Re: school vouchers
I am not involved in the issue, but I think it is good news. The right wingers have been undermining funding for and public commitment to the public schools with voucher programs. These have been upheld, e.g., in Cleveland and Milwaukee. They are attacked on 1st amend., establishment clause grounds, which is right, because they provide an excuse to channel lots of government money mainly to Catholic schools--which are, incidentally, in big financial trouble. However, the real problem with these programs is that they are bad on policy rather than constitutional grounds. They suggest that the solution to the problem sof inner city schools ius to write off those schools, privatize the system, and give poor kids money to go to Catholic school. Also connected with vouchers is the charter school movement, if possible an even worse idea, but one giving no purchase for constitutional attack. There have been a few setbacks for vouchers, mostly on establishment clause grounds. What is surprising here is that this setback came from a presumably elected state court judge. We will see if he is affirmed or reversed on appeal. --jks > Any one involved in this issue that can give a overview of what this > means? > > > A Florida judge has ruled that it is a violation of the state's > constitution for students to use taxpayer money for private school > tuition, curtailing the nation's boldest experiment at using market > pressure > to improve failing schools. > > The decision, which the state says it will appeal, is the second major > legal > setback for voucher proponents in recent months, following a federal > judge's ruling that Cleveland's voucher program contravenes the First > Amendment's separation of church and state, > > Florida's was the first statewide voucher program and the first to tie > voucher eligibility to schools' performance on standardized tests. It > serves > as a model for a national voucher plan proposed by Gov. George W. > Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has > > been copied by several of the 25 state legislatures currently > considering > new voucher initiatives. > > rest of article at > > http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/14cnd-vouchers.html > > -- > Rod Hay > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > The History of Economic Thought Archive > http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html > Batoche Books > http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ > 52 Eby Street South > Kitchener, Ontario > N2G 3L1 > Canada
more Depressing mail
I get mail... >Hi James: With the safegards of public policy, do you really think we would experience another great depression? < History never repeats itself exactly. Not only does this mean that we won't see an instant replay of the 1930s, but that any new depression will pose different issues on policy makers from previous depressions. One problem is that economic crises are now international, while policy-makers are national. Cooperation among the rich countries' central bankers could easily fall apart in the face of a slump (or due to squabbles about other issues, such as trade). The policy elites are also in the dark, as seen in Greenspan's total ignorance of what the NAIRU (inflation-threshold unemployment rate) or the GDP "speed limit" is. He doesn't know when to take away the punchbowl to keep the party from getting rowdy. Policy-makers are always fighting the previous "war" (as with stereotyped French generals). In the late 1920s, they were fighting the inflationary wave that hit most rich countries after WW1. From the 1950s to the 1970s, they were fighting the Depression. Policy orthodoxy tends to persist until after a crisis hits. They also face conflicting goals, as with Greenspan's wish to (1) simultaneously restrain the stock market and also prevent inflation while (2) not squelching the world recovery from the 1997-8 slump (or Japan's recovery from its depression). Similarly, raising interest rates to fight inflation also encourages the dollar exchange rate to rise. While this could prevent the squelching of the world recovery (since it helps the rest of the world's exports), it also increases the already-large US deficit on the current account, which has so far led the US to slide alarmingly into net-debtor territory. There are also problems of the private sector not "cooperating" with policy-makers. In the 1990-91 recession, the Fed tried to pump up the economy by slashing interest rates. But instead of new investment (or credit-based consumer spending) being evoked, the response by most was to refinance existing debt at lower rates. The slow recovery of the US economy that resulted prevented the attainment of the goal of getting George Bush (the father) re-elected. Excessive debt, unused capacity, over-building, and pessimism can combine to block Fed efforts. These are especial problems in an era when private-sector debt is accumulating rapidly. (See Wynne Godley's article on "7 Unsustainable Processes" on the Jerome Levy Institute web-site at http://www.levy.org/main2.html) The problem of the private sector not "cooperating" can be seen dramatically in Japan, which has stagnated for about a decade as a result of its "bubble economy" bursting. It's true that the persistence of orthodoxy has shackled the Japanese elite. But the Japanese economy has also stopped being one where the "usual rules" and the "old-fashioned medicines" apply. I don't know what will happen if the US version of the bubble economy bursts. In the future, it's quite likely that monetary policy will be quite weak (as in Japan) so that fiscal policy (increased government deficits or decreased surpluses) are needed. But the