“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Dr. Charles Thomas Sell has been held in a brutal prison for over five
years, based on charges originating from a mere Medicaid billing
dispute. ”’He has not yet even received a trial.”’ The federal government
seeks to forcibly medicate him with mind-altering drugs, which he
refuses. The government says it needs to drug him in order to make him
competent to stand trial. He seems plenty competent to us.

With the assistance of our legal briefs. Dr. Sell has appealed his case
all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision is expected next
week.

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET (Friday, June 13), the popular NBC television show
“Dateline” is featuring Dr. Sell’s story. It should be fascinating to
watch. Check your local listings for the channel in your area. This
abuse of federal power may finally receive a healthy dose of public
scrutiny.

“Never did we think our own country would imprison a peaceful defendant
for over five years without a trial,” commented AAPS General Counsel
Andrew Schlafly. “We used to complain when the Communists engaged in
such tactics, but now it’s occurring right here.”

Visit https://www.aapsonline.org to read more about Dr. Sell.

Above article is quoted from Association of American Physicians &
Surgeons June 12, 2003 https://www.aapsonline.org

– Family Flexibility Act a Key Issue for Small Businesses

A key small business vote in the U.S. House is expected soon on H.R.
1982, the Working Families Flexibility Act.

This bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Judy
Biggert (R-IL) would allow hourly workers, through a voluntary agreement
with their employer, to choose paid time off as compensation for working
overtime hours.

“The law governing the private sector workforce has been frozen for more
than 60 years, locked in a time when women worked in the home, most
families had only one wage earner, and nobody went to kids’ soccer
games,” said Biggert, Vice Chair of the Education and Workforce
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which has jurisdiction over wage
and hour matters. “Times have changed, families have changed, and the
workplace has changed. Yet the law has not changed.”

“Workers in federal, state and local governments have been allowed to
use flexible work schedules for nearly 30 years,” said Biggert.
“Federal workers use it and like it. Police officers use it and like
it. Park District workers use it and like it. This bill gives
employees choice and flexibility — and that is what they want.”

Under Biggert’s bill, if the employer and the employee agree — or in
union shops, the union and the employer agree — to allow the employee to
start accruing overtime hours as compensatory or family time, the
employee has the option of banking up to 160 hours that he or she can
use at a later time as time and a half off. The bill allows an employee
to cancel the agreement at any time, and it provides protection against
employer coercion of employees to accrue or use comp time.

For more background on this legislation, go to: The Family Flexibility
Act

Above article is quoted from Small Business Survival Committee, SBSC
Weekly Briefing on Business and Government 6/5/03 https://www.sbsc.org

”Roots (Food for Thought)”

– How to Solve Our Health Care Mess? Put Consumers in Charge

By Greg Scandlen

WPC Adjunct Scholar

For too many years Americans have been divorced from the consequences of
their health
care decisions. Third-party payment has enabled us to see a doctor,
purchase medications,
and receive surgery, without a thought about cost. In some minds this is
a wonderful thing
— get all the health care services you need without agonizing over
affordability.

But being unconcerned about affordability carries a price. If we as
consumers are not
worried about cost, we spend more than we would otherwise. That puts
pressure on the
people who actually pay the bills. If we are not worried about cost,
they certainly are.
They will not give us a blank check. They will limit our access to
services, one way or
another. Regardless of the kind of third-party involved, whether an
insurer, an employer,
or the government, they will decide what is worth paying for and what is
not. That is the
cost we pay for “free” care provided by a third-party.

Ultimately, there is only one way to put consumers back in the driver’s
seat. Give them
control over the resources, so they can make their own value judgments
and trade-offs
about their own health care priorities.

Getting from where we are today to a system in which people have control
over their own
health resources is not going to be easy. Fortunately tools are being
created to help us
make the transition. Many of these tools are relatively primitive, but
they will get better
every year. With experience, we can fine-tune some of the new ideas
listed below to help
limit the growth in health care costs and return control to health care
consumers. Here are
some of the ideas that are putting consumers in charge.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) enable workers to place part of their
salary into an
employer-sponsored account to pay directly for health care expenses. A
provision of FSAs
requires unspent funds to be forfeited to the employer at the end of the
year.

Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are actually owned by the employee in
conjunction
with a high deductible insurance plan. Any unused funds stay in the
accounts and build
interest over time, similar to a 401(k) account.

