Next week Philadelphia's children will be returning to what may be the worst school system in America. But what distinguishes this failed public school systems from others is that two years ago state officials decided to replace the ineffective school board with a School Reform Commission, appointed by the state and given a mandate for serious reform.
South Africa, in its gleaming cities and resorts, provides an example of the tremendous wealth and economic and social progress that all Africans could obtain if only the economic and political institutions in their countries were stable, democratic and economically open.
It's a good thing George Washington got his political start in 18th century Virginia. If he lived in Vermont today, he'd find his campaign expenditures illegal. That's because in 1997 the state passed Act 64 limiting the amount a candidate for a seat in the state's lower house can spend to 70 cents per registered voter.
There is a saying I often think of when discussing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): "Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible, impossible." But every now and then even the IRS surprises me by doing the exact opposite.
How could this administration, so strong in fighting the war and conducting foreign policy, be so tentative in formulating economic policy? The answer lies in the contrast between President Bush's clearly articulated war policies and the lack of clearly understood economic policies.
Steel prices have risen by 30 to 50 percent since President Bush announced the imposition of special tariffs on steel imports in March. Steel consumers – firms that process steel for specific applications and manufacturers who use steel to make machines, equipment and consumer products – report supply shortages, lost contracts and production cutbacks.
It's August. Feet up on the railing and forget about your irritable boss, deadlines, e-mails and meetings. Time to open a cold one, lean back, gaze at the horizon and think things over.
Joshua Davey finished in the top 10% of his high school graduating class, and his family's income was less than 135% of Washington state's median family income, so he met the eligibility requirements for a state Promise Scholarship to help him attend college. But when Joshua declared his major to be in pastoral ministries, the state withdrew his scholarship.
The Dow is down to its lowest levels in four years. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has hit 5-year lows. Business scandals make headlines across the country, and families tighten their belts in the face of declining stock portfolios. Given all this, is it time to pack it in, give up on the market and park your retirement money under a mattress? Hardly.
One bite of his dessert, and Winston Churchill pronounced it unsatisfactory: "Take away that pudding–it has no theme." There weren?t enough aye votes yesterday to pass any bill, which is a good thing considering what the senators might have agreed to. But don?t take that as lack of a theme, for underlying the debate is the Hillary Clinton idea of national health care that would turn the prescription drug pudding sour if it were adopted.
The windows rattled in America on Monday, not because the axis of evil attacked but because of the stock market's 400-point bungee jump. Suddenly the predominant challenge to the Bush administration is economic, initially illuminated by corporate dishonesty, accountant manipulation, fraud and financial collapse at a gaggle of hotshot companies: Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia Communications, Global Crossing. As the current issue of The Economist points out, each of these companies has lost between of 94% and 99.9% of its value in the past six months. Each is now trading at pennies per share.
The rash of corporate corruption and the roller-coaster ride of the stock market has led many in Congress to call for reforms to the laws governing personal retirement plans – 401(k)s.
Maybe it was the heat, or the giddy prospect of a long weekend, or that the U.S. Supreme Court had finishing its scholarly work for the year and might not be paying attention. But all of a sudden it was fun-and-games time in the federal courts.
America has more than 80 voucher programs, from day-care assistance and food stamps to the GI Bill for veterans and Pell grants for low-income college students. Almost everyone enthusiastically supports all but a handful of them. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court considered and upheld one of the few controversial ones–school vouchers.
On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court unambiguously cleared the way for children across the country that are trapped in consistently failing schools to seek new educational opportunities.
Next Monday the International Criminal Court officially comes to life. The required 60 nations have ratified it–although the U.S. has not–so in September the member nations will meet to set rules for selecting judges and its prosecutor.
President Bush launched a redefinition of American foreign policy. The principal defense doctrines of the 1950s–the containment of threatening nations and massive retaliation against them should they attack America–are not effective in protecting our citizens against terrorist attacks. Sept. 11 proved it.
It is hardly a secret that America has become far too dependent on unreliable, undemocratic Middle-Eastern regimes for much of its energy needs.
Five hundred miles to the northwest lies Magadan, the administrative center of the former Soviet Gulag. For prisoners it was the end of a long journey from western Russia and the beginning of a descent into death. They were forced to come here from across the Soviet Union by railroad cattle car, without much food and minimal water.
Who said government programs don't work? Since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), in conjunction with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), unprecedented numbers of people have made the transition from welfare to work.
Memorial Day's parades and picnics and remembrances of those who gave their lives for our nation have come and gone. It's unofficially summer, a time to unwind and read and ponder the big questions. So herewith my annual contribution of summer reading for your vacation tote bag.
Almost a decade ago the chattering class claimed the answer to American's health care crisis was a government-controlled managed competition monopoly. Today, socialized medicine has again become an issue.
The language of the Second Amendment is straightforward: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Seems clear enough, doesn't it? Yet for half a century the consensus of the political establishment has been that the right to bear arms must not be construed as an individual right, lest people obtain guns to protect themselves and take actions beyond the control of government.
The truth is, Social Security has many inequities and quirks that need to be corrected so that the program can better redistribute money to those who need it most. But these changes – while sorely needed – should be made in a larger context that takes into account the program's broader problems.