political conservatism of our day -- very similar to that which prevailed in the 1920s -- is totally against this. Nowadays, Clinton's emphasis seems to be on "paying down the government debt," i.e., on contractionary fiscal policy. Again, it seems likely that this policy will change only after a crisis hits -- or if a big war comes. Nowadays, the US economy is following the pre-1930s pattern of being pulled ahead by the private sector (rather than monetary or fiscal policy, which are both contractionary in their tilts). It's based on debt accumulation, which creates barriers to monetary policy in the future. The devolution of powers from the federal government and such changes as "welfare reform" undermine the famous automatic stabilizers that moderate booms -- and slumps. The lower degree of job security also means that a fall in the economy implies larger falls in employment. The decline of "defined benefit" pension plans (and the rise of "defined contribution" ones) means that there's less of a cushion for private spending: Greenspan's "wealth effect" is larger, so that a stock market collapse has a larger effect. >I agree that we have a bubble of over exerberance and a correction is overdue.< right. > Also that inflation is hidden in the national debt. < I don't know what this means. >The Euro dollar is too new to take over at this time. Where would foreign investors go when the decline begins? < The "Euro dollar" refers not to the currency of the European Union (the Euro) but to US dollar deposits in banks outside of the US. Financial investors are likely to shift to the Yen. More likely they will diversify out of dollar assets. They'll also become more conservative, focusing more on the long run: "maybe if we ho
Re: Re: school vouchers
The voucher idea is bad for economic reasons: it allows private schools to "cream skim," i.e., to attract the best students, leaving the problem kids to the public school system to handle (which then gets blamed for failing them). (There's adverse selection in that market.) Also, there are a lot of rules that public schools have to live under (such as rules for those with learning disabilities) that private schools can and do ignore. Either the private schools will ignore them (so that the rules won't be applied) or they will end up as rule-bound as the public schools, so that the "small bureaucracy" argument in favor of private schools would go away. I don't get the judge's argument against vouchers, BTW. My son goes to a non-profit "non-public school" because of his learning disability (mild autism) and it's paid for by the public school system. It seems to me that the judge is knocking down that kind of deal. What's wrong with charter schools? At 10:42 AM 3/15/00 -0500, you wrote: >I am not involved in the issue, but I think it is good news. The right >wingers have been undermining funding for and public commitment to the >public schools with voucher programs. These have been upheld, e.g., in >Cleveland and Milwaukee. They are attacked on 1st amend., establishment >clause grounds, which is right, because they provide an excuse to channel >lots of government money mainly to Catholic schools--which are, >incidentally, in big financial trouble. > >However, the real problem with these programs is that they are bad on >policy rather than constitutional grounds. They suggest that the solution >to the problem sof inner city schools ius to write off those schools, >privatize the system, and give poor kids money to go to Catholic school. >Also connected with vouchers is the charter school movement, if possible >an even worse idea, but one giving no purchase for constitutional attack. > >There have been a few setbacks for vouchers, mostly on establishment >clause grounds. What is surprising here is that this setback came from a >presumably elected state court judge. We will see if he is affirmed or >reversed on appeal. > >--jks > > > Any one involved in this issue that can give a overview of what this > > means? > > > > > > A Florida judge has ruled that it is a violation of the state's > > constitution for students to use taxpayer money for private school > > tuition, curtailing the nation's boldest experiment at using market > > pressure > > to improve failing schools. > > > > The decision, which the state says it will appeal, is the second major > > legal > > setback for voucher proponents in recent months, following a federal > > judge's ruling that Cleveland's voucher program contravenes the First > > Amendment's separation of church and state, > > > > Florida's was the first statewide voucher program and the first to tie > > voucher eligibility to schools' performance on standardized tests. It > > serves > > as a model for a national voucher plan proposed by Gov. George W. > > Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has > > > > been copied by several of the 25 state legislatures currently > > considering > > new voucher initiatives. > > > > rest of article at > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/14cnd-vouchers.html > > > > -- > > Rod Hay > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The History of Economic Thought Archive > > http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html > > Batoche Books > > http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ > > 52 Eby Street South > > Kitchener, Ontario > > N2G 3L1 > > Canada Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: Re: Re: school vouchers