Indemnity insurance, unlike a third-party payment system, is a
“two-party” contract in
which an insured person pays a premium for future protection, and the
insurer pays money
to the insured person when a loss occurs. The consumer is paid the
benefit directly, and is
then responsible for paying the health provider. There is no expectation
that the insurer
have anything to do with the provider of care.

Defined Contribution is a system in which the employer provides a fixed
payment
dedicated to employee health insurance benefits, and workers then use
that contribution as
core funding for a variety of benefit plans or benefit structures, often
supplemented with
their own funds.

Opt-Out Provisions allow workers to take their employer’s regular health
care
contribution in cash and use it to supplement a spouse’s coverage, or
for both earners to
pool their funds to purchase coverage for the whole family.

Independent Physicians represent a growing movement in the physician
community to
opt-out of insurance plans and the Medicare program. Many doctors are
switching to a
cash-based system, either independently or as part of a network of
similarly inclined
physicians, like SimpleCare. These physicians are finding substantial
savings in overhead
costs, which enable them to charge their patients less for services.

New Information Systems allow doctors and patients to benefit from the
transactional
power of the Internet. Services now available online include doctor
quality and price
information, making appointments and getting follow-up care, online
billing, information
on treatments and finding disease-specific support groups.

Today there is a burst of innovation and energy going into creating a
new approach for health care financing. The new era will put patients
back where they belong — in the driver’s seat of the health care system.
After all, health care is not primarily about doctors, hospitals,
insurers, and it is certainly not about employers and the government.
Health care is about people. The best way for people to express their
needs, values and desires is through a market-based system that gives
them the power to spend resources in a way that reflects those values.

Washington Policy Center Adjunct Scholar Greg Scandlen is director of
Galen Institute’s
Center for Consumer Driven Health Care.

”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the
individual who can labor in freedom.” — Albert Einstein

”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, 1314 S. King Street, Suite 1163, Honolulu, HI 96814. Phone/fax is 808-591-9193, cell phone is 808-864-1776. Send him an email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’See the Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Dr. Charles Thomas Sell has been held in a brutal prison for over five
years, based on charges originating from a mere Medicaid billing
dispute. ”’He has not yet even received a trial.”’ The federal government
seeks to forcibly medicate him with mind-altering drugs, which he
refuses. The government says it needs to drug him in order to make him
competent to stand trial. He seems plenty competent to us.

With the assistance of our legal briefs. Dr. Sell has appealed his case
all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision is expected next
week.

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET (Friday, June 13), the popular NBC television show
“Dateline” is featuring Dr. Sell’s story. It should be fascinating to
watch. Check your local listings for the channel in your area. This
abuse of federal power may finally receive a healthy dose of public
scrutiny.

“Never did we think our own country would imprison a peaceful defendant
for over five years without a trial,” commented AAPS General Counsel
Andrew Schlafly. “We used to complain when the Communists engaged in
such tactics, but now it’s occurring right here.”

Visit https://www.aapsonline.org to read more about Dr. Sell.

Above article is quoted from Association of American Physicians &
Surgeons June 12, 2003 https://www.aapsonline.org

– Family Flexibility Act a Key Issue for Small Businesses

A key small business vote in the U.S. House is expected soon on H.R.
1982, the Working Families Flexibility Act.

This bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Judy
Biggert (R-IL) would allow hourly workers, through a voluntary agreement
with their employer, to choose paid time off as compensation for working
overtime hours.

“The law governing the private sector workforce has been frozen for more
than 60 years, locked in a time when women worked in the home, most
families had only one wage earner, and nobody went to kids’ soccer
games,” said Biggert, Vice Chair of the Education and Workforce
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which has jurisdiction over wage
and hour matters. “Times have changed, families have changed, and the
workplace has changed. Yet the law has not changed.”

“Workers in federal, state and local governments have been allowed to
use flexible work schedules for nearly 30 years,” said Biggert.
“Federal workers use it and like it. Police officers use it and like
it. Park District workers use it and like it. This bill gives
employees choice and flexibility — and that is what they want.”

Under Biggert’s bill, if the employer and the employee agree — or in
union shops, the union and the employer agree — to allow the employee to
start accruing overtime hours as compensatory or family time, the
employee has the option of banking up to 160 hours that he or she can
use at a later time as time and a half off. The bill allows an employee
to cancel the agreement at any time, and it provides protection against
employer coercion of employees to accrue or use comp time.

