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Michael Quinn Sullivan Commentary
Bilingual Waste, Coastal Bailout, Enviro-Birdies
Dear Friend,
Spending other people’s money too often means never having to stop being
wasteful. From creating another faux-financial crisis in our schools to
underwriting risky behavior, the new year brings new reminders of the need for
vigilant stewards of the taxpayers' money.
New Year, New School Finance Crisis
[Tell
Us What You Think!]
Yes, your property taxes are high. Yes, your small
business is facing overwhelming taxes. Yes, public education consumes a third of
the state’s budget and nearly two-thirds of your property tax bill.
But the beast is hungry, and only your last penny will satisfy it. The education
lobby is hinting at another round of lawsuits (paid for with your tax dollars)
that would force more spending by the state… of your money. Neat trick, eh? As
the election season gets underway, prepare for calls for "more state funding" to
be a theme. Just be sure to ask, "What have you accomplished with the money
you're already taking?" And then ask to see the proof.
Double The Languages, Double The Waste
[Tell
Us What You Think!]
Or in Spanish: Doble los
idiomas, el doble de residuos
Maybe Italian? Il doppio lingue, il doppio dei rifiuti
French? Double les langues, soit le double du gaspillage
A neat trick is to be able to have
demonstrably wasted money in the past, and then with a straight face propose
wasting even more in the future on the very same thing. Such is the case in the
Austin Independent School District.
Several years ago the district spent tax dollars on the latest fad: teaching in
two languages. This means all kids would have all their classes one day in
English, and then the next day in Spanish, with the goal of making all kids
“bilingual.” Unfortunately, the program succeeded only making the kids dumber,
and AISD scrapped the whole deal.
But like bell-bottom jeans and Mohawks, the fad is resurfacing. Apparently some
300 school districts around the
country (don't be impressed; there are 1,035 in Texas alone) are giving this bad
idea another whirl. According to the Austin American Statesman, its "gaining in
popularity" with all the best money-wasting institutions.
Too bad "popular" isn't academically synonymous with "successful" or
“effective.”
The executive director of bilingual education for Austin schools defended the
program: "It becomes a situation where, if I'm a Spanish speaker, I can help my
English speaking classmates as much as they can help me. There's more of an
equality, and kids feel more empowered."
Ah, so this is about making the kids “feel more empowered.” Yep, that's much
more important (and expensive) than, say, making them better educated.
Sandbagging The Taxpayers
[Tell
Us What You Think!]
Our friends over
at the Texas Public Policy Foundation recently published a sobering report
looking at the multi-billion-dollar liability taxpayers are facing in the event
of a major hurricane.
As the authors note, “Never before have so many
people and so much personal property been at risk. While communities along the
coast welcome the economic growth, it creates a dilemma for Texas policymakers.”
That dilemma is in the form of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, a
creation of the state. (You can read the
full report at the
TPPF website.)
“Unfortunately, rather than acting as a backstop for those who can’t otherwise
find insurance, the association has almost become the default provider along the
coast, resulting in a dramatic increase in policyholders and exposure” for
taxpayers.
You always get more of what you
subsidize, and so it’s no wonder more people are willing to move into “risky”
areas when they know the state and federal government will bail them out when a
big one hits. That people find it hard to get low-cost insurance in
hurricane-prone parts of the state should be a clue that the market sees such a
move as risky. But government upends market wisdom and commonsense with taxpayer
subsidies, and thereby puts life, property and wealth in danger.
To paraphrase Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman, when the government is in
charge of insurance, everyone is less secure.
And Finally…
Texas’
primary election season is officially underway. The Empower Texans PAC has sent
a fiscal-policy questionnaire to every candidate for state representative and
state senate. You can check it out
on our website.
For Texas,
Michael Quinn Sullivan