What's wrong with charter schools? No standards, no unions, no minimal safeguards of educational quality. A private charter school in Chi-town, nonunion of course, failed, hadn't kept adequate records for several years. the kids in it lost two years. How many of the minority youth there do you think were happy to do an extra two years of HS? --jks > The voucher idea is bad for economic reasons: it allows private schools to > "cream skim," i.e., to attract the best students, leaving the problem kids > to the public school system to handle (which then gets blamed for failing > them). (There's adverse selection in that market.) Also, there are a lot of > rules that public schools have to live under (such as rules for those with > learning disabilities) that private schools can and do ignore. Either the > private schools will ignore them (so that the rules won't be applied) or > they will end up as rule-bound as the public schools, so that the "small > bureaucracy" argument in favor of private schools would go away. > > I don't get the judge's argument against vouchers, BTW. My son goes to a > non-profit "non-public school" because of his learning disability (mild > autism) and it's paid for by the public school system. It seems to me that > the judge is knocking down that kind of deal. > > What's wrong with charter schools? > > At 10:42 AM 3/15/00 -0500, you wrote: > >I am not involved in the issue, but I think it is good news. The right > >wingers have been undermining funding for and public commitment to the > >public schools with voucher programs. These have been upheld, e.g., in > >Cleveland and Milwaukee. They are attacked on 1st amend., establishment > >clause grounds, which is right, because they provide an excuse to channel > >lots of government money mainly to Catholic schools--which are, > >incidentally, in big financial trouble. > > > >However, the real problem with these programs is that they are bad on > >policy rather than constitutional grounds. They suggest that the solution > >to the problem sof inner city schools ius to write off those schools, > >privatize the system, and give poor kids money to go to Catholic school. > >Also connected with vouchers is the charter school movement, if possible > >an even worse idea, but one giving no purchase for constitutional attack. > > > >There have been a few setbacks for vouchers, mostly on establishment > >clause grounds. What is surprising here is that this setback came from a > >presumably elected state court judge. We will see if he is affirmed or > >reversed on appeal. > > > >--jks > > > > > Any one involved in this issue that can give a overview of what this > > > means? > > > > > > > > > A Florida judge has ruled that it is a violation of the state's > > > constitution for students to use taxpayer money for private school > > > tuition, curtailing the nation's boldest experiment at using market > > > pressure > > > to improve failing schools. > > > > > > The decision, which the state says it will appeal, is the second major > > > legal > > > setback for voucher proponents in recent months, following a federal > > > judge's ruling that Cleveland's voucher program contravenes the First > > > Amendment's separation of church and state, > > > > > > Florida's was the first statewide voucher program and the first to tie > > > voucher eligibility to schools' performance on standardized tests. It > > > serves > > > as a model for a national voucher plan proposed by Gov. George W. > > > Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has > > > > > > been copied by several of the 25 state legislatures currently > > > considering > > > new voucher initiatives. > > > > > > rest of article at > > > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/14cnd-vouchers.html > > > > > > -- > > > Rod Hay > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > The History of Economic Thought Archive > > > http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html > > > Batoche Books > > > http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ > > > 52 Eby Street South > > > Kitchener, Ontario > > > N2G 3L1 > > > Canada > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
RE: Re: Re: school vouchers
. . . I don't get the judge's argument against vouchers, BTW. My son goes to a non-profit "non-public school" because of his learning disability (mild autism) and it's paid for by the public school system. It seems to me that the judge is knocking down that kind of deal. . . . You've got duelling legal conventions. Here in the District, people sue the school system for being unable to provide adequate education to those with handicaps or learning disabilities. The District is forced to pony up for a private contractor to do the job. mbs What's wrong with charter schools? At 10:42 AM 3/15/00 -0500, you wrote: >I am not involved in the issue, but I think it is good news. The right >wingers have been undermining funding for and public commitment to the >public schools with voucher programs. These have been upheld, e.g., in >Cleveland and Milwaukee. They are attacked on 1st amend., establishment >clause grounds, which is right, because they provide an excuse to channel >lots of government money mainly to Catholic schools--which are, >incidentally, in big financial trouble. > >However, the real problem with these programs is that they are bad on >policy rather than constitutional grounds. They suggest that the solution >to the problem sof inner city schools ius to write off those schools, >privatize the system, and give poor kids money to go to Catholic school. >Also connected with vouchers is the charter school movement, if possible >an even worse idea, but one giving no purchase for constitutional attack. > >There have been a few setbacks for vouchers, mostly on establishment >clause grounds. What is surprising here is that this setback came from a >presumably elected state court judge. We will see if he is affirmed or >reversed on appeal. > >--jks > > > Any one involved