Entries by Editorial Staff

Mitt Romney Homeland Security Record In Massachusetts: Domestic Spying, Wiretapping

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/mitt-romney-homeland-security-massachusetts_n_1467940.html Mitt Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts as the man who saved the 2002 winter Olympics. While much of his focus had been on righting the games in Salt Lake City after its organizing committee became mired in a U.S. bribery scandal, security was also a top priority. These were the first U.S. Olympic games since the bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and, taking place just five months after the 9/11 attacks, they presented an enticing and high-profile target for terrorists. Dealing with those threats in Salt Lake City led Romney not only to overhaul homeland security in the Bay State, but to shape policy on the national level. When he was sworn in as governor on Jan. […]

Controlling Education from the Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America

Why Common Core Is Bad for America Author(s): Emmett McGroarty and Jane Robbins — Publication date: 2012-05-10 Category: Education Abstract: The American Legislative Exchange Council’s Public Sector Board of Directors must decide whether to uphold the Education Task Force’s approval of the Comprehensive Legislative Package Opposing the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The Task Force’s public-sector members approved the package on a 14-6 vote, and its private-sector members approved the package on an 8-4 vote. This legislation provides a model for legislatures to reclaim state responsibility for education decision-making –which has been gravely impaired as a result of the Common Core. Common Core suffers from a number of systemic defects. We have already seen that the claims of state involvement […]

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Cuts Ties to ALEC

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/01/1087935/-National-Board-for-Professional-Teaching-Standards-Cuts-Ties-to-ALEC The national certifying body for teachers in the United States, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), participated in the Education Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) until April 2012. In an official statement sent to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) today, NBPTS spokesperson Brian Lewis said, “Given recent events, the new NBPTS President and CEO decided to discontinue engagement with ALEC. As a result, NBPTS terminated its membership as an Education Task Force Member of ALEC effective April 18, 2012, and also withdrew from participating in the upcoming ALEC conference. . . . The decision to participate in ALEC had been made by previous NBPTS leadership.” Although primarily a non-profit organization focusing […]

N.J. rethinking high school tests

http://articles.philly.com/2012-05-01/news/31519840_1_new-tests-graduation-rates-high-school-proficiency-assessment Gov. Christie announced Monday that he wanted to do away with the state’s current high school assessment exams and instead use end-of-course tests. Christie was endorsing recommendations of the College and Career Readiness Task Force, which found that the state assessments now in use — the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and the Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA) — are not aligned with standards New Jersey and most other states have adopted and are not a good gauge of whether students are prepared for college. Even students who pass the HSPA may require remedial courses in college, the task force found. In addition, the administration said the state has adopted a new, federally mandated method of calculating graduation rates […]

Why States Should Jump from National Education Standards Bandwagon

http://www.texasinsider.org/why-states-should-jump-from-the-national-standards-bandwagon/ Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, DC – When “states signed on to common core standards, they did not realize…that they were transferring control of the school curriculum to the federal government,” said Sandra Stotsky, 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality at the University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform, speaking at The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. Stotsky and four other education scholars from around the nation met to discuss the Obama Administration’s growing push for Common Core national education standards and why states should resist Washington’s attempt to further centralize education. The Obama Administration’s press for common education standards is not the first time the federal government has attempted to meddle in school curriculum, as Williamson Evers, research fellow at […]

Mass. Taxpayers Foundation Responds To Critics On Health Reform Spending

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/04/mass-taxpayers-foundation-critics A new Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) study finds that in fiscal 2011, the state’s share of spending attributable to the 2006 health reform law was $453 million, or 1.4% of the $32 billion budget. And, when you look at the first five years of state spending for health reform, the annual increase, year-to-year, averaged about $91 million. In short, health reform hasn’t been a “budget-buster” as some critics have claimed. Pretty good news, right? Well, the Pioneer Institute‘s Josh Archambault and Amy Lischko aren’t so sure. While they largely accept the way MTF calculated the cost of health reform, they’ve applied some creative accounting to challenge the report’s conclusions. A little background might be helpful: With our focus on […]

