Computerize!

Fellow classmate Dave writes about school textbooks and Governor Perry's proposal to abandon traditional textbooks in favor of computer technology. The post seems to wander a bit across multiple related topics, but he makes some good points and logical conclusions.

He starts by talking about Perry's proposal and the implications of it. With a transition to computer technology and eBooks, materials would be saved on the distribution of the textbooks themselves, but every student would require convenient access to their own laptops. He argues that it's a transition that we should eventually strive to make, but that at the current level of funding in place for schools, it would not be affordable. I tend to agree. I'd like to emphasize, however, the importance in implementing it in a way that's convenient for the students. If eBook access is in any way less convenient than a traditional textbook, then it's going to hinder education.

He then goes on to look at the unusually large prices of school textbooks. Clearly the books themselves aren't expensive to manufacture, so even with eBooks being more easily distributed, prices likely wouldn't drop. He argues that the high prices come as a necessity to the publishers in maintaining profits in an outdated business model.

While his post seems to wander a bit, it's clear that he took a very comprehensive look at the topic in order to come up with logical, reasoned conclusions, and it's well worth reading.

Taxes in Texas

Texas is one of the few states in the country with no state income tax. Instead, the state government gets its money through sales tax. Why is it that most states, as well as the federal government, turn to income tax? Why don't we? Well, actually, our approach seems better to me.

Taxes can serve two purposes: to generate revenue for the government, or to discourage certain types of spending. With income or sales tax, generating revenue is absolutely the focus, and the goal should be to avoid disrupting spending patterns as much as possible. The economy naturally wants to grow, and disruptions will hinder that.

How do the consequences of income and sales taxes differ? The most significant difference, perhaps, is that income taxes apply to investments while sales taxes do not. Income taxes therefore discourage investment, which I believe makes it a detriment to economic growth. Additionally, income taxes will tend to fluctuate more for a given individual; for example, if a wealthy person is temporarily unemployed, they will pay no taxes during that time, whereas that same person would continue to pay sales tax.

Sales tax seems far less disruptive to the economy, and I'm glad we've taken the right approach in Texas. So again, I ask: Why is it that income tax is so widely used in other states?

TexasFred on Health Care

We all know about the recent health care bill that was passed. TexasFred talks about the states opposing the legislation, why they should oppose it, and why we should support them. Not just in Texas, but across the nation.

The article is aimed at convincing the general population, the readers of his blog, to support the push by states against the health care bill. His main argument centers around a CNN poll that says that 59% of Americans oppose the bill. He argues that it is the responsibility of congress to enact the will of the people, and that the health care bill should not have been passed and should be repealed as soon as possible because it opposes the will of the people. He doesn't really explain what legal basis the states have for opposing the bill, but with the goal of convincing readers that some form of action should be taken, his argument is solid. He goes on to say that concerned citizens should contact their Attorney General to support the move against the bill.

Fred's argument is compelling. If the majority of Americans oppose the bill, and it gets passed anyway, then the government is clearly working against the will of the American people. If the national government will not fight to support the will of the people, then that responsibility falls on our states -- and it is the responsibility of the people to support them as well.