No Voucher Left Behind

Republican Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been criticizing the current state of public education and calling for publicly funded vouchers to help children attend private schools.

By making K-12 public education a Presidential campaign issue, Romney is implying that the Federal Government should have a greater role in public education, although he says that he wants a smaller Federal Government. Romney is also implicitly criticizing No Child Left Behind, a law promoted by George W. Bush and other Republicans which expanded the role of the Federal Government in public education.

Romney is also implying that he wants the Federal Government to establish and fund a voucher program. Instead of imposing this on taxpayers, Romney and other voucher supporters could themselves establish and fund scholarships for children to attend private schools.

Merit Pay for the D.C. Council

A salary plan that is based on teacher pay, the minimum wage, and the unemployment rate is proposed for the Council of the District of Columbia. Under the plan, higher salaries result from raising teacher pay or the minimum wage or from lower unemployment rates. The plan could be adapted to almost any full-time state legislature. The full proposal is posted on this site in a PDF file.

The governments of the District of Columbia and many states have been imposing merit pay on teachers, so it seems fair to turn the tables on our legislators and subject them to a merit pay plan. I am proposing a plan for the Council of the District of Columbia that is based on teacher salaries, the minimum wage, and the unemployment rate. This plan forces the Council to live with what they legislate, provides an incentive to improve the welfare of workers, and ensures that D.C. residents get something in return for money spent on council salaries.

My plan consists of two components, a base salary and a bonus. The base equals the annual equivalent of the minimum wage plus the salary of public-school teachers with only a bachelor’s degree and no experience. With current figures, the base salary would be 8.25 x 52 x 40 + 49,085 = 66,245. The bonus is determined by the unemployment rate so that lower unemployment rates bring higher bonuses. I recommend a bonus cap of 55,000 because this amount added to the base salary is 121,000, which is close to current Council salaries.

The bonus amount for the next fiscal year is calculated by multiplying the cap by a factor whose value ranges between 0 and 1. This factor, call it p, is calculated by applying a formula (specified in the full proposal) to the unemployment rate from a specified period of time. If unemployment decreases from the previous year, the factor increases, and thus the bonus increases. Likewise, if unemployment increases, the bonus decreases. The salary is calculated by multiplying the bonus cap times the factor and adding that product to the base, that is, salary = 66245 + 55000 x p.

Clearing the Smoke over Condos

A recent commentary in The Washington Post (“Airing Out a Fiery Issue”, January 21, 2012, p. E1) made me question why anyone would prefer owning a condominium over owning a single-family home or renting an apartment.

The commentary examines the debate over condo owners’ rights to smoke in their units and the effect it has on their neighbors. I have met at least one condo owner who has had second-hand smoke seep into their unit, and a Google search on the terms “condominium” and “nuisance” shows links to several other instances of this problem. Barking dogs, loud music, people coming and going, and electrical malfunctions can also be nuisances. In fact, I have met a condo owner who experienced problems with her electrical service after some neighbors installed a jacuzzi in their unit.

In a condo building, regulating or controlling the behavior of neighbors can be difficult because of the conflict between the property rights of owners and the expectations of the condo association. For an apartment building, on the other hand, the landlord can stipulate rules that control nuisances and guarantee tenants’ rights to peacefully enjoy living in their units and can evict tenants who violate their lease agreements.

Condo ownership raises the following questions in my mind. What if major building-wide plumbing or electrical problems arise? What is the cost of insurance for a condo, when compared to that of an apartment or a single-family home? Finally, why would anyone own part of a building?

An Elected Board for WMATA

This is a letter that I sent to D.C. Councilmembers Mary Cheh (Ward 3) and Tommy Wells (Ward 6) about electing D.C. representatives to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) board.

At past WMATA hearings on proposed service cuts and fare increases, I have demanded an elected board that consists of riders who are elected by riders.

Dear Ms. Cheh:

Everyday, five Metro stations and least twelve Metrobus routes are used to take Ward 3 residents to their work or leisure destinations. I am sure that you are aware of the safety and budget problems that WMATA has had over the last few years. Considering the people who have sat on the board, I am not surprised that these problems persist.

The WMATA board has failed to formulate a dedicated funding plan and solve other long-standing problems because its members do not have to live with the consequences of their failures. They do not know what it’s like to take two buses to work, often waiting 20-30 minutes for the second bus, or how it feels to walk up a long escalator that is not running. Furthermore, I doubt that any of the board members is feeling the impact of the recent fare increases as much as the working poor are.