UMass law school not meeting goals, foes say

http://www.dolanmedia.com/view.cfm?recID=770766 A Boston-based think tank is claiming the University of Massachusetts School of Law has been quietly extending the timetable for still-unmet academic goals that were set when the school opened its doors in 2010. The fiscally conservative Pioneer Institute alleges that UMass has essentially moved the goalposts by putting off anticipated benchmarks for GPA and LSAT scores at the Dartmouth school. The findings — posted on the group’s website at www.pioneerinst.wpengine.com — surfaced following a prolonged public records request Pioneer engaged in with the school, according to the institute. It says it also based its assertions on a slide show presentation by the UMass-Dartmouth chancellor in February that detailed the public law school’s academic projections. Those projections differed from […]

Conflicts of interest in Mass’s adoption of national education standards

“No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.” – James Madison, Federalist #10 In this season of US Supreme Court decisions we’re reminded that independent and objective judgment on key legal and public policy matters has been an aspiration in Anglo-America law and justice (not to mention scientific inquiry) for centuries. In America, it was John Adams in Massachusetts and James Madison of Virginia who were best at articulating the importance of independent judgment. The push for national education standards has brought to light a variety of troubling questions about the legality, cost, and academic quality that has been discussed here and […]

Palin Was A Prophet About Obama’s Education Takeover

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/04/26/palin_was_a_prophet_about_obamas_education_takeover_113966.html Sarah Palin was the first to recognize the problem: By participating in President Obama’s signature education initiative, the Common Core Standards, Alaska would lose control over its own curriculum. On May 31, 2009, then-Gov. Palin announced Alaska would adopt a “watch and wait” attitude: “If this initiative produces useful results, Alaska will remain free to incorporate them,” Gov. Palin said, adding that “high expectations are not always created by new, mandated federal standards written on paper. They are created in the home, the community and the classroom.” Texas Gov. Rick Perry, to his credit, was the next to recognize a federal boondoggle when he saw one: “I will not commit Texas taxpayers to unfunded federal obligations or to the […]

Nashoba Tech makes pitch to Shirley selectmen

http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_20475903/nashoba-tech-makes-pitch-shirley-board Ayer’s application to join the Nashoba Valley Technical School District was not the focus of the annual presentation Superintendent Judith Klimkiewicz made to selectmen Monday night, but it was part of it. Even though selectmen didn’t vote on whether they support the application, they didn’t raise any concerns about it either. So far, the only community out of seven– Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend and Westford — whose officials have indicated they don’t support it is Chelmsford, said Nashoba Tech School Committee Chairman Jennifer Rhodes. She didn’t know what the problem was, though. “We’ve seen support in all the other towns,” she said. “Does Chelmsford still feel that way?” Selectman Kendra Dumont asked. Klimkiewicz said she didn’t know. […]

The power of the New Orleans school reform

http://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/04/louisiana_marches_to_its_own_b.html For all the talk about a big national education agenda, the fact is that little implementation of the national standards is actually going on.  Lots of talk, lots of money being spent, but business as usual on the federal front. In a number of states, and without any connection to the federal ed department’s lumbering efforts, there’s been a tsunami of school choice programs.  Times-Picayune reports that The Louisiana House of Representatives has given final approval to the central pieces of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sweeping agenda to restructure primary and secondary education in Louisiana.  With the 60-43 vote for House Bill 974 and a subsequent 60-42 vote for House Bill 976, Louisiana will, among other details, curtail teacher tenure […]

Why States Should Hop Off the National Standards Bandwagon

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/23/why-states-should-hop-off-the-national-standards-bandwagon/ When “states signed on to common core standards, they did not realize…that they were transferring control of the school curriculum to the federal government,” said Sandra Stotsky, 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality at the University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform, speaking at The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. Stotsky and four other education scholars from around the nation met to discuss the Obama Administration’s growing push for Common Core national education standards and why states should resist Washington’s attempt to further centralize education. The Obama Administration’s press for common education standards is not the first time the federal government has attempted to meddle in school curriculum, as Williamson Evers, research fellow at the Hoover Institution, explained at Tuesday’s […]