in this issue that can give a overview of what this > > means? > > > > > > A Florida judge has ruled that it is a violation of the state's > > constitution for students to use taxpayer money for private school > > tuition, curtailing the nation's boldest experiment at using market > > pressure > > to improve failing schools. > > > > The decision, which the state says it will appeal, is the second major > > legal > > setback for voucher proponents in recent months, following a federal > > judge's ruling that Cleveland's voucher program contravenes the First > > Amendment's separation of church and state, > > > > Florida's was the first statewide voucher program and the first to tie > > voucher eligibility to schools' performance on standardized tests. It > > serves > > as a model for a national voucher plan proposed by Gov. George W. > > Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has > > > > been copied by several of the 25 state legislatures currently > > considering > > new voucher initiatives. > > > > rest of article at > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/14cnd-vouchers.html > > > > -- > > Rod Hay > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The History of Economic Thought Archive > > http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html > > Batoche Books > > http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ > > 52 Eby Street South > > Kitchener, Ontario > > N2G 3L1 > > Canada Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
RE: Re: Re: Re: school vouchers
What's wrong with charter schools? No standards, no unions, no minimal safeguards of educational quality. A private charter school in Chi-town, nonunion of course, failed, hadn't kept adequate records for several years. the kids in it lost two years. How many of the minority youth there do you think were happy to do an extra two years of HS? --jks If only it were that easy. All of the failings you cite apply to public schools too, and not necessarily to a lesser extent. mbs
RE: The Danger of GDP
Too bad the U.S. never had Red Guards. Juchang He - Original Message - From: Max Sawicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 11:27 PM Subject: [PEN-L:17107] RE: The Danger of GDP > Where are the Red Guards when you need them? > > mbs > > > > Subject: [PEN-L:17103] The Danger of GDP > > > This message is dedicated to people all over the world. . . . > > by Juchang He > >
RE: RE: The Danger of GDP
We do. They're all English professors. They bludgeon us with idealist notions. mbs Too bad the U.S. never had Red Guards. Juchang He > Where are the Red Guards when you need them? > > mbs > Subject: [PEN-L:17103] The Danger of GDP
Re: Re: Re: Re: school vouchers
At 01:07 PM 3/15/00 -0500, you wrote: >What's wrong with charter schools? No standards, no unions, no minimal >safeguards of educational quality. A private charter school in Chi-town, >nonunion of course, failed, hadn't kept adequate records for several >years. the kids in it lost two years. How many of the minority youth there >do you think were happy to do an extra two years of HS? --jks I was thinking about _public_ charter schools. The phrase "private charter school" seems to be redundant. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Sanctions against Iraq to ease?
Pen-l, Any thoughts on Annan's call for an easing of economic sanctions against Iraq? It would appear that when such a US puppet sends this message, a change of official policy may be near. Is the timing of Annan's recommendations and the rising price of oil on the world market a coincidence, or not? BBC News Online Monday, 13 March, 2000, 12:43 GMT Annan fears for Iraq's health Iraqi hospitals are short of essential medical supplies UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan is to recommend an easing of restrictions on imports into Iraq because of their impact on the already tottering health care system. He also calls on Iraq to improve its delivery of drugs, in a report due out later this week, which has been seen by the BBC. Mr Annan expresses serious concern about the state of the health care system in Iraq. His report covers the UN's humanitarian programme in Iraq, under which Baghdad is allowed to sell oil in exchange for food and medical supplies. He says the erratic and un-coordinated arrival of drugs to treat chronic diseases may have contributed to increasing deaths among patients suffering from diabetes, heart, liver and kidney disease. Delays in the arrival of vaccines have interrupted the country's immunisation campaigns, he adds. His report recommends that UN Security Council members should allow in some of the imports they have placed on hold. Such restrictions, mostly the work of the United States or the United Kingdom, have been placed on $1.5bn worth of goods, of which $150m are medical supplies. Internal dissent The UN has come under severe criticism recently over policy towards Iraq. The co-ordinator of its own humanitarian programme in Iraq resigned last month in protest over the impact of UN sanctions on Iraqi civilians. Mr Annan will get a chance to discuss his concerns with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair during talks in London on Monday. MP's mission to Iraq Mr Annan's report came to light as UK MP George Galloway left for Jordan, on the first stage of a journey intended to take children's medicines to Iraq. Mr Galloway had originally intended to fly direct from London to Baghdad on Saturday in what would have been the first direct aid flight from the West to Iraq in a decade. But his journey was postponed after the UK Government referred his mission to the UN sanctions committee. The MP will now travel the 1,000km (600 miles) from Amman to Baghdad in a road convoy. 