Where is Our Government? Part II
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” The Success Academy Board of Trustees failed to adequately monitor aspects of the finance affairs of SA and did not consistently follow the procedures for operation required by its bylaws”
“The amount patients pay can vary widely depending on their insurance plan, and Halford’s cost started at $500 a month, but within a year the drug she needs to stay alive was costing her more than $800.”
“Americans feel isolated from the leaders that they sent to Washington to represent them. Therefore, it is imperative, more than ever, that our leaders in Washington focus on addressing and confronting the problems that afflict America today- with both foresight and determination. I am a firm believer that what the American people deserve is a clear and concise explanation from our leaders as to how they do plan solve the most pertinent issues facing the country.”
“The lower one’s income, the higher one’s overall effective state and local tax rate. Combining all state and local income, property, sales and excise taxes that Americans pay, the nationwide average effective state and local tax rates by income group are 10.9 percent for the poorest 20 percent of individuals and families, 9.4 percent for the middle 20 percent and 5.4 percent for the top 1 percent.”
“But did the Fed’s approach spare Americans a harsh reckoning, or only delay it? Even after more than $1 trillion in defaults and repayments, Americans still hold twice as much housing debt as they did in 2000. If mortgage debt had merely stayed in line with the growth in other prices instead of outpacing inflation, we’d owe a collective $6.6 trillion today on our houses, not $9.4 trillion. And what happens when mortgage rates rise, or when house prices stagnate or even fall again? We could end up where we were six years ago—with borrowers and lenders alike realizing that they can’t repay their debts.”
Of Interest at the Fed by Nicole Gelinas, City Journal Winter 2015.
Deasy's Defeat by Larry Sand, City Journal 14 November 2014.
Deasy undercut his successes with expensive, unforced errors. A wildly ambitious, $1.3 billion plan to put Apple iPads into the hands of every district student was a debacle. Last year’s rollout began amid confusion. Would the students be allowed to take the devices home? Who would be responsible for tablets that were lost or stolen? Many students breached their iPads’ security locks and used the devices for non-academic purposes. Deasy halted the program in August after e-mails revealed he had discussed a possible contract with Apple before the official bidding process began. The “MiSiS crisis” followed on the heels of the iPad scandal. The district launched an online school-information system that was nowhere near ready, resulting in thousands of students starting the school year without class schedules. The new system also couldn’t generate transcripts that seniors needed for college applications.
Fiscal Intelligence 