What’s New @ the NCPA

Week beginning December 17, 2001

NCPA EVENTS IN DC

  • The NCPA will hold a press conference in Room HC-6 of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, December 18 to release its new book, Ten Myths About School Choice: Answering the Campaign Against School Vouchers . Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) will headline the conference with NCPA Policy Chairman Pete du Pont and co-author Kaleem Caire, CEO of the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

NCPA SPEAKERS

  • NCPA Senior Fellow and Texas A&M economics professor Tom Saving was present to release the final report of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, of which he is a member, on December 12.
  • NCPA President Dr. John C. Goodman presented a paper on "The American Experience with Managed Care" at a conference hosted by the Robert Vosch Foundation in Schwabisch Hall, Germany on December 14.
  • NCPA Vice President for External Affairs Jack Strayer spoke at a December 11 news conference sponsored by the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security on the recommendations of the President's Committee to Strengthen Social Security.
  • Sterling Burnett spoke concerning future U.S. energy needs and the dangers of a national energy plan at a meeting of State agency heads, legislators and members of Americans for Balanced Energy Choices in Austin earlier this month.
  • NCPA Senior Economist Barry Asmus is promoting his book, The Best is Yet to Come, in Miami and Houston during December.

NCPA PUBLICATIONS

  • Employees of financial services firms who want to invest, or advise you how to invest, your retirement dollars are doing a poor job of investing their own, according to an NCPA study co-authored by benefits consultant Brooks Hamilton and Dallas Morning News columnist Scott Burns.
  • An NCPA brief analysis by NCPA Senior Fellow Greg Scandlen, "Tax Relief for the Uninsured: Scholarship versus Political Hype," shows that the number of uninsured would be substantially reduced if Congress enacted a tax credit similar to the one developed by the NCPA and endorsed by President Bush.
  • Retirement benefits provided from systematic saving and investing will be less expensive and more secure than those provided by the current Social Security system, according to an NCPA brief analysis authored by William G. Shipman, co-author of the book, Promises to Keep: Saving Social Security's Dream.
  • The NCPA's book, Ten Myths About School Choice: Answering the Campaign Against School Vouchers, will be released at a Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, D.C. on December 18.
  • A forthcoming brief analysis by John C. Goodman describes the NCPA's plan for Social Security reform; it was presented to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Matt Moore also has written an analysis congratulating the commission for its report.
  • Another forthcoming NCPA brief analysis on the Cleveland school vouchers discusses the school choice case that the Supreme Court will decide in February.
  • The NCPA also will publish a brief analysis next week by CEO of the Education Leaders Council and former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan showing how several states are providing school choice to parents through tuition tax credits.
  • Sterling Burnett has written an NCPA brief analysis to be published next week criticizing Senate attempts to implement the Kyoto global warming protocol through the Clean Power Bill.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

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SUMNERS LECTURES

  • At the January 11, 2002 Sumners Distinguished Lecture the featured speaker will be Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. Register online at http://www.ncpa.org/events

NCPA SCHOLARS IN THE NEWS

  • NCPA Policy Analyst Matt Moore's analysis of the current education bill before Congress appeared in the December 14 editions of the Wichita Eagle
  • NCPA Senior Fellow Greg Scandlen's op-ed about providing tax credits to reduce the number of uninsured appeared in the December 13 edition of the Washington Times.
  • National Review Online featured remarks by NCPA Senior Fellow Sterling Burnett and Phoebe and Russell Perry intern Wess Mitchell about India's geopolitically key role in the war on terrorism. Their remarks also were featured in the Press Trust of India.
  • The Ft. Worth Star Telegram's December 2 edition carried Sterling Burnett's opinion that the recession and terrorism would not greatly retard urban growth in North Texas.
  • Burnett's opinions about how sportsmen spawn most true conservation initiatives appeared in the November 26 edition of Human Events.
  • Personal finance columnist Scott Burns, co-author of the NCPA study Reinventing Retirement, discussed the problems with 401(k)s in his syndicated column on December 9 for The Dallas Morning News and MS Money Central.
  • NCPA Senior Scholar Dorman Cordell told CNNfn's Market Call on December 7 that grade inflation in colleges and universities has more to do with grade labels, like "honors" programs, than with actual grades.
  • NCPA Senior Fellow Bruce Bartlett told CNNfn on December 12 that it probably won't hurt President Bush if the current economic stimulus package doesn't pass Congress because it's too weak to affect the economy.
  • In his weekly syndicated column for the Washington Times for December 12, Bartlett points out that this is the time of year when taxpayers can minimize the tax bite next April 15.
  • In his December 10 syndicated column for the Washington Times, Bartlett points out that one reason lower interest rates may not be stimulating the economy is the effects of deflation.
  • CNSnews.com quoted Bartlett's remarks that states had just about reached the limit on excise taxes for cigarettes on December 5. The story also appeared on Townhall.com
  • Bartlett discussed the proposed payroll tax holiday and the economic stimulus package on KSJB Radio (South Dakota) on December 5.
  • NCPA Policy Chairman Pete du Pont noted in his weekly column for OpinionJournal.com, the Wall Street Journal's online news service, that the zeal for "diversity" in the news media is producing anything but diversity. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pdupont/?id=95001586
  • Gov. du Pont has been interviewed and will be featured in an upcoming "personal profile" in Human Events.
  • In his weekly column for the Knight-Ridder News Service, Gov. du Pont reports that schools do exist that produce superior students while remaining accountable to parents-they are military schools.
  • Jack Strayer objected to implementation of a national ID card in the December 9 Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader.
  • Conservative News Service featured the NCPA report, Reinventing Retirement, in its December 10 edition.
  • The December 1 edition of Employee Benefit News cites a recent NCPA projection that Medical Savings Accounts will lower health insurance premium costs. http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba356/

NCPA ONLINE

  • NCPA Web sites continue to set records for number of hits. In November the total for all four sites was 3,075,000.
  • The NCPA's Debate Central Web site will soon contain a new affirmative plan that provides an innovative, economic approach to the debate on weapons of mass destruction. The plan will be the only one of its kind that allows debaters to approach this year's topic in a comprehensive manner. http://www.debate-central.org/
  • The online Fact Center for the NCPA's Women in the Economy project has been refreshed with updated statistics. In addition, "This Week's Woman in the Economy" is Holly Clement, an accountant in Chicago, Ill. http://www.womenintheeconomy.org/
  • The NCPA's online polls were popular this week. Respondents think John Walker's home situation and his Islamic training caused him to join the Taliban. 75 percent of respondents say the U.S. should quit dealing with Arafat in the war on terrorism. http://www.ncpa.org. And, nearly 83 percent of respondents favor and would use personal retirement accounts. http://www.mysocialsecurity.org

NCPA COMMENTARIES ON THE AIR

  • NCPA Policy Chairman Pete du Pont reports in his December 10 Focus Point that Congress needs to restore fast-track trade authority to the president, especially since more countries are opening up to global trade.
  • Gov. du Pont points out in his December 11 Focus Point commentary that it's no wonder most young people don't know anything about American history beyond their own lifetimes because only 3 of the top 55 U.S. universities have required courses in Western Civilization and none require American history.
  • In his Focus Point for December 12, Pete du Pont points out that the latest in a long line of initiatives that make politicians feel good but serve no purpose is the proposed Social Security tax holiday.
  • du Pont remembers the life of George Harrison in his December 13 Focus Point commentary and finds that the Beatle's music serves as an appropriate epitaph.
  • In his December 14 edition of Focus Point, Gov. du Pont points out that the alternative minimum tax is anti-stimulus, anti-business and not justified by economics.