It’s Friday!
What they’re saying about the Foundation
– “Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the Foundation more than ever. And y’all are needed more than ever! I’m glad if I can help in ANY way. … Thanks for what you guys do!” – Dorothy J. Adams, Eatonton, Georgia
Events
– April 19: Mark your calendar for a noon Policy Briefing Luncheon at the Georgian Club with Samuel Staley, Ph.D., director of urban growth and land use policy at Reason Foundation, on “Getting the Funding You Want for the Transportation You Need.” The cost to attend this event is $35. Register at http://www.gppf.org/default.asp?pt=eventdescr&EI=79.
– Missed an event? Policy Briefing Luncheons and Leadership Breakfasts are videotaped and available for online streaming at FoundationTV on the Foundation’s Web site athttp://tinyurl.com/67yqv7a. Video of the Foundation’s two recent health care events are available here: http://tinyurl.com/4d7c4tj.
Taxes and spending
– What if the United States were a business? According to an analysis by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, “By the standards of any public corporation, USA Inc.’s financials are discouraging.” It found “cash flow is deep in the red (by almost $1.3 trillion last year, or -$11,000 per household), and USA Inc.’s net worth is negative and deteriorating. … Since the Great Depression, USA Inc. has steadily added ‘business lines’ and, with the best of intentions, created various entitlement programs…. [F]unding for these programs has been woefully inadequate – and getting worse.” The analysis also showed that more than 35 percent of the population receives entitlement dollars or is on the government payroll, up from less than 20 percent in 1966. Source: KPCB.com
Join our Forum!
– If you like the Friday Facts, you’ll love the Foundation’s interactive online community, The Forum. Read Mike Klein’s article about the Leadership Breakfast keynoted by school choice researcher and author Jay Greene. Greene said American public education is in “a productivity crisis because per pupil spending adjusted for inflation has more than doubled in the last four decades while outcomes for students have been flat. Kids are not significantly worse off than they were four decades ago, but they are no better off.” Share your feedback on the commentary by former U.S. Senate candidate Allen Buckley examining whether Georgia’s pension liabilities are a problem. Register and join the discussion today at http://forum.georgiapolicy.org!
Health care
– Many patients are unaware that their physician may not prescribe the treatment he thinks most effective because he’s penalized for doing so by the insurance company, Dr. Richard Dolinar of the Heartland Institute points out in a commentary in The Washington Times. States are considering new regulations to deal with this problem, but Dolinar declares it “a symptom of overreliance on third-party payers, a lack of transparency and existing regulations that limit competition among insurers and providers.” Instead of greater government intrusion, he advocates patient-empowering policies including greater transparency and public policies that reward patients for paying directly for medical expenses, such as through Health Savings Accounts. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/666guxc.
Quotations
– “Many fiscal conservatives in and out of Congress see the current fiscal deficit crisis not as a debacle but as a fresh beginning. They welcome it as an opportunity to return the federal-aid [transportation] program to its original roots, refocus its mission on legitimate federal objectives, restore its lost sense of purpose, and give states and localities more voice in managing their transportation future. In time, the recession will end, the economy will start growing again, and the federal budget deficit hopefully will come under control. … For now, prudence, good sense and the common welfare dictate that we, as a nation, learn to live within our means.” – C. Kenneth Orski
Opportunities
– The Foundation for Economic Education offers seven seminars in 2011 – two for high school students and five for college students, ranging from basic economics to current events. FEE, one of the oldest free-market organizations in the nation, offers full scholarships to all successful applicants. The deadline for applications is March 31. Find out more at www.fee.org/seminars. ■ The Mises Institute is now accepting applications for 2011 Summer Fellowships and Mises University. Find out more athttps://mises.org/resources/4777. ■ The National Taxpayers Union and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation offer internships in a variety of fields for college students and recent graduates to learn more about limited government and free-market principles. Internships are granted on a rolling basis and may take place during any time of the year. Participants may receive academic credit or a stipend. Apply at NTU/NTUF Internship Program application.
– Visit www.georgiapolicy.org to read the Foundation’s latest commentary, “Energy Solutions in Pursuit of a Problem,” by Benita M. Dodd.
Have a great weekend.
Kelly McCutchen
FRIDAY FACTS is made possible by the generosity of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s donors. If you enjoy the FRIDAY FACTS, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to help advance our important mission by clicking here. Visit our Web site at www.georgiapolicy.org. Join The Forum at http://forum.georgiapolicy.org/. Become a fan of the Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gppf.