I recently returned from an excellent conference organized by the Nevada Policy Research Institute in Las Vegas. As you can see in the above photo, we had a good time (I’m the one in the middle — the Jewish guy).
At the conference it dawned on me that health care is likely to have a huge, unintended effect on education policy. By placing significant new health care costs on states, the bill will almost certainly strain state finances. Since education is the only other really big expenditure in state budgets, look for states to become much more open to ways to economize on education than they have been. State may become much more interested in virtual education, choice, and other lower cost ways of delivering education. The days of regular annual increases in education spending are over. Once that happens the political landscape will almost certainly change.
Patrick Gibbons, the smart and energetic organizer of the conference, has already blogged on my health care/education trade-off ideas on the NRPI blog.
This was my first time in Vegas, so I should make a quick observation about the place. I think Las Vegas could best be described as a giant vacuum cleaner that sucks money out of people’s wallets. The people are glad to have the money vacuumed; they aren’t being robbed. It’s just that everything about the place has been carefully designed to extract as much money as people will willingly part with. If you don’t like gambling, they have shows. If you don’t have shows, they have shopping. They have food, they have prostitution, they have booze, they have spas, they have luxurious accommodations. Whatever you want to spend money on, they will provide the service and take your money. It is the Platonic form of commerce.
I know a lot of people have negative judgements about Vegas, saying that people are exploited or manipulated to give up their money. That wasn’t my experience. People were thrilled to have their money taken and seemed to enjoy the process knowing full well what was happening.
My sense is that it is no more exploitative than the local shopping mall in every city. It is only far more efficient and on a larger scale.
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At least so far in Massachusetts, the state’s near universal health care bill of 2006 hasn’t made a huge dent on state spending.
Different states, different degrees of fiscal responsibility.
What Californian may think of as a vitally-necessary expenditure a South Dakotan might regard as silly self-indulgence. Besides, there are tides in human affairs so this year’s reasonable level of taxation is next years frightening vulnerability.
Lastly, the nation’s “plate” is only so big and different issues vie for not just funding but also attention. Public education’s been largely relegated to a secondary status despite being generally the biggest state budget item. Financial pressure may change that and with it the pass that public education gets from scrutiny about its structure, mission and degree of success in meeting its goals.
On Vegas — I should add that I personally find shopping malls boring. And commerce is but one of many human activities and it can be for good or for bad. I was just struck by the sheer scope and efficiency of commerce in Vegas.
And where else can you shop, dine or be entertained in Paris, New York, Venice, Caesar’s Palace, a giant castle and a giant pyramid all in one weekend?
Btw, did you know that Planet Hollywood used to be the Aladdin? It went through a multi million conversion at the beginning of the decade just 3 or 4 years after it went through a multimillion update. The wealth of Vegas is absolutely staggering. Bellagio was once the Dunes and the Venetian was once the Sands.