give the Taxpayer a Lobbying Break, a Little TLC
IP-3-1994 (March 1994) Author: Fred Holden PDF of full Issue Paper Scribd version of full Issue Paper Executive Summary: • Although American political heritage teaches the importance of representative government, in practice the best representation comes to those with the best lobbyists. • Almost half (45%) of all lobbyists registered in Colorado represent government or […]
A Layman's Guide to the Great "Reading" Controversy
If you regularly read articles like this, you are probably a member of one of several generations Americans taught to read by an approach known as the basal reader approach. If you can think back and hear any of your teachers saying, :Take out your readers,” or “Take out your workbooks.” or if you can remember flash cards, taking turns reading a story orally, working on worksheets, or following the adventures of one family, whether they were Dick, Jane, Sally, Puff, and Spot; or Jack, Janet, Penny, Tip, and Mitten, you were undoubtedly taught to read by the basal reader approach. And if you regularly read the daily newspaper, or popular or specialized periodicals, you are a literate citizen who can function effectively in American society.
The ABCs of OBE: Whats Wrong with 'Outcome Based Education'
Throughout America, the federal government is imposing a new educational program called “Outcome Based Education” (OBE). Under OBE, students no longer earn grades based on their mastery of a curriculum. Instead, students are evaluated on whether they have attained various “outcomes,” many of them vaguely-defined.
ColoradoCare: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease IP-22-1993
The expansion of health insurance in the United States has enabled the majority of its citizens to afford the best medical care in the world. After World War II, only about 10 percent of the population had health insurance. Five decades later, the proportion has reached an estimated 85 percent. But alarmists prefer to ignore […]
Contracting Out Instructional Services: Education's New Frontier
The idea of contracting out instructional services is gaining momentum in Colorado and throughout the United States.
In the 1993 legislative session, Colorado took the lead on the issue; first by enacting a charter schools law, since charter schools may become heavy consumers of privatize educational services. Secondly, the legislature passed House Bill 93-1118, which makes it clear that school districts have full authority to hire private contractors for any service, including educational services.
How to Cut Fares to the New Airport
Sixteen dollars for a one-way trip to Denver’s new International Airport? That’s what RTD says it needs to cover costs. But $16 seems much too much. It’s more than many travelers can afford, and more than others will tolerate. Virtually everyone, including RTD, agrees the proposed fares ought to be reduced. The tough question is how to go about actually delivering the lower fares everybody wants. By increasing subsidies? Restructuring service? Cutting costs?
Will Romer's Health Care Plan Meet the Same Fate as His Education Plan?
As President Clinton marched to the podium to tout his health care reform plan before the nation’s governors in Tulsa, the CNN television cameras captured the sight of a familiar figure striding just behind him: Colorado’s Gov. Roy Romer.
Unfair Government Competition Against Small Business
Unfair Competition exists when a government or quasi-government entity takes advantage of its tax exemption and other privileges to supply private goods to the market in competition with private suppliers. Unfair Competition adversely effects all Americans. Small businesses are most vulnerable. When jobs are lost, the poor, the unemployed, and women are especially damaged. When private enterprises are replaced with less efficient government enterprises, national productivity and competitiveness are adversely impacted. When the tax base is diminished, all taxpayers are injured.
"Education Standards" Proposal Will Harm Education
Academin Standards Could Fall, While Political Correctness Standards Rise:
House bill 1313 promises to improve educational standards for public scholl students, but will have the opposite effect. The bill shifts curricular control towards a state-level bureaucracy, where educrats would outnumber the educators. The top-down curriculum and its creators would be weighted towards political correctness rather than to neutral standards of educational excellence.