'Survival at risk' Earlier this month, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that the very survival of the Iraqi people was under threat following two wars and 10 years of sanctions. An ICRC report said Iraq's collapsed health facilities and badly damaged water sanitation system posed the gravest dangers. The US says the Iraqi Government is responsible for the country's misery because it had not complied with terms for lifting sanctions, and also blames the authorities in Baghdad for not distributing the medicines which they have. But a BBC correspondent has said the US appears now to be considering greater flexibility on Iraqi import requests. Sanctions The UN imposed sanctions on Iraq following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing war. Certain humanitarian supplies are allowed into Iraq, but the UN is concerned to keep out anything which could potentially be used in the manufacture of weapons - including vaccines which some say could be used to make biological weapons. Critics of sanctions say the UN criteria are too harsh, and are preventing the import of materials which have no sinister purposes. The US and UK have carried out repeated bombing raids on Iraq since Baghdad refused to co-operated with UN weapons inspectors in 1998. In the latest raid, at the weekend, Iraqi officials reported that eight people had been injured during attacks on civilian installations in the south of the country. There was no word from American or British officials. Seth Sandronsky [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Michael Pereleman, please: was re The Danger of GDP
Michael Pereleman, Please.Steve Stephen Philion Lecturer/PhD Candidate Department of Sociology 2424 Maile Way Social Sciences Bldg. # 247 Honolulu, HI 96822 On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, chang wrote: > Too bad the U.S. never had Red Guards. > > Juchang He > > - Original Message - > From: Max Sawicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 11:27 PM > Subject: [PEN-L:17107] RE: The Danger of GDP > > > > Where are the Red Guards when you need them? > > > > mbs > > > > > > > > Subject: [PEN-L:17103] The Danger of GDP > > > > > > This message is dedicated to people all over the world. . . . > > > > by Juchang He > > > > > >
BLS Daily Report
BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2000 RELEASED TODAY: In January, 206 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 118 areas registered higher rates. Eleven metropolitan areas had rates below 2.0 percent, with five of these located in the South, four in the Midwest, and two in New England. Of the 11 areas with jobless rates over 10.0 percent, 7 were in California, and 3 were along the Mexican border, in other states. ... The nation's biggest manufacturing trade group said its members expect rising energy prices and higher interest rates to slow the U.S. economy this year. The National Association of Manufacturers found in an annual survey of its 2,500 members that manufacturers are becoming increasingly guarded about the overall strength of the economy. The biggest problem for manufacturers is soaring energy costs. The prices of some types of crude oil has jumped nearly 2-1/2 times in the past year, and many manufacturers say they are unable to pass along all of their higher costs, cutting into profits. ... The survey's big surprise is that few manufacturers said they have any plans to curtail hiring. Indeed, the survey gives every indication the tight labor supply in America won't ease soon. ... Even though most manufacturers expect the economy to slow, they are hiring at a steady clip because companies eliminated too many workers early in the 1990s. As a result, companies have been forced to pay overtime and add shifts. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A4), Productivity finally shows the impact of computers, says Louis Uchitelle (New York Times, March 12, "Money and Business" section, page 4). ... Since the early 1970s, the standard of living of most Americans has risen at a snail's pace. Are the gains finally coming faster? That is really another way of asking if the productivity of the nation's workers, which has risen at a snail's pace, has now finally shifted into a higher gear. And the tentative answer is "Yes." ... The famous quip tossed off in 1987 by Robert M. Solow, the Nobel laureate in economics -- "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics" -- finally stands amended. ... The most significant evidence comes in a soon-to-be-published research paper by Stephen D. Oliner and Daniel E. Sichel, two Federal Reserve economists. ... They find that computers -- both the manufacture of them and their use, particularly the large-scale networking of computers since 1995 -- are making a measurable contribution. ... Fewer small businesses will be launched, venture-capital investment in dot-com start-ups will level off, and employees of small companies will demand customized benefits, says The Wall Street Journal in its "Enterprise" feature (page B4). These are a few predictions made in a study sponsored by American Express Co., International Business Machines Corp., and an advocacy group called National Small Business United. The study explores how the gradually aging corps of baby boomers will affect the business landscape. ... From 1996 to 2006, the population of 25- to 44-year-olds in the work force will decrease by nearly 2 million workers, according to the study. Since this age group is a primary source of new entrepreneurs, their retirement from business may result in a temporary decline in the number of start-ups. Although seniors may continue to work part time as consultants or in hobby-type