Thomas Frank Says Bipartisanship Is a Silly Beltway Obsession

230 students: Thomas Frank says it's not about the parties getting along, it's about someone passing good policies. Bipartisanship is a topic we haven't discussed in class yet. What do you think? Should we expect our leaders to work in a bipartisan fashion, or should the spoils of political power go to the victors?

Frank, by the way, is the author of the book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" that said Christian conservatives in Kansas aren't voting their economic interests and should be with the Democratic Party.

We are watching industries crumble, Wall Street firms disappear, unemployment spike, and unprecedented government intervention. And our designated opinion leaders want to know: Is Obama up this week? Is he down? And is his leadership style more like Bill Clinton's, or Abraham Lincoln's?

Above all else stands the burning question of bipartisanship. Whatever else the politicians might say they're about, our news analysts know that this is the true object of the nation's desire, the topic to which those slippery presidential spokesmen need always to be dragged back.

via Thomas Frank Says Bipartisanship Is a Silly Beltway Obsession - WSJ.com.

What Kind Of Green Jobs Will Stimulus Spawn?

236 students: This NPR story discusses the costs and benefits of using federal economic stimulus money to create green jobs. Is it more efficient to spend money creating green jobs, versus regular jobs such as road construction? That's exactly the kind of thinking you should be doing as you study cost-benefit analysis in this class. Have a listen to the story.

The economic stimulus plan will provide roughly $70 billion for the nation's energy economy, most of it for "green" energy. Whether that will buy more jobs than spending the money elsewhere is open to debate, but green energy advocates view it as good news.

via What Kind Of Green Jobs Will Stimulus Spawn? : NPR.

Rep. Putnam To Run For Ag. Commissioner In Fla.

230 students: This NPR story is less about U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam leaving the House and more about his analysis of what the Republican Party has to do to regain power. Have a listen.

Linda Wertheimer talks to Representative Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican and former member of the House Republican leadership, about his decision to leave Congress at the end of his term and run for Florida's agriculture commissioner.

via Rep. Putnam To Run For Ag. Commissioner In Fla. : NPR.

RNC Elects Michael Steele As Chairman

230 students: This NPR story about the RNC's first black chairman illustrates well how the party organization and party in government work together. Have a listen.

The Republican National Committee picked former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele as its new chairman. Steele, the party's first African-American chairman, beat four challengers, including Mike Duncan, the incumbent.

via RNC Elects Michael Steele As Chairman : NPR.

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - News - Local

230 students: In the language we've been using, Fahleson is saying the Nebraska party in the electorate is still solidly Republican. Do you agree? Do you agree Sen. Ben Nelson, a moderate Democrat, is in trouble because Democrats have control of the party in government?

Fahleson said he doesn’t believe Obama’s 2008 victories in Omaha and Lincoln indicate a Democratic surge in Nebraska’s two largest cities.

“It was Obama,� he said.

“The cult of personality, an Obama phenomenon that doesn’t translate into ‘I want to vote for Democrats.’�

via JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - News - Local.

Time is right for employer-sponsored stop-smoking plans

236 students: How would you calculate a cost-benefit ratio using this information? What else would you want to know to determine whether the benefits of a quit-smoking assistance program outweigh the costs?

Consider the state of Oklahoma, which early last year provided its employees with a new insurance benefit that offers smoking cessation assistance. Within the first six months, the program helped an estimated 570 state workers successfully quit smoking.

According to state health officials, this will result in $2.2 million in annual savings through reduced health care costs and increased employee productivity. The state plan, which costs approximately $148 per recipient, provides state workers with the option of receiving two full 90-day courses of any FDA-approved prescription tobacco cessation product each year and support through the state’s Tobacco Helpline.

via JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Opinion - Columns.

Budget woes prompt states to rethink prison policy

236 students: Read this story and consider how you would assign a dollar benefit to such things as public safety and inmate rehabilitation. What are those things worth, in dollars and cents? You need to figure that out in order to comprehensively analyze the costs and benefits of prison-policy reform.

Even before the recent financial meltdown, policy-makers in most states were wrestling with ways to contain corrections costs. The Pew Center's Public Safety Performance Project has projected that state and federal prison populations — under current policies — will grow by more than 190,000 by 2011, to about 1.7 million, at a cost to the states of $27.5 billion.

The Council of State Government's Justice Center has been working with 10 states to develop options for curbing prison populations without jeopardizing public safety. Tactics used in Texas and Kansas have included early release for inmates who complete specified programs, more sophisticated community supervision of offenders, and expanded treatment and diversion programs.

via The Associated Press: Budget woes prompt states to rethink prison policy.