For more background on this legislation, go to: The Family Flexibility
Act

Above article is quoted from Small Business Survival Committee, SBSC
Weekly Briefing on Business and Government 6/5/03 https://www.sbsc.org

”Roots (Food for Thought)”

– How to Solve Our Health Care Mess? Put Consumers in Charge

By Greg Scandlen

WPC Adjunct Scholar

For too many years Americans have been divorced from the consequences of
their health
care decisions. Third-party payment has enabled us to see a doctor,
purchase medications,
and receive surgery, without a thought about cost. In some minds this is
a wonderful thing
— get all the health care services you need without agonizing over
affordability.

But being unconcerned about affordability carries a price. If we as
consumers are not
worried about cost, we spend more than we would otherwise. That puts
pressure on the
people who actually pay the bills. If we are not worried about cost,
they certainly are.
They will not give us a blank check. They will limit our access to
services, one way or
another. Regardless of the kind of third-party involved, whether an
insurer, an employer,
or the government, they will decide what is worth paying for and what is
not. That is the
cost we pay for “free” care provided by a third-party.

Ultimately, there is only one way to put consumers back in the driver’s
seat. Give them
control over the resources, so they can make their own value judgments
and trade-offs
about their own health care priorities.

Getting from where we are today to a system in which people have control
over their own
health resources is not going to be easy. Fortunately tools are being
created to help us
make the transition. Many of these tools are relatively primitive, but
they will get better
every year. With experience, we can fine-tune some of the new ideas
listed below to help
limit the growth in health care costs and return control to health care
consumers. Here are
some of the ideas that are putting consumers in charge.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) enable workers to place part of their
salary into an
employer-sponsored account to pay directly for health care expenses. A
provision of FSAs
requires unspent funds to be forfeited to the employer at the end of the
year.

Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are actually owned by the employee in
conjunction
with a high deductible insurance plan. Any unused funds stay in the
accounts and build
interest over time, similar to a 401(k) account.

Indemnity insurance, unlike a third-party payment system, is a
“two-party” contract in
which an insured person pays a premium for future protection, and the
insurer pays money
to the insured person when a loss occurs. The consumer is paid the
benefit directly, and is
then responsible for paying the health provider. There is no expectation
that the insurer
have anything to do with the provider of care.

Defined Contribution is a system in which the employer provides a fixed
payment
dedicated to employee health insurance benefits, and workers then use
that contribution as
core funding for a variety of benefit plans or benefit structures, often
supplemented with
their own funds.

Opt-Out Provisions allow workers to take their employer’s regular health
care
contribution in cash and use it to supplement a spouse’s coverage, or
for both earners to
pool their funds to purchase coverage for the whole family.

Independent Physicians represent a growing movement in the physician
community to
opt-out of insurance plans and the Medicare program. Many doctors are
switching to a
cash-based system, either independently or as part of a network of
similarly inclined
physicians, like SimpleCare. These physicians are finding substantial
savings in overhead
costs, which enable them to charge their patients less for services.

New Information Systems allow doctors and patients to benefit from the
transactional
power of the Internet. Services now available online include doctor
quality and price
information, making appointments and getting follow-up care, online
billing, information
on treatments and finding disease-specific support groups.

Today there is a burst of innovation and energy going into creating a
new approach for health care financing. The new era will put patients
back where they belong — in the driver’s seat of the health care system.
After all, health care is not primarily about doctors, hospitals,
insurers, and it is certainly not about employers and the government.
Health care is about people. The best way for people to express their
needs, values and desires is through a market-based system that gives
them the power to spend resources in a way that reflects those values.

Washington Policy Center Adjunct Scholar Greg Scandlen is director of
Galen Institute’s
Center for Consumer Driven Health Care.

”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the
individual who can labor in freedom.” — Albert Einstein

”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, 1314 S. King Street, Suite 1163, Honolulu, HI 96814. Phone/fax is 808-591-9193, cell phone is 808-864-1776. Send him an email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’See the Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Without Significant Reform, These Programs Are Not Sustainable

On March 17, 2003 the government released its 2003 Social Security &
Medicare Trustees’ report. This year’s report explains like never
before just how serious Social Security’s long-term problem really are:

*Within 5 years, these programs will go from providing revenue to the Treasury to requiring funds from the Treasury.