businesses, they are unlikely to start businesses with employees. ... The booming economy has done much to boost the fortunes of many long-disadvantaged Americans. But the gap in well-being between whites and nonwhites didn't budge over the 1990s and remains huge, especially when measured by wealth, says The Wall Street Journal (page A2). In 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the median net worth for Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and other minority families was $16,400. That was less than one-fifth -- 17.28 percent to be precise -- of the $94,900 median net worth for non-Hispanic white families. The ratio was up only slightly from 17.23 percent in 1992, according to a recently released survey of 4,300 families conducted for the Federal Reserve. The racial divide in wealth -- the value of all assets, including homes, cars, stock, and savings accounts -- was much greater than that of income, the Fed data show. ... Why the gap? Economists and researchers point to numerous reasons, including historical patterns of discrimination in wages, job opportunities, and access to the credit needed to start a business. But differences in the way whites and nonwhites invest appear also to be a key. Minorities own homes at a much lower rates than whites and are far less likely to tuck their earnings into higher-risk investments such as stocks. ... Then, too, whites have inherited far more money than minorities. In 1994 -- the most recent year for which comp
Re: Michael Pereleman, please: was re The Danger of GDP
I unsubbed him once and asked him to bug off. He knows he is unwelcome here -- at least from my perspective. I will try to set up a filter to keep him from resubbing. Stephen E Philion wrote: > Michael Pereleman, Please.Steve > > Stephen Philion > Lecturer/PhD Candidate > Department of Sociology > 2424 Maile Way > Social Sciences Bldg. # 247 > Honolulu, HI 96822 > > On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, chang wrote: > > > Too bad the U.S. never had Red Guards. > > > > Juchang He > > > > - Original Message - > > From: Max Sawicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 11:27 PM > > Subject: [PEN-L:17107] RE: The Danger of GDP > > > > > > > Where are the Red Guards when you need them? > > > > > > mbs > > > > > > > > > > > > Subject: [PEN-L:17103] The Danger of GDP > > > > > > > > > This message is dedicated to people all over the world. . . . > > > > > > by Juchang He > > > > > > > > > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fwd: SLATE NEWS: Wed., March 15, 2000
from today's "Today's Paper's," from today's SLATE: >A big development in 80s and 90s journalism was the press's unabashed >idolatry of rich people. But now apparently, the media >doesn't just adore these folks--it feels sorry for them. Yesterday's LA >[TIMES] front had a lengthy takeout on the recently discovered tragedy >known as "sudden wealth syndrome." Billions can, it seems, bring the newly >rich "a sense of isolation, uncertainty and imbalance--as if they had been >teleported into an alien world that was very pleasant at times but still >completely strange." And today's [Washingon POST] runs a "Style" profile >of Red Hat cash-out Marc Ewing and his wife Lisa Yun Lee, which along the >way details the conscience pangs Lee is suffering: while she was finishing >up her thesis on neo-Marxism at Duke, she bought herself a new BMW, but >driving it to campus made her feel "disjointed." Solution--she parked it >three lots away from campus. I am willing to be in an experiment to test the "sudden wealth syndrome" theory. If everyone who reads this were to send me $10 (US), I could see if I suffer from "a sense of isolation, uncertainty and imbalance." Seriously, those who win big at the lottery are known to freak out as a result. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Red Guards
On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Max Sawicky wrote: > We do. They're [Red Guards] all English professors. > They bludgeon us with idealist notions. No, no, they're the English departments themselves, who are run by a scary bunch, who subject their hired serfs -- er, grad students -- to the Iron Thesis Bowl of non-imaginative thinking, clueless apostrophes, and shocking Angloid provincialism. The most shell-shocked survivors of this nightmare then go out and get hired by their abusers and make sure that yet another generation of undergrads hates literature and the arts with a vengeance. "In English departmental meetings, noone can hear you scream..." -- Dennis (Comparative Lit Guerilla)
RE: Red Guards
Well I was close. mbs >> On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Max Sawicky wrote: > We do. They're [Red Guards] all English professors. > They bludgeon us with idealist notions. No, no, they're the English departments themselves, who are run by a scary bunch, who subject their hired serfs -- er, grad students -- to the Iron Thesis Bowl of non-imaginative thinking, clueless apostrophes, and shocking Angloid provincialism. The most shell-shocked survivors of this nightmare then go out and get hired by their abusers and make sure that yet another generation of undergrads hates literature and the arts with a vengeance. "In English departmental meetings, noone can hear you scream..." -- Dennis (Comparative Lit Guerilla)
Re: The ten most important events in American industrial history
