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Car Voucher, a Step Above Stimulus Pork?

1. Posted by admin in Uncategorized |
2. June 20th, 2009 |
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While we understand the general idea behind the stimulus package and its ability to jump-start the economy, it is easy to see why so many folks are turned off. Items like the $4 million in Pentagon work awarded to Murtech, another of those no-bid contracts that went to the company owned by Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49, the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, certainly raise a stink.

For those who do not know, John Murtha is the Pennsylvania Democrat who just so happens to be the chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. What is most troubling is that at the same time another $150 million in stimulus money has been given to build and maintain an airport in rural Pennsylvania, yes the John Murtha airport.

Just how does stuff like this happen?

Car Voucher, Yet Another Stimulus Option

In recent days we have heard about the renewed push for a government voucher to help citizens purchase a new, fuel-efficient automobile. Like the initial response to the stimulus package, there appears to be support out of the gate for the proposal.

The current idea centers upon a $4,500 voucher that can be used by people to trade an older, nearly worthless gas guzzling auto for a new, fuel-efficient vehicle. The value of the voucher would theoretically be dependent on the differentials in gas mileage between your current vehicle, one that must be at least eight years old, and that of the newer option.

Hypothetically, trading your 18 miles per gallon clunker for a new vehicle that offers 22 miles to the gallon might get you $3,000 say, while trading for one that yields 28 miles per gallon would result in the voucher being worth the full $4,500. The goal seemingly is to max the coupon only when a 10 mpg difference is created.

Supposedly, the plan involves a separate set of numbers for SUVs (5 mpg increase to max the voucher), light-duty trucks (2 mpg increase) and work trucks.

According to the latest gossip, there appears to be great support for some type of voucher plan in Congress. The specific dollar values and respective goals seem to be the debate, not the concept itself.

Proponents indicate the program would create a strong jolt to the economy. First and foremost, it gives individual citizens an incentive to help meet the president’s goal of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Second, if limited to the purchase of American autos, it could be just the catalyst to jump-start the moribund auto industry. Lastly, it would seem to help the hardest-hit Americans the most if the voucher could only be used for vehicles eight years and older.

In addition, European car sales are reportedly benefiting from such plans. According to at least one report, the idea has increased sales globally by about 400,000 vehicles.

Key Sticking Points

One of the key sticking points of course centers upon potential restrictions. For example, restricting the voucher to American cars only would bring on cries of protectionism yet the supporting rationale for some is that it must help the American auto industry as well as the consumer.

Another is the voucher could prove expensive to the government if large numbers of people took advantage of the program. Of course, many people insist that would be a better use of taxpayer dollars as it would be helping the consumer even as it is helping the automakers, something we are doing already.

A third concern is that the process could re-institute a borrowing craze as folks who could not truly afford a new vehicle utilize the voucher but end up now having monthly payments once again.
In fact, for some folks, it would make far more sense for them to trade up to a newer, fuel-efficient, used option instead.

But now that the stimulus genie is out of the bottle, there will no doubt be constant pushes for options that will jump-start the economy. The auto voucher seems to be one that is garnering significant support.

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Do Not Place Too Much Emphasis on U.S. News College Rankings

1. Posted by admin in Uncategorized |
2. June 10th, 2009 |
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Each year, U.S. News & World Report compiles its ratings of American colleges and publishes its summary findings for students. The publication is seen as a must-have for any prospective college student, a factor that makes the annual edition a best seller each and every year.

Because of it’s strong reputation, the magazine is one of the fundamental publications for students and families to review. However, when it comes to the college selection process, many college admissions folks have questioned the validity of the ratings.

Today, officials caution students to contrast this publication with other literature that examines their respective college of interest. To get a sense as to why the US News ratings should not be considered the be-all and end-all, we turn to a recent incident involving a presentation by Catherine E. Watt of Clemson University

Seeking Higher Ratings

It seems Watt, once the head of Clemson’s institutional research office and now the point person for a research center at the school, raised more than a few eyebrows with her presentation at the Association for Institutional Research in Atlanta. Apparently, she was a tad too outgoing with her acknowledgement of the importance of the ratings to schools and her subsequent explanation as to how the school might have been able to manipulate the ratings system.

Clemson has publicly aspired to being considered a top 20 public research university. Some of the actions Watt claims the school took to help it climb rapidly up the ratings system were steps that took advantage of flaws in the U.S. News rating system.

For example, to increase the schools standings, Watt claims the school had lowered class sizes in specific classes below a critical U.S. News threshold. The magic number of 20 was obtained, again according to Watt, by increasing class sizes in other classes that would not harm the school’s rating.

A second element was the astonishing claim that school officials had taken the step of rating other schools lower scores on the reputational rankings survey of other colleges. In other words, the school sought to improve its standing by downgrading the standing of competitors.

A third involved assertions of duplicate salary summaries, with U.S. News perhaps getting a doctored version. Ultimately, her statements were reported in numerous higher education publications and subsequently discussed by bloggers everywhere.

Clemson Officials Take Exception

Needless to say, the comments created a storm of controversy. Therefore, it is not too surprising that shortly after Watt gave her presentation officials at Clemson sought to regain a certain level of integrity.

According to published reports, Cathy Sams, Clemson’s chief public affairs officer, released a public statement that took exception to the comments from Watt’s presentation. Again, not too surprisingly, the gist of the rebuttal focused on the potential that school officials may have engaged in unethical behavior.

Those same sources noted that while Sams gave “alternative explanations for the reduced class sizes and other outcomes” there was no direct evidence to challenge or contradict Watt’s assertions about the steps related to class sizes. In other words, Clemson had in fact definitively raised its percentage of classes containing 10 to 19 students while decreasing the percentage that held 20 to 29 students.

One area where Watt was rebutted centered on the notion that Clemson might have cooked some books regarding faculty salaries. In that area, Watt asserted that the school may have provided U.S. News a set of faculty salary numbers that were not entirely accurate. Clemson officials unequivocally denied that assertion.

Bloggers also noted that the university was essentially silent in its public statement regarding the claim that Clemson officials had rated the programs at other institutions below average.

Indirect Evidence Provides Some Answers

While the school took the extraordinary step of providing a written rebuttal to Watt’s assertions, the ultimate assessment of the situation is that Watt is still employed by the school. In fact, when the school was reportedly asked if Watt might face disciplinary action, Sams indicated otherwise.

Therefore, though the school has insisted that their employee did not accurately represent the school, the fact that they did not take action against the employee speaks volumes. If it was as simple as school officials insisted, it is hard to imagine that the institution would not have taken some form of disciplinary action.

Regardless of the hoopla and whether or not Clemson specifically sought to game the system, the revelations of Watt appear to match those of others who insist that the ratings can be manipulated.

Meanwhile, U.S. News insists it is one step ahead of those seeking to game the system. Still, Clemson climbed from 38 to 22 making us wonder whether they are indeed one step ahead.

Ultimately, we think the lesson for students is that they should look well beyond the placement of a school within the U.S. News college rankings when considering their choice of college.

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