*By 2040, these programs will consume nearly half of all federal income tax receipts.

Above article is quoted from National Center for Policy Analysis March
17, 2003 https://www.ncpa.org

– Women and Guns

American women are often taught to rely on emergency 911 police
responses in the event of physical aggression. Unfortunately, more than
95 percent of 911 calls cannot be dispatched to police in time to stop
a crime or arrest a suspect.

This sad statistic is unlikely to improve significantly in the near
future because almost every state has ruled that police have no legal
obligation to protect citizens from crime.

The slowness of 911 emergency response — and the ineffectiveness of
restraining orders issued by today

“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Without Significant Reform, These Programs Are Not Sustainable

On March 17, 2003 the government released its 2003 Social Security &
Medicare Trustees’ report. This year’s report explains like never
before just how serious Social Security’s long-term problem really are:

*Within 5 years, these programs will go from providing revenue to the Treasury to requiring funds from the Treasury.

*By 2040, these programs will consume nearly half of all federal income tax receipts.

Above article is quoted from National Center for Policy Analysis March
17, 2003 https://www.ncpa.org

– Women and Guns

American women are often taught to rely on emergency 911 police
responses in the event of physical aggression. Unfortunately, more than
95 percent of 911 calls cannot be dispatched to police in time to stop
a crime or arrest a suspect.

This sad statistic is unlikely to improve significantly in the near
future because almost every state has ruled that police have no legal
obligation to protect citizens from crime.

The slowness of 911 emergency response — and the ineffectiveness of
restraining orders issued by today

“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Summer Seminars in Political Economy (Oakland, Calif., August 11-15)

Most Americans believe in the importance of economics, but their
economic understanding often falls far short of their ideals. A recent
nationwide survey, for example, found that two out of three high school
students (and half of all adults) surveyed failed a test on economic
literacy. If the survey had asked questions on political theory and the
history of liberty, would they have fared any better?

Fortunately, the Independent Institute’s five-day-long Summer Seminars
in Political Economy can help narrow the gap. Designed as an
introduction for high school and college-age students, the Seminars
help students learn what economics is, how it affects their lives, and
how understanding economic principles can help them achieve the things
they care about.

Led by economist Brian Gothberg, each session includes a stimulating
lecture on economic principles, their applications in history and
current affairs, and plenty of classroom discussion to help students
become more confident in communicating their ideas and values.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

* Economics and Liberty: How the West grew rich and politically free

* Market Chaos or Hidden Order? How markets coordinate people’s plans

* Monopoly or Competition? How competition improves the quality of life

* Market Failure or Government Failure? Inflation, recession, the environment, and government policy

WHAT PREVIOUS SUMMER SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS SAY:

“This is a really great program! … I really enjoyed learning about all
the famous economists, their basic philosophies, and their influence on
economic reasoning. Overall, an exceptional week!”

“I enjoyed reading and hearing about different economists and seeing a
variety of views and beliefs. … I enjoyed having a small group, making
it easier to concentrate on everyone’s questions and statements, in a
more comfortable atmosphere.”

“I learned so much during the week about how our world works. The
things I learned were interesting, and I will be able to use them for
the rest of my life in all kinds of situations.”

INSTRUCTOR:

Brian Gothberg, Department of Economics and Finance, Golden Gate University; Lecturer in the History of Western Civilization, Academy of Art College

TIME:

8:30 a.m. – Noon

August 11-15

(Register early)

TUITION: $175

Room and board and one unit of college credit through Holy Names
College in Oakland, California, are also available at extra cost.

WHERE:

The Independent Institute

100 Swan Way

Oakland, CA 94621-1428

For more information, see
https://www.independent.org/tii/students/SummerSeminar.html or contact
Carl Close, Academic Affairs Director at the Independent Institute at
mailto:cclose@independent.org or (510) 632-1366.

Above article is quoted from The Independent Institute, The Lighthouse
5/12/03 https://www.independent.org

– Private Police Make a Difference

Residents in a crime-plagued Charlotte, North Carolina neighborhood
said they felt safer, heard fewer gunshots at night and saw fewer
people on street corners after private police began patrolling the area
this summer.

UNC-Charlotte professor James Cook conducted the study of the
neighborhood, Optimist Park, just north of uptown Charlotte. Cook
interviewed about 30 residents about their feelings about the private
patrols, which started in mid-June and lasted until mid-August.