Strauss, Kinney the right choices

http://www.wickedlocal.com/swampscott/newsnow/x1783273805/EDITORIAL-Strauss-Kinney-the-right-choices#axzz2OHGE6ymJ One thing Swampscott’s top two boards lack is experience. On the Board of Selectmen, only Jill Sullivan has been on the board for more  than one term. No one on the School Committee has served for more than one  term. Experience brings with it a number of things that help a town committee  maneuver through the weekly business of the town. Most importantly is  institutional knowledge. Each problem a committee faces is less of a hurdle when  members can turn to one with more experience and say, “How did we handle this  last time?” But experience also brings with it knowledge of another sort. They know what  can and, often more importantly, what cannot, be done. They know what […]

Federal Overhaul Will Require Mass To Adjust its Health Reform Law

http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2012/1/31/federal-overhaul-will-require-mass-to-adjust-its-health-reform-law.aspx#ixzz2O6SYjEp4 Although the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law contains many of the same  provisions as the federal health reform law, state officials must make changes  to comply with federal overhaul standards, Politico reports. About the Massachusetts Law The Massachusetts law was signed by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney  when he was governor. Among the provisions that both laws have in common are: A health insurance exchange; An individual mandate; A requirement that insurers cover all individuals regardless of pre-existing  conditions; and Tax subsidies to help people pay for insurance. Working Out the Differences Despite the similarities, Massachusetts officials are working on  consolidating key differences between the state and federal laws. For example, the Massachusetts mandate levies higher fines than the […]

State Roundup: State Spending Drops $290 Billion In 5 Years

News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues, including articles from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oregon. Reuters: Revenue Wilted, States Rely On Cuts To Meet Budget Trapped in a revenue wasteland, U.S. states have cut spending by $290 billion over the last five years, with the largest reductions coming this year, according to a think tank that tracks state fiscal conditions. In fiscal 2012, which for most states began last July, cuts totaled $140 billion, “almost as much as the combined total for the previous four years,” according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. … More than half the 50 states cut higher education spending this year, and at […]

Senate begins budget ‘markup’ – Sign of a damaged Congress – ACA SCOTUS ruling could bring chaos – SCOTUS rules on generics – Ways and Means targets exchange subsidies

http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/0412/politicopulse725.html TODAY: SENATE BUDGET BEGINS ‘MARKUP’ — The Senate’s top budget guru on Tuesday said he’s introducing the so-called “Simpson-Bowles” deficit report with hopes of building a bipartisan consensus before the end of the year. The committee will begin a markup on the plan today. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said he’ll release the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform’s report (http://www.fiscalcommission.gov) as a chairman’s mark. But it will be a “markup” in name only. Conrad said there will be time for opening statements and a vote won’t be planned for months. The North Dakota Democrat said that’s the time required to work through the “geeky” budget resolution and have bipartisan negotiations with the Simpson-Bowles document as a […]

Another take on “budget buster” report: Health law was more expensive, one analyst says

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/04/18/another-take-budget-buster-report-health-law-was-more-expensive-one-analyst-says/P3MWkYqHtZG5MMYUGX6PvM/story.html Josh Archambault appreciates that there are other people in the state, besides him, trying to calculate the overall cost of the 2006 Massachusetts law requiring most residents to have health insurance.  And, he said, he thinks a report out last week from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation mostly got it right. But one figure in the report, putting the annual increase in state spending for health reform between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2011 at about $91 million, just struck him as odd. The report, funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, explained that the number came from calculating the difference between the 2011 and 2006 budgets and dividing that in half to account for the […]

Attracting Business Without Giving Away the Store

http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-state-tax-incentive-economic-development-pew-study.html Each day, memories of the 1990s economic boom grow more remote, replaced by what feels like a permanent era of scarcity. In an effort to show that they are working to create jobs and promote economic activity, state leaders are increasingly turning to tax incentives for economic development. They range from credits, exemptions or deductions — either for specific industries or for companies that agree to hire a certain number of people — to enticements for companies to move to a particular neighborhood. Every state has at least one such program, and taxpayers invest billions of dollars in them each year, so it’s important that they are having the desired impact. Bad investments leave less money for education, health […]

