United Liberty

If you were a policymaker tasked with running a school system with one of the lowest achievement rates in the country, and someone came along and offered an idea with proven results that costs less, would you give that person the time of day? (We can only hope.)

In their second installment of Reason Saves Cleveland, Nick Gillespie examines Cleveland’s dysfunctional school system, and show methods around the country that actually work.

As Reason explains, “Cleveland’s public schools are failing to prepare students for their futures and as a result, all parents who can afford to have been fleeing to the suburbs for decades. Within Cleveland’s own boundaries, charter schools are booming and delivering quality education at a fraction of the cost of traditional public schools. Does Cleveland have what it takes to fundamentally reform its K-12 education system and become a leader in 21st-century education?”

For the sake of all those children who did not choose to be born into poverty, let us hope it does. Watch:

The fine folks from Reason TV just released a new documentary series, “Reason Saves Cleveland,” which traces the rise and fall of the once great Midwestern city, and how a few reforms can get “the mistake on the lake” back on track.

Here’s their description: “Sixty years ago, Cleveland was a booming city full of promise, opportunity, and people. Today, the city’s population is less half of what it was in its prime and it ranks as one of the poorest big cities in the United States. Hometown hero Drew Carey reflects on how the city became “the mistake on the lake” and wonders about the city’s future. Is a Cleveland renaissance possible or is the city doomed to long, slow death?”

I’ll be posting new episodes all week. Enjoy.

For those who went to public school, did you ever wonder what that 13 years of education cost the people who were shelling the dough? (By that I mean your parents, your neighbors, and anyone paying taxes.) For those who didn’t go to public school, this still applies to you. Because you subsidized my education. Thanks! (Suckers…)

Anyway, this so-called free schooling actually did cost something. But how much? Well it turns out it probably cost more than the administrators were letting on. My Cato colleague Adam Schaeffer, an education policy expert, examined some of the largest school districts and found that they have been underreporting the actual costs.

And as the title of his new study (“They Spend WHAT?”) lets on, we’re not just talking a few nickels and dimes on pencil expenses. This is some serious taxpayer cash. Before I let him explain it all in the video below, here’s the money quote:

It is impossible to have a public debate about education policy if public schools can’t be straight forward about their spending.

Exactly. Watch:

Charlie Crist is getting desperate. Any candidate who goes to such great lengths to insinuate that his opponent isn’t a fiscal conservative because he gets expensive haircuts must be, oh I dont know…30 points down in the polls?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Watch:

Take a shot every time you hear the phrase “back wax.” Double shot when Greta says it. You’ll need it.

I just received a letter in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau informing me that I would receive a letter in the mail from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It reads:

Dear Resident:

About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly.

Your response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each commmunity get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need. Without a complete, accurate census, your commmunity may not receive its fair share.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Groves, Director, U.S. Census Bureau

Aside from pointing out that this little friendly mailer cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, I’ll let the UL community chip away at the language used; particularly the expressions, “need,” “many other programs,” and “fair share” to name a few.

Lest there be any confusion, the centenial Census is a legitimate duty of the federal government, as mandated in Article II, Section I of the Constitution. But that doesn’t mean we can’t poke a little fun at how it’s being carried out.

…just call the folks down the street who happen to have a monopoloy on lethal force. Yep, that oughta do it.

That’s exactly what some local restaurant owners in Los Angeles do when mobile food trucks (Taco stands, snack carts etc…) open up shop along the curb outside their business. The food carts offer cheap and quick bites, which are posing stiff competition to established eateries around town.

Instead of coming up with innovative ideas to compete with the new kids on the block, some restauranteers have called local law enforcement in to make it more difficult for the fresh competition to conduct business.

The fine folks at ReasonTV tell the full story:

As a critique, it would have been helpful to see an interview with one of the restaurant owners.

Once again, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is bucking the system. Sky News reports that he may be taking all paid content from his papers off of Google.

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has suggested the company’s online newspaper pages will be invisible to Google users when it launches its new paid content strategy.

He claimed that readers who randomly reach a page via an internet search hold little value to advertisers.

This defies all conventional wisdom about the future of news and journalism. Information wants to be free, and Murdoch is about the only guy in town holding strong, and threatening to go even further. More on this from Vanity Fair’s Michael Wolf.