The study showed 83 percent of residents said they felt safer and more
than 90 percent reported less loitering, while 77 percent reported
hearing fewer gunshots. Residents also said they saw the private police
patrol only twice daily. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police couldn’t
immediately show whether crime went up or down during the two months of
private patrol.

Neighborhood leaders raised the $17,800 in donations to pay for the
patrols from Carolina Crime Prevention, a private policing agency.
Leaders noted that they raised the money after a city-appointed board
turned down their request.

Above article is quoted from Privatization Watch November 2002

”Roots (Food for Thought)”

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Geoffrey F. Segal

Published: The Heartland Institute 04/01/2003

The city of Stockton, California just approved a 20-year, $600 million
partnership with OMI-Thames Water to operate the municipality’s water,
wastewater, and stormwater utilities. The partnership will save city
residents $175 million, greatly improve the infrastructure, and avoid a
double-digit rate increase.

Activist groups including Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen pressured city
officials to reject the contract. However, the debate ultimately boiled
down to two choices: privatize, or raise water rates significantly
while paying out huge fines. The city is not in compliance with current
environmental regulations and its permit will soon expire. One of the
components of the contract with OMI-Thames is a capital-improvement
program that guarantees the city’s infrastructure will be brought up to
current environmental standards. All of the risk and obligation will
fall on the contractor if it fails to do so.

The state’s budget woes threatened to slow the flow of funds to
Stockton, which realized it could not make the necessary improvements
and keep water rates down. Stockton ran the most open, public, and
lengthy review process that I, and the city’s privatization
consultants, have ever seen. Opponents were allowed to question every
aspect of the contract, and they could find no problems with it.

The Concerned Citizens lobbying group played an important role by
putting the city and mayor through rigorous question-and-answer
sessions. The many contract study sessions they prompted have assured
us the city has done its homework and is entering into an agreement
that will benefit taxpayers.

Unfortunately, despite its close involvement in the process, Concerned
Citizens continues to float misinformation and half-truths. It is
relying on fear, uncertainty, and doubt, not facts. Its members talk
about random rate hikes even though the city, not the contractor, is
ultimately responsible for setting the rates. They talk about selling
assets, when the city is in fact not doing that: It is simply entering
into an agreement to operate the facilities. The city will retain
ownership of all assets.

Atlanta, Georgia

Halfway across the country, the city of Atlanta recently cancelled a
contract with United Water for operation of its water system.
Ultimately citing poor performance and lower cost savings than
promised, the two parted ways in January.

A couple of important details got lost in the shuffle. United’s
performance, while far from perfect, was far superior to the city’s
track record of water supply operations before privatization. Moreover,
while the city released an audit stating cost savings were half what
they expected, that happened because “the savings were being used to
subsidize other government functions.” How is this a failure of
privatization? The city had been appropriating more than $40 million a
year before privatization, but paid United Water only $21.5
million–savings of $18.5 million a year.

The city’s plan to resume water supply operations itself will
essentially double the cost of service to consumers. The new plan calls
for expenditures of $41.1 million for the new in-house operations ($49
million if accounting for costs to other city departments).
Furthermore, the city has backed itself into more long-term obligations
by hiring back more than 300 employees, whose pensions will be paid for
years to come. The city also must now “find” the money to continue to
pay for the “subsidize[d] other government functions.” With no more
cost savings in sight, where will that money come from? Either higher
fees or additional taxes.

Of course, money wasn’t the issue in revoking the contract–quality was
the concern. But when United Water requested additional money to meet
the performance the city wanted, it was shunned … even though
United’s request was less than half of the spending the city now faces.

Will the city receive better service now that it is in-house? That
remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Ratepayers will be paying
a lot more for it.

Let’s revisit the issue one year from now, when I suspect residents
from Atlanta will be pining for the days of United Water–reliable,
quality, efficient service–while the citizens of Stockton will be
enjoying exactly that.

Geoffrey F. Segal is director of privatization and government reform
policy at Reason Foundation and a research fellow at the Davenport
Institute at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy.
https://www.rppi.org

Above article is quoted from The Heartland Institute, Intellectual
Ammunition Spring 2003 www.heartland.org

”Evergreen (Today’s Quotes)”

[Trademark expression: “There’s no try, just do.”

