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June 18, 2010

It’s Friday! 

Quotable

- "Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards." –  Robert Orben

Notable

- "Unfortunately, there is an epidemic of negligence among fathers today, and consequently … the 30 percent of children who live apart from their fathers will account for 63 percent of teen suicides, 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions, 71 percent of high-school dropouts, 75 percent of children in chemical-abuse centers, 80 percent of rapists, 85 percent of youths in prison, 85 percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders, and 90 percent of homeless and runaway children," writes Mark Alexander, publisher of The Patriot Post, in a Father's Day essay. "The causal link between fatherless children and crime 'is so strong that controlling for family configuration erases the relationship between race and crime and between low income and crime,' notes social researcher Barbara Dafoe Whitehead." Source: The Patriot Post

Education

- Hope that the discussion about adopting national standards for education doesn't translate into action, says Jay Greene, endowed professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas. "People tend to be in favor of them when they imagine that they are the ones writing the standards. But when everyone gets into the sausage-making that characterizes policy formulation, it generally becomes clear that no one is going to get what they want out of national standards. What’s worse is that the resulting mess would be imposed on everyone.  There’d be no more laboratory of the states, just uniform banality."

Economy

- Going for Broke: The government is forecasting a $107 trillion shortfall in Social Security, Medicare and other unfunded liabilities, according to the 2009 "Federal Government’s Financial Health: A Citizen’s Guide to the Financial Report of the United States Government." (Page 178.) This includes expected tax revenues. "This need can be satisfied only through increased borrowing, higher taxes, reduced program spending, or some combination," the report states. Of course, as the Reason Foundation points out in, "Congress' Phony Price Tags," we all know how good government is at forecasting costs.

Health

- Jail time? When the mandatory insurance provisions of the federal health legislation (HR 3590) kick in, will not having medical insurance land you in prison? Short answer: The process is the same as if you don't pay your taxes. You could end up in prison, but that usually does not happen. The government has other ways to get what they want from you, as Colorado's Independence Institute health care policy expert Brian Schwartz notes in his blog, Patient Power.

- Soon, so much more to score: Fraud, waste and abuse resulted in an estimated $24.1 billion in improper payments for Medicare fee-for-service in 2009, according to testimony delivered this week to Congress. "Even this may not be a full picture of the risk for improper payments because some improper payments may not be detected," reported Health Care Director Kathleen M. King in a statement. Source: Government Accountability Office

Transportation

- If you live in Atlanta and take mass transit instead of driving, you could save $725 a month, or $8,694 a year, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) which held "Dump the Pump Day" on Thursday. "Taking public transportation provides a safe and affordable way for individuals and families to cut costs," APTA says. Taking public transportation that provides you a timesaving and efficient trip directly where you need to go ... Well, that's another story altogether. "Americans drive for 85 percent of their travel not because we are somehow addicted to the automobile but because autos are both more convenient and less expensive than most of the alternatives," writes Randal O'Toole in his study, "Public Transit in Georgia: High Costs for Low Fares." "Unlike transit buses, trains or airplanes, automobiles make it possible for people to go where they want to go when they want to go there."

- Visit www.gppf.org to read the Foundation’s latest commentary, "A Little Efficiency Goes a Long Way," by Harold Brown.

Have a great weekend and a happy Father's Day.

Kelly McCutchen

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