Now this is interesting. The report from Michigan State University, which I mentioned in a blog post, may have been plagiarized. A scholar at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, for which I have done some work, noticed some similarities between the MSU report and work published elsewhere. Click here for more from Mackinac.
John LaPlante
About John LaPlante
Posts by John LaPlante:
A Yellow Light on District Consolidation
Should Michigan force-feed a consolidation of school districts? Perhaps. After all, public schools are funded almost entirely with public money, and a large chunk of that comes through the political apparatus in Lansing. A new report from Michigan State University suggests that consolidation could save Michigan taxpayers a lot of money. But should lawmakers proceed? The answer is complicated. Consider, for example, the the introduction to […]
MSU Prof: We’re over-medicating children
Currently, 4.5 million children are diagnosed with ADHD. Todd Elder, a professor at MSU, says that close to 20 percent of those children may be diagnosed incorrectly, simply because of an arbitrary line drawn on the calendar. According to a university press release, these children may be “misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest ” and most immature ” in their […]
Avoiding Gerrymanders, Iowa-Style
Is it possible to take the gerrymandering out of redistricting? I’ve long been intrigued by the approach used by Iowa, which relies on an independent, non-partisan commission that is given strict instructions on how it is to draw the lines. Stateline.org looks at the Iowa approach and contrasts it with those used in other states.
Are you “fun-employed”?
Here are a few things on unemployment that I’ve been saving up. First, Anthony Randazzo reminds us that hard cases make for bad policy. He sympathizes with a relative of his in the Detroit metro who has been unemployed for a long time. At the same time, he opposes extending the period for which people can collect unemployment insurance. (At some point–perhaps we’ve already reached […]
More anti-biking silliness
The Guardian of the UK reports on a politician in Colorado who sees a pro-biking scheme, and sees … a plot to bring about global government, or at least threats to personal freedoms to drive cars. Sorry, dude, but that’s just a counterproductive argument. I’m with you if you think that some cycling enthusiasts have developed delusions of a green planet. Or if you point […]
An SOS for the SoS Website
I wanted to look at the election results from yesterday, so I went to the website of the Michigan secretary of state. What did I find when I clicked through to the election results page, and specifically (say), the page for the governor’s race? A mess. The SoS site does not present the statewide vote totals of each candidate on one screen. (Note: I’ve got […]
Missouri Voters Say No to Key Element of ObamaCare
In 1978, California’s Proposition 13 set off a taxpayer revolt that arguably launched a conservative movement that among other things sent Ronald Reagan to the White House. Might the outcome of a ballot proposal in today’s election in Missouri signal something equally significant? In a number of states, groups have put together efforts to challenge ObamaCare through enacting laws or constitutional amendments that say citizens […]
Too Many Conservatives in GOP Gubernatorial Race?
To ask the obvious question, did the conservative cause within the GOP suffer from a surplus of candidates, which split the vote? That’s going to have to be asked if early projections about Rick Snynder’s win are accurate. From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/watercooler/index.php?blogid=440
Citizen legislatures make for smaller government than professional ones
The suggestion by Charles Owens that Michigan adopt a part-time legislature is a good one. If you’re in favor of some fiscal sanity, as well as a smaller scope of government, the idea of a part-time legislature has an intuitive appeal. Career politicians have helped bring Michigan and many other states to the brink. As it turns out, a pair of academics have cranked out […]