Leadership tip: “When I was a teacher, I was told that a common mistake
a new teacher makes is to get invested in getting students to like you.
Same holds for leaders. You can’t take action on a popularity vote.
Instead, I make an effort to like the people I work with and serve. It
leads to better decision-making carried out well.”

“We have not laid off a single person in the history of LavaNet. How
many companies can say that?”

“If I knew more, I might have been a worse manager because I might want
to do it my way and not listen.”

“When you have a weakness, you turn it around and use it as your
strength.”] — Yuka Nagashima, President LavaNet Inc., interviewed by
David Butts, Advertiser Staff Writer 2/3/03

”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, 1314 S. King Street, Suite 1163, Honolulu, HI 96814. Phone/fax is 808-591-9193, cell phone is 808-864-1776. Send him an email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’See the Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

“Dick Rowland Image”

”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

– Summer Seminars in Political Economy (Oakland, Calif., August 11-15)

Most Americans believe in the importance of economics, but their
economic understanding often falls far short of their ideals. A recent
nationwide survey, for example, found that two out of three high school
students (and half of all adults) surveyed failed a test on economic
literacy. If the survey had asked questions on political theory and the
history of liberty, would they have fared any better?

Fortunately, the Independent Institute’s five-day-long Summer Seminars
in Political Economy can help narrow the gap. Designed as an
introduction for high school and college-age students, the Seminars
help students learn what economics is, how it affects their lives, and
how understanding economic principles can help them achieve the things
they care about.

Led by economist Brian Gothberg, each session includes a stimulating
lecture on economic principles, their applications in history and
current affairs, and plenty of classroom discussion to help students
become more confident in communicating their ideas and values.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

* Economics and Liberty: How the West grew rich and politically free

* Market Chaos or Hidden Order? How markets coordinate people’s plans

* Monopoly or Competition? How competition improves the quality of life

* Market Failure or Government Failure? Inflation, recession, the environment, and government policy

WHAT PREVIOUS SUMMER SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS SAY:

“This is a really great program! … I really enjoyed learning about all
the famous economists, their basic philosophies, and their influence on
economic reasoning. Overall, an exceptional week!”

“I enjoyed reading and hearing about different economists and seeing a
variety of views and beliefs. … I enjoyed having a small group, making
it easier to concentrate on everyone’s questions and statements, in a
more comfortable atmosphere.”

“I learned so much during the week about how our world works. The
things I learned were interesting, and I will be able to use them for
the rest of my life in all kinds of situations.”

INSTRUCTOR:

Brian Gothberg, Department of Economics and Finance, Golden Gate University; Lecturer in the History of Western Civilization, Academy of Art College

TIME:

8:30 a.m. – Noon

August 11-15

(Register early)

TUITION: $175

Room and board and one unit of college credit through Holy Names
College in Oakland, California, are also available at extra cost.

WHERE:

The Independent Institute

100 Swan Way

Oakland, CA 94621-1428

For more information, see
https://www.independent.org/tii/students/SummerSeminar.html or contact
Carl Close, Academic Affairs Director at the Independent Institute at
mailto:cclose@independent.org or (510) 632-1366.

Above article is quoted from The Independent Institute, The Lighthouse
5/12/03 https://www.independent.org

– Private Police Make a Difference

Residents in a crime-plagued Charlotte, North Carolina neighborhood
said they felt safer, heard fewer gunshots at night and saw fewer
people on street corners after private police began patrolling the area
this summer.

UNC-Charlotte professor James Cook conducted the study of the
neighborhood, Optimist Park, just north of uptown Charlotte. Cook
interviewed about 30 residents about their feelings about the private
patrols, which started in mid-June and lasted until mid-August.

The study showed 83 percent of residents said they felt safer and more
than 90 percent reported less loitering, while 77 percent reported
hearing fewer gunshots. Residents also said they saw the private police
patrol only twice daily. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police couldn’t
immediately show whether crime went up or down during the two months of
private patrol.

Neighborhood leaders raised the $17,800 in donations to pay for the
patrols from Carolina Crime Prevention, a private policing agency.
Leaders noted that they raised the money after a city-appointed board
turned down their request.

Above article is quoted from Privatization Watch November 2002

”Roots (Food for Thought)”

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Geoffrey F. Segal

Published: The Heartland Institute 04/01/2003

The city of Stockton, California just approved a 20-year, $600 million
partnership with OMI-Thames Water to operate the municipality’s water,
wastewater, and stormwater utilities. The partnership will save city
residents $175 million, greatly improve the infrastructure, and avoid a
double-digit rate increase.