What about the 1937 Flint strike and the recognition of the UAW? Roger and Me had a lot of film about it, so I know the visual exist. Joel Blau [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I have been asked by a documentary filmmaker who is doing a short (12 min.?) > film on US industrial history for a pretty mainstream context what are the 10 > absolutely must-include events, preferably with a bias towards stuff for > which there exists film. Given the context and the buyer it cannot be all > militant/labor radical stuff. The call is for stuff related to industry, not > just radical labor. > > The following list occurs to me. I am not trying at this point to limit it to > 10. Please add, cut, rank. Thanks. > > The discovery of the steam engine and/or cotton gin > The completion of the transcontinental railroad/Chinese immigration to build > it > The formation of the great Trusts: Standard Oil, US Steel > The Haymarket rally/8 hour day > The ARU strike and/or the Homestead strike (a Penna event) > Ford's Model T assembly line, Blacks move north to get factory jobs > The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire/ILGWU > The Lawrence Strike/IWW > Something about the CIO--the UMW battles (very important in Penna), maybe the > Ford Hunger Strikers? > The signing of the NLRA > Industry/labor in WWII: women in the industrial workforce, Rosie the Riveter > The Treaty of Detroit > The civil rights movement and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 > Something about the computer industry, what? IBM, Microsoft > Something about deindustrialization, moving offshore, maybe US Steel gets out > of the steel biz?, becomes USX > The breaking of the PATCO strike > Something about the service economy, what? Founding of McDonalds? > ??? > > --jks
Re: school vouchers
It means that intermittently, we still maintain a wall between church and state. If you want to see an overview of this issue, you can take a look at chapter 5, "Education: Choice, Profit, and Democracy" in Illusions of Prosperity. Joel Blau Rod Hay wrote: Any one involved in this issue that can give a overview of what this means? A Florida judge has ruled that it is a violation of the state's constitution for students to use taxpayer money for private school tuition, curtailing the nation's boldest experiment at using market pressure to improve failing schools. The decision, which the state says it will appeal, is the second major legal setback for voucher proponents in recent months, following a federal judge's ruling that Cleveland's voucher program contravenes the First Amendment's separation of church and state, Florida's was the first statewide voucher program and the first to tie voucher eligibility to schools' performance on standardized tests. It serves as a model for a national voucher plan proposed by Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has been copied by several of the 25 state legislatures currently considering new voucher initiatives. rest of article at http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/14cnd-vouchers.html -- Rod Hay [EMAIL PROTECTED] The History of Economic Thought Archive http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html Batoche Books http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ 52 Eby Street South Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3L1 Canada
school vouchers
It is my opinion that one of the most important tasks for socialists is the protection of the public education system. A defeat of any attempt to undermine it is an important victory. Jim D. could you or any one explain what a "charter school" is? Rod Joel Blau wrote: > It means that intermittently, we still maintain a wall between church > and state. If you want to see an overview of this issue, you can take > a look at chapter 5, "Education: Choice, Profit, and Democracy" in > Illusions of Prosperity. > > Joel Blau > -- Rod Hay [EMAIL PROTECTED] The History of Economic Thought Archive http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html Batoche Books http://Batoche.co-ltd.net/ 52 Eby Street South Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3L1 Canada
Re: school vouchers
In a message dated 00-03-15 19:48:58 EST, you write: << t is my opinion that one of the most important tasks for socialists is the protection of the public education system. A defeat of any attempt to undermine it is an important victory. Jim D. could you or any one explain what a "charter school" is? >> * * * In Chicago, charter schools are publically funded, privately run schools that are basically contracted with by the school board to provide education without having to meet the normal standards or submit to the union contracts required by the regular public schools. It's contracting out of public education. --jks
Privatisation critiques
Hi comrades, who has the very latest material against privatisation? Has anyone read the Stiglitz distinction between Russia and China enterprise restructuring? Has anyone been delving into related ESOP literature recently? This is real for South Africans, now debating this... so please let me know offlist if you can help out! Yours, Patrick Patrick Bond email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * phone: 2711-614-8088 home: 51 Somerset Road, Kensington 2094 South Africa work: University of the Witwatersrand Graduate School of Public and Development Management PO Box 601, Wits 2050, South Africa email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 2711-488-5917 * fax: 2711-484-2729
Re: Privatisation critiques