Old foe resurfaces as law school pursues accreditation

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120415/NEWS/204150354/1003/TOWN02 The UMass School of Law may be up and running and financially healthy, but some of its old opponents are still taking aim at it at a critical time. Steve Poftak, budget chief under law school opponent Gov. Mitt Romney and now at the Pioneer Institute in Boston, posted an opinion blog in March criticizing the fledgling law school’s progress and transparency, or lack of it. He charged that the school has pushed back the target dates for meeting higher benchmarks in grade point averages, LSAT scores, and bar exam pass rates. UMass spokesman John Hoey pushed back on the pushback, saying that the law school is comfortably “at or near” its targets in all of those categories. Not […]

Deval Patrick’s RomneyCare

http://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2012/04/13/deval-patricks-romneycare/ There are a couple of things I did not know, much as that might shock you.  First, I didn’t know that the Governor of Massachusetts enjoys a line-item veto.  Second, to paraphrase a line from the under-appreciated Simon: The RomneyCare that came back from the Assembly is not the same RomneyCare the Governor signed. I’m not saying it’s a good law — it isn’t.  But there are things about it which, if Mitt Romney had campaigned on, he might have sewn up his nomination much sooner.  From Forbes: Just prior to the [RomneyCare signing] ceremony, Romney’s aides had announced that the Governor would be vetoing several key provisions of the bill, including its employer mandate that forced all companies […]

“The Upside-Down Constitution” Pioneer Members’ Breakfast feat. Michael Greve, AEI Scholar

Pioneer Institute and The Federalist Society co-sponsored this breakfast event featuring special guest, Michael S. Greve, John G. Searle Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Greve presented an overview of federalism and the US Constitution, charting federalism’s path from its philosophical beginnings through its historic transformation. Dr. Greve is author of the newly released The Upside-Down Constitution, a provocative legal treatise that dispels much of the conventional wisdom to date on the US Constitution. In his talk, Dr. Greve described how and why the original vision of federalism has given way to a system that rewards self-serving interest groups, and offered thoughts on what a new federalism might look like. Dr. Greve specializes in constitutional law, courts, and business […]

California Wants A Tax Hike to Pay For Common Core

http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/california-wants-a-tax-hike-to-pay-for-common-core/ Lance Izumi, writing in Fox and Hounds, is highly skeptical of new tax hike plans from Governor Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers which they say are needed to close a $9 billion budget deficit. He notes that without the new spending obligations that come with adopting the national education standards the state’s education finances wouldn’t be in such perilous condition. He refers to a study by the Pioneer Institute and the Pacific Research Institute that estimates the cost for retraining California’s teachers will be close to $630 million, while replacing textbooks will add another $483 million. In additional the new tests will have an associated annual cost of $35 million and the state will have to […]

Ex-Medicare chief Berwick: “The medical device industry is doing a lot to protect patients”

http://www.massdevice.com/news/ex-medicare-chief-berwick-medical-device-industry-doing-lot-protect-patients?page=3 Erstwhile Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chief Dr. Donald Berwick tells MassDevice.com that, despite a clutch of headline-grabbing recalls, medical device makers are doing good work for patients. Public health pioneer and onetime Centers for Medicare & Medicaid chief Dr. Donald Berwick gave some props to the medical device industry ahead of a presentation at Harvard Medical School this week. Despite a recent stream of  high-profile recalls and the ever-present clamor among consumer groups calling for more stringent regulatory oversight, Berwick said he remains a fan of the industry. Also seen in Mass Device, Iowa Hospital Association Blog, and HealthLeaders Media

On Birthday 6, Reflections on “RomneyCare”