Activist groups including Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen pressured city
officials to reject the contract. However, the debate ultimately boiled
down to two choices: privatize, or raise water rates significantly
while paying out huge fines. The city is not in compliance with current
environmental regulations and its permit will soon expire. One of the
components of the contract with OMI-Thames is a capital-improvement
program that guarantees the city’s infrastructure will be brought up to
current environmental standards. All of the risk and obligation will
fall on the contractor if it fails to do so.

The state’s budget woes threatened to slow the flow of funds to
Stockton, which realized it could not make the necessary improvements
and keep water rates down. Stockton ran the most open, public, and
lengthy review process that I, and the city’s privatization
consultants, have ever seen. Opponents were allowed to question every
aspect of the contract, and they could find no problems with it.

The Concerned Citizens lobbying group played an important role by
putting the city and mayor through rigorous question-and-answer
sessions. The many contract study sessions they prompted have assured
us the city has done its homework and is entering into an agreement
that will benefit taxpayers.

Unfortunately, despite its close involvement in the process, Concerned
Citizens continues to float misinformation and half-truths. It is
relying on fear, uncertainty, and doubt, not facts. Its members talk
about random rate hikes even though the city, not the contractor, is
ultimately responsible for setting the rates. They talk about selling
assets, when the city is in fact not doing that: It is simply entering
into an agreement to operate the facilities. The city will retain
ownership of all assets.

Atlanta, Georgia

Halfway across the country, the city of Atlanta recently cancelled a
contract with United Water for operation of its water system.
Ultimately citing poor performance and lower cost savings than
promised, the two parted ways in January.

A couple of important details got lost in the shuffle. United’s
performance, while far from perfect, was far superior to the city’s
track record of water supply operations before privatization. Moreover,
while the city released an audit stating cost savings were half what
they expected, that happened because “the savings were being used to
subsidize other government functions.” How is this a failure of
privatization? The city had been appropriating more than $40 million a
year before privatization, but paid United Water only $21.5
million–savings of $18.5 million a year.

The city’s plan to resume water supply operations itself will
essentially double the cost of service to consumers. The new plan calls
for expenditures of $41.1 million for the new in-house operations ($49
million if accounting for costs to other city departments).
Furthermore, the city has backed itself into more long-term obligations
by hiring back more than 300 employees, whose pensions will be paid for
years to come. The city also must now “find” the money to continue to
pay for the “subsidize[d] other government functions.” With no more
cost savings in sight, where will that money come from? Either higher
fees or additional taxes.

Of course, money wasn’t the issue in revoking the contract–quality was
the concern. But when United Water requested additional money to meet
the performance the city wanted, it was shunned … even though
United’s request was less than half of the spending the city now faces.

Will the city receive better service now that it is in-house? That
remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Ratepayers will be paying
a lot more for it.

Let’s revisit the issue one year from now, when I suspect residents
from Atlanta will be pining for the days of United Water–reliable,
quality, efficient service–while the citizens of Stockton will be
enjoying exactly that.

Geoffrey F. Segal is director of privatization and government reform
policy at Reason Foundation and a research fellow at the Davenport
Institute at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy.
https://www.rppi.org

Above article is quoted from The Heartland Institute, Intellectual
Ammunition Spring 2003 www.heartland.org

”Evergreen (Today’s Quotes)”

[Trademark expression: “There’s no try, just do.”

Leadership tip: “When I was a teacher, I was told that a common mistake
a new teacher makes is to get invested in getting students to like you.
Same holds for leaders. You can’t take action on a popularity vote.
Instead, I make an effort to like the people I work with and serve. It
leads to better decision-making carried out well.”

“We have not laid off a single person in the history of LavaNet. How
many companies can say that?”

“If I knew more, I might have been a worse manager because I might want
to do it my way and not listen.”

“When you have a weakness, you turn it around and use it as your
strength.”] — Yuka Nagashima, President LavaNet Inc., interviewed by
David Butts, Advertiser Staff Writer 2/3/03

”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, 1314 S. King Street, Suite 1163, Honolulu, HI 96814. Phone/fax is 808-591-9193, cell phone is 808-864-1776. Send him an email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’See the Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/