Symbolic Fairness

 Posted by  Book Related, Business And Regulation, U.S. Politics  No Responses »
Jan 312012
 

Congress is rapidly moving forward on legislation that would end the insider-trading exemption enjoyed by members of Congress. This is exactly the kind of law that Congress needs to pass–although for reasons that have more to do with the long-term consequences than the short-term effects of the law in question.

Now, current law actually isn’t too unreasonable. Yes, the exemption gives members of Congress a huge advantage when constructing their stock portfolios. But having 535 people trading on insider knowledge does not substantially alter stock values, in most cases, and does virtually no damage to the health of the economy. Insider trading laws exist so that stock prices are determined by public information, and therefore uninformed people can participate and make money in the market. Having exemptions for a very small number of people doesn’t really change that.
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Meet the New School, Same as the Old School

 Posted by  Education  No Responses »
Dec 082011
 

Maybe someone can explain to me the following bit, part of a statement released by the Chancellor of the New York City Education Department announcing over a dozen school closings:

“These are never easy decisions, but when a school has failed to serve its students well year after year — even after receiving additional supports — we have a responsibility to provide students with better options. We are already hard at work creating the great new schools that these communities deserve.”

So, as far as I can tell, the logic goes like this: Some schools are better than others. If a school continues to fail, it must be an inherent characteristic to the school. Therefore, we should close that school and open new ones. (Although please note that the new ones are not fully in place yet–”already hard at work creating” implies that the creation is an ongoing process and not one that is very far down the path to success–which seems really dumb, assuming that we are trying to minimize the disruption of the transition.)

Personally, I have two problems with that logic. Continue reading »

Fairness and Education

 Posted by  Book Related, Education, Immigration  No Responses »
Dec 012011
 

According to a New York Times article, Florida education officials recently released a set of rules requiring that all incoming students must demonstrate that their parents are legal Florida residents before they can receive in-state tuition to any public college or university. The rule, which does not affect admission, is supposedly aimed at illegal immigrants, who will find their tuition quadrupling.

While I cannot speak for the authors of the rule, my guess is that there are two reasons behind the increase:

1) To disincentivize living in Florida if you are an illegal immigrant
2) To respond to a general complaint among some voters that illegal immigrants do not pay their fair share to society, and should not be rewarded with any kind of government assistance.

It seems to me, however, that this law will have an unintended consequence that could have serious negative consequences for the state of Florida: to reduce the feeling among immigrants and their children that we live in a fair and just society. Continue reading »

An Extraordinary Interview

 Posted by  Crime, Football, The Media  2 Responses »
Nov 162011
 

I have a growing belief that the best television journalism being done today is coming out of the sports world. ESPN frequently has more intelligent and thoughtful discussions about race, gender, and the actual impact of the so-called “culture wars” in a week than any of the big three cable news shows will have in an entire year. And I have long believed that Bob Costas, who has worked for NBC Sports virtually his entire career, is the best journalist on television today.

If you doubt that last part, watch this Today Show segment, which covers a phone interview that Costas did the previous evening with accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky. (The interview has some disturbing content, so be warned.) The headline is about how horrid a job Sandusky did at defending himself. But from my perspective, it was one of the best interviews that I’ve ever seen, especially considering the touchy content, the fact that Costas was given very little warning that he would be talking to Sandusky directly (he was interviewing Sandusky’s lawyer, when the lawyer suggested that they talk to Sandusky directly), and the shocking things that Sandusky was saying.
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In Defense of Commerce

 Posted by  2012 Election, Business And Regulation  1 Response »
Nov 102011
 

Rick Perry has been getting a lot of criticism over his debate performance, but for the wrong thing.

At one point in last night’s debate, Perry proudly proclaimed that he would completely eliminate three federal agencies: education and commerce. If you’re looking for the third agency in that last, so is Rick Perry–which is why he’s been the butt of jokes all day today. People forget things. It happens to all of us. It’s embarrassing, but also not a big deal.

Let’s instead look at the two he wants to eliminate. Education I at least understand: it can be argued that everything the department of education does is better off handled at the state level. I disagree–I happen to believe that the Department of Education does a lot of very useful information gathering and coordination, even disregarding federal education regulations–but I at least understand the argument.

But Commerce? Seriously? Does Rick Perry even know what the Department of Commerce does? Continue reading »

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