Before the recent turnover on the board, only one of the four board members from the District of Columbia rode Metrobus or Metrorail, according to a February 22, 2009, article in The Washington Post. The other three–Jim Graham, Michael Brown, and Neil Albert–refused to use the transit system. Brown also regularly missed meetings, according to the Washington Examiner. Graham, Albert, and Brown have left the board, but their replacements were selected in the same manner–by appointment.

Recently, D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown abused the appointment privilege by removing Tommy Wells, a dedicated user of public transportation, from the board.

The failure of the WMATA board to solve long-standing problems and its vulnerability to political abuses illustrate why its members should be elected rather than appointed. Bus and subway riders, not SUV drivers, should decide who sits on the board, and it should consist of riders who are elected by riders. District residents, preferably Metro riders exclusively, should have the opportunity elect their representatives to the WMATA board.

The Digital Divide–from the Other Side

Much of the discussion about the “digital divide,” the disparity in internet access between the rich and the poor, is framed in terms of availability of a high-speed connection through DSL or cable. However, internet access depends on hardware and software as much as it does on connection speed.

DSL and cable are not the only ways to connect to the internet. Unless you are planning to exchange large music and video files online, dialup works fine for the individual user. Dialup is more efficient than it has ever been, it’s relatively inexpensive, and it’s available to anyone who has a telephone line.

Your hardware and software affect your access to the internet as much as connection speed does. As new versions of HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Adobe Flash are implemented, new versions of web browsers are needed to render the websites that use these technologies. Unless you upgrade or replace your computer often, the latest version of your favorite web browser may not be available for your hardware or operating system.

I recently had to retire my turquiose-blue G3 iMac simply because I could no longer use the internet with it. Otherwise, it is an excellent machine loaded with useful software. I could afford a newer machine, a laptop, only because of the $600 tax rebate that I received in 2008. When I no longer can use the laptop on the internet, will I be able to afford a replacement?

Your ability to pay for a state-of-the-art computer determines your access to the internet as much as your connection speed does. Used computers and inexpensive tablets are available, but for how long will they be usable?

Small Business Saturday

November 26, 2011, is declared Small Business Saturday to encourage consumers to shop at locally-owned retailers.

I generally prefer locally-owned businesses and encourage shoppers to patronize them, but I question their absolute value to local economies. First of all, chain stores and local businesses are subject to the same sales tax rates. Second, their economic impact depends greatly on how much they pay their workers. If the owners of a locally-owned business hoard the profits while the workers are living paycheck-to-paycheck, the economic impact is minimal.

The best way to ensure that your retail expenditures benefit the local economy is to shop at stores in which workers have collective bargaining, because workers that belong to a union are paid better than non-union workers are.

In the retail sector, grocery-store chains are where you will most likely find unionized workers. Many unionized supermarkets are marked by the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) label at the entrance. In addition to food, supermarkets nowadays offer over-the-counter and prescription medicines, cookware and other housewares, seasonal items, auto accessories, batteries, light bulbs, and coffee and meals to go.

In addition, many unionized and non-unionized retailers rely on Teamsters drivers to deliver merchandise to their stores. These include Home Depot, Kroger, Giant Food, Safeway, and some Ace Hardware stores.

The Teamsters union also represents United Parcel Service (UPS) workers. Postal-service workers also have collective bargaining, through the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Say ‘No’ to Term Limits

At-large D.C. councilmember Vincent Orange is proposing term limits for the mayor, the council, and other elected officials. Term limits disenfranchise voters from re-electing officials whom they believe are serving them well. This article (PDF) in the October, 2011, issue of Mid-City DC presents additional arguments against term limits.

I don’t understand what term limits do to promote democracy. I believe that improving voter education, encouraging higher turnout, removing special-interest money and influence from politics, and opening debates to so-called “third” parties will do more to make our political system more democratic.

MLK vs Obama

President Obama did not deserve to speak at the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial.

Dr. King opposed the Vietnam War; Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan. Dr. King refused to compromise with the racist establishment of his day; Obama is building his political career on compromising with the corporate establishment. Dr. King had a clear vision for America; Obama doesn’t.

What Obama and Dr. King have in common is only skin deep. The King memorial is dedicated not to a black man, but to a courageous man.

Occupy the Precincts

I believe that the effort and time spent on Occupy Wall Street and concurrent protests could be better spent on raising money and identifying progressive Democrat, Green, Socialist, or independent candidates for the 2012 elections. Protests offer an opportunity to express outrage and to bond with like-minded people, but progress and change really become effective at the ballot box.

While listening to the coverage of the protests in Wisconsin earlier this year, I wondered where all the protesters were during the 2010 election.