I would be interested in seeing the answers to Patrick's questions so replies on-list would be appreciated! Patrick - Eugene Coyle's recent paper on the electricity industry (which actually has wider implications) is well worth a look. Re Stiglitz, I have a PDF copy of his paper, "Whither Reform? Ten years of the transition" prepared for the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, Washington, D.C., April 28-30, 1999, which covers privatisation amongst other things. Not Washington Consensus stuff, and some telling points, but still very market-oriented. Similarly I have an electronic copy of his "The World Bank at the Millennium" (Economic J, Nov 99), from which this quote: "While the development strategies of the last twenty years have focused on market-based reforms, they have often failed to establish the institutional infrastructure required to make markets work. Economic theory emphasized that to make markets work, both the competition and the incentives provided by private property are necessary. The emphasis on one over the other was not based on any body of theory or evidence. The contrast between the experiences of China and Russia has raised questions about the reform strategy emphasizing privatization over competition: China focused on competition, and saw its per capita GDP increase almost eight-fold in two dec-ades; Russia ignored competition policy, and, even after privatizations and other reforms that were supposed to improve efficiency, saw its output decline markedly. Moreover, privatizations in many countries that did not accompany those changes with effective regulatory and competition policies showed that while private monopolies could more efficiently exploit consumers than could the pub-lic monopolies they were replacing, privatization did not necessarily lead to either lower prices or much greater market access." Many of his articles are still at the World Bank site under http://www.worldbank.org/knowledge/chiefecon/ but it is no longer in their index as far as I can see and presumably won't last there for long! A look at http://www.psiru.org/ or http://www.btinternet.com/~ipspr/index.htm (Public Services International Research Unit) is probably worthwhile. Bill Patrick Bond wrote: > > Hi comrades, who has the very latest material against privatisation? > Has anyone read the Stiglitz distinction between Russia and China > enterprise restructuring? Has anyone been delving into related ESOP > literature recently? > > This is real for South Africans, now debating this... so please let > me know offlist if you can help out! > > Yours, > Patrick > Patrick Bond > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * phone: 2711-614-8088 > home: 51 Somerset Road, Kensington 2094 South Africa > work: University of the Witwatersrand > Graduate School of Public and Development Management > PO Box 601, Wits 2050, South Africa > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > phone: 2711-488-5917 * fax: 2711-484-2729
Charters//school vouchers
Dear Ron, "Charter schools" are 'public schools' that are run more from the 'local level" by the principal and ususally group of PTA activists and teachers and other school employees having varied types of "consultative roles" --but I think in the end the Principal (Administration) still casts the deciding voice on policy - use of local funds mainly and single "contracts for teachers that may/may not countermand the central union bargaining agreements Charter schools get more say so on budgeting of (local?) $$$ as opposed to the central/state bureacracracy running the show - -'Charters" are championed by both Democrats of the Clinton stripe and centrist Republicans and their repective wings of the "business community" supporters--read powerful sections of capital.. It caters to the "decentraliization of bureacracracy" movement but is NO real solution to Public school crisis at all-- there is little increase in funds for inner city "charters" --except in wealthier school areas where PTAs can take up a hefty collection of local funds and local corporations are more likely to issue "grants" or other forms of monies --but usually with plenty of strings attached. Many unions of school employees even support this in a limited way-- as they are never far behind the hind end of the Democratic Party "centrist" wing anyway-- and the unions are beholdedn to the Pols . for perks and pork as "rewards" keeping the school employeees as passive as is possible. . Charter schools tend to divide the school employees and pander to local indivdualist solutions and are a spike in the concept of school employee and parent unity as any movement of workers in struggle. Also recently a few Charters in LA here have already contracted out the work of janitors and cafeteria workers to private firms who pay about 60% the wages and benefits of the redundant School District employees. Many of these localist 'panaceas" take the heat off the corporate bosses tax swindles carried out in a bi-partisan manner esp. over the last 20 years by the Demopubicans that heve seen the bosses/Corporations tax rates vastly reduced and hence the real funding of most Public schools has been going down --not up --even as the$$$ amounts per year show increases , these never keep up with the inflation and the schools funding in working class areas has been going down faster than in the 'middle class' areas of town-- whilst the petty bourg. stiffens local supports to "its " local schools --or ops out of public schools altogether for private academies and religious schools. I think these crises and assaults on the 'public' schools are based in the over all functions and material interest of the market and the needs of the ruiling class in the labor market for workers. Globalization and the bosses falling rate of profits problem are making them rely more on the use of austerity-- this includes the schools too where reliance on workers contributions is going up much faster --whilst capitals goes down-- but in any case the wealth used is a significant amount of surplus value controlled by the bosses and their Government-- for their own class purposes of social control and greasing the skids of the needs of the wage system... Neil