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/health_stew/2012/04/on_birthday_6_reflections_on_r.html Prior to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, hardly anyone referred to Massachusetts health reform as “RomneyCare.” As with “ObamaCare,” it was a term of choice only for critics, most of them out-of-state.  The libertarian Cato Institute began using it back in 2006.  I recall former Boston Medical Center Chief Elaine Ullian using it early and often because she opposed the law’s funding reductions for safety net hospitals.  Not many more. Those of us who worked on the law’s passage and implementation never used the term for a simple reason. The law Romney proposed in 2005 differed markedly from the law approved by the Democratic-dominated Legislature in 2006.  Romney wanted everyone to have access to flimsy, high-deductible coverage; the Legislature […]

2012 Hewitt Health Care Lecture

Pioneer’s 2012 Hewitt Health Care Lecture enjoyed record attendance, and featured a presentation by Dr. Don Berwick, formerly the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Berwick was followed by James Capretta, Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Viewpoints: Minn. Missteps With Medicaid Are Object Lesson; ‘Defensive’ Medicine: Red Herring Or Key To Health Costs?

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/April/27/fri-opinions.aspx Minneapolis Star Tribune: State Hit Hard Over Medicaid Missteps It was painful to watch Minnesota’s stellar health care reputation and its Human Services commissioner, Lucinda Jesson, get pummeled on Wednesday at a congressional hearing on Medicaid oversight. The sharp, high-profile criticism of Minnesota’s medical program for the poor sent a strong message to officials in all states: They are financial stewards of federal tax dollars, not just state funds. That responsibility is too often overlooked in a flawed Medicaid system that doesn’t reward states for spending wisely on this critical safety-net program but instead gives them incentives to try to milk as many federal dollars as possible (4/26). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ‘Defensive Medicine’ Can Come With Price As a […]

Obama’s 2013 Education Budget and Blueprint: A Costly Expansion of Federal Control

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/04/obamas-2013-education-budget-and-blueprint-a-costly-expansion-of-fed “Budgets are about choices.” Such was President Barack Obama’s message during a recent speech to the National Governors Association. President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget request and supplemental education spending proposals make the Administration’s own choice perfectly clear: Continue to increase federal education spending and federal control over education. The Department of Education, a 4,200-person agency, has enjoyed dramatic funding increases year after year since its creation over three decades ago. The President’s FY 2013 budget request includes a 2.5 percent increase (over 2012 levels) for the Department of Education—the largest increase for any domestic agency in the proposed budget. But nearly a half century of ever-increasing federal education spending and control has failed to improve academic outcomes. […]

Ex-Obama Medicare Chief Don Berwick: Consumer-Driven Health Care a ‘Vicious Idea’

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/04/11/ex-obama-medicare-chief-don-berwick-consumer-driven-health-care-a-vicious-idea/ When Don Berwick left his post as acting administration of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, I thought it was a win-win. Berwick, would “finally, once again, be able to say what he truly thinks” about the “darkness of private enterprise.” Well, it didn’t take long. Last night, according to the Boston Globe, Berwick described the idea of giving more patients direct control over their own health spending as a “vicious idea.” “Most people do not use health care as a recreational good,” argued Berwick, at yesterday’s debate sponsored by Boston’s Pioneer Institute. But Berwick makes a logical leap: are non-recreational goods somehow immune to the laws of economics? I’ll have more to say when the Pioneer […]

Dover, Sherborn jobs: More out of work

http://www.wickedlocal.com/sherborn/news/x221033500/Dover-Sherborn-jobs-More-out-of-work#axzz2NReSO0VO Dover-Sherborn — Local unemployment rates fell or remained flat in about two-thirds of  Massachusetts towns and cities last month, according to estimates from the state  Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. It actually went up  slightly in Dover and Sherborn. For Dover, unemployment went up from 116 people (4.2 percent) in January to  118 people (4.2 percent) in February. The rate is down from February 2011 when  124 people (4.5 percent) were collecting unemployment. In Sherborn, the rise was a bit steeper, going from 85 people (4.5 percent)  in January to 92 (4.9 percent) in February. That was slightly better than  February 2011 when 94 people (5 percent) were listed as unemployed. This does not include people whose […]