• SUPPORT CATO
• FOR STUDENTS
• FOR MEDIA
• FREE NEWSLETTERS

• HOME

• ABOUT

• BLOG

• BOOKSTORE

• EVENTS

• EXPERTS

• MULTIMEDIA

• PUBLICATIONS

Books

Reviews & Journals

Public Filings

Policy Studies

Opinion & Commentary

• RESEARCH AREAS

• SPEAKERS BUREAU

• SUPPORT CATO

• CATO UNBOUND

• DOWNSIZING
  GOVERNMENT.ORG

• ELCATO.ORG

Cato Dispatch for September 4, 2009

Subscribe to the Cato Dispatch via email

(Links to outside sources were active as of the date of this dispatch; however, not all news sources maintain links to current stories indefinitely. Some links also may require registration.)

Obama Set to Address the Nation's Schoolchildren

On Tuesday, September 8, President Obama will deliver a televised address to schoolchildren nationwide. This week, all public schools received guidelines from the federal government that originally recommended that students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." The administration later backpedaled and removed the wording. It now suggests that the children write about their own educational goals.

Cato education scholar Neal McCluskey weighs in:

It's one thing for a president to encourage kids to work hard and stay in school %u2014 that's a reasonable use of the bully pulpit. It's another thing entirely, however, to have the U.S. Department of Education send detailed instructions to schools nationwide on how to glorify the president and presidency, and prod schools to drive social change… The only system of learning compatible with a truly free society is not one of government domination, but one rooted in educational choice — public education, not schooling — in which the public assures that all people can access education, but parents are free to choose their children's schools and educators are free to educate how they wish.

Cato scholar Adam Schaeffer explains the fundamental problem of a government run school system:

This problem didn't begin with Obama and won't end with him. Politics in the schools is what we get when the government runs our schools. Don't want your kids indoctrinated by government bureaucrats, special interests, or the President? Private school choice is the only remedy, and education tax credits are the increasingly popular and successful way to deliver it. When will a critical mass of the people realize that it is dangerous and destructive to allow the government to control the education of our children and finally do something about it?

Andrew J. Coulson, director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom, discusses the troubling irony between the president's words and actions:

The real problem isn't what the president or the education department have to SAY. The problem is what they are actually doing. If the president really wants to improve academic achievement and raise graduation rates, why did he kill the federal private school choice program in Washington DC? His own education department reports that this program significantly raises students' academic achievement, and it's doing so at one quarter the cost of the city's public schools… Instead of just telling kids to get good grades and stay in school, President Obama should support policies that are proven to achieve those goals.

First the Children, Then the Nation

Only 24 hours after Obama's speech to the nation's children, he will again appear before the cameras on Wednesday in an effort to push through the much-debated health care reform bill. The news of the president's upcoming speech coincides with reports that the Obama administration is becoming increasingly involved in the push for a compromise bill, and is discussing the parameters with moderate Republicans.

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies, says that despite the claim that he is dropping public option from his agenda, Obama's approach to health care hasn't changed at all:

President Obama chose this moment because he is losing the debate on health reform, and he needs to change the subject. The administration no doubt hopes that the conversation will be about how the president has moderated his approach to health reform.

One problem: this offer doesn't make the president's health plan any more moderate. It is an empty gesture, because the administration can now push for Sen. Conrad's "co-op" proposal as a substitute. And a government-chartered health care "co-operative" is simply another government health program.

Cato health care experts will offer rapid responses to Obama's speech, so be sure to check Cato@Liberty Wednesday night at 9:00 PM EST.

The Roots of the Financial Crisis

How was it possible that in a world where thousands of people regulated financial markets the whole system crashed? In his provocative new book, Financial Fiasco: How America's Infatuation with Homeownership and Easy Money Created the Economic Crisis, Cato scholar Johan Norberg digs deep into the foundation of the economic meltdown, and reveals how it was the product of conscious actions by decisionmakers in companies, government agencies, and political institutions, and by consumers.

"Johan Norberg exposes the abiding hypocrisies of policy that generated this crisis far better than an American insider could," says Amity Shlaes, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "A masterwork in miniature."

Joining a panel of financial experts, Norberg spoke at a Cato book forum this week, and offered an explanation of how we got into the mess we're in, and ways to get out.

Chris Moody, editor, cmoody@cato.org