Michigan allows several authorities, including local school districts and state universities, to hold the charter of charter schools. Robert Thompson, a retired businessman wants to build, out of his own money, $200 million worth of school buildings for some new charter schools for Detroit. The proposal has been hindered by the refusal of the Detroit Public Schools chief, who has used his friends in the […]
John LaPlante
About John LaPlante
Posts by John LaPlante:
Megaprojects, Cost Overruns, and Political Games
Cost overruns are a given when dealing with large public works projects. The Chicago-area based Daily Herald has a lengthy story today about the subject, and a study that says Chicago officials are underestimating the true cost of expanding O’Hare International Airport. If true, O’Hare expansion would follow in this tradition: The Big Dig, a road project underneath Boston Harbor, quadrupled in cost, to $15 billion. […]
Sprawl, Sprawl, Sprawl, Sprawl
The U.S. Census Bureau is out with a new release on the nation’s shifting demographics. If you’ve read much about demographics, you’ll not be surprised to learn that the top five growing cities during the time 2000-2002 were in Arizona and Nevada. The Bureau also notes that Joliet, Ill., is the 10th-fastest growing incorporated area, growing at a clip of 11.4 percent. This provides the suburban […]
Aided by Deregulation, Upstart Airlines Revive Old Airport
The suburban Chicago Daily Herald reports that Midway Airport, on the city’s south side, is thriving. While the rest of the aviation industry is struggling, Midway is thriving. Airline traffic nationwide was down last year, but Midway handled the most passengers it’s ever served: 17 million, a 9 percent increase over 2001. O’Hare had nearly 67 million passengers, down about 1 percent. Why? Two words: Southwest […]
Conceal Carry Takes Effect in Another State
Recently, Minnesota became the 34th state to enact conceal-carry, or “shall issue” laws. Typically, these laws provide a statewide standard for who is and who is not allowed to carry a concealed handgun. Absent such laws, local authorities have greater discretion. As the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, the new law “calls on the state’s 87 sheriffs to give permits to law-abiding, mentally competent residents who […]
Government spending + democracy = threat to freedom
In the modern world, democracy is the most effective form of government we have found for advancing personal freedom and human well-being. As Winston Churchill allegedly said, democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others. Look at the countries that are the wealthiest, healthiest, with the most output of creative talent, and are most likely to respect civil liberties, and you are […]
Trust your college savings to the state?
From the people whose unrestrained appetite has brought billion-dollar deficits …. college plans for your children? Today’s Wall Street Journal [paid registration required] carries a page one article on the way that states are changing the rules on 529 plans that parents use to save for their children’s college education. While it is an interesting story of feuding states, there’s a more serious philosophical problem that […]