Busting text messagers on the road

Want to inject a boost to the general budget? Why not triple all of the traffic violation fines from what they currently are? For an example of why this could be an easy remedy for a problem that probably hasn't been updated in two or three decades, I need only point to the front page article in today's paper, "Bill aims to brake texters." According to the article, House Bill 291 would ban text messaging while driving and make it a secondary offense. Notwithstanding the merits of this bill (and there are several), the proposed law carries with it the hefty fine of $25. Seems like the legislature is trying to attack what they perceive as a major problem with a wet noodle than a big stick.

With all of the budget problems plaguing this state currently, someone really needs to propose a broad brushed measure to double or triple the current Title 21 violations, which would presumably include this secondary prohibition against "TWD" (text messaging while driving). Wouldn't this measure generate revenue while avoiding the need to raise taxes? Just a thought.

Tags: delaware proposes ban on text messaging while driving

The importance of education and why the next governor should focus on this instead of gambling

Concerning education, the economy, and the workforce in this state, there is much to write about. I've save my comments on the fiscal problems potentially facing the state in 2008 for another day. For now, I will respond to a "letter to the editor" I saw a little while back that is a good example of misinformation.

Unfortunately, I no longer have the letter, and obviously thanks to the Delaware State News's questionable new policy concerning their online content, I can't find it online either. Regardless, the gist of the letter said that the DOE may be too focused on getting kids to college when a lot of them only are there to play sports, aren't planning on going to college, and the educational standards may render otherwise non-academically gifted students ineligible, and consequently, they have no reason to go to school. The letter may have said something about school choice also, but I've already expressed why the education system should be unified across the state, so I'm not going to repeat my reasons here.

The problem I have with this letter (other than my general concern that his may not be a minority viewpoint) is that it overlooks the whole policy behind education in the first place. Now, I was a multi-sport high school athlete here in Delaware who had more than my fair share of conference and state glory, so I can certainly appreciate the point he makes. And I certainly am friends with people who were also athletes in high school and went onto college, and I am friends with people who did not. The ones who went on to get a college degree, in some respects, have no better jobs than some that did not. The difference is that their options are much greater.

Take, for example, a police officer. It used to be that you could be a cop right out of high school. Not so much anymore. Most town and state police require some sort of post-high school education (and most now require a 4-year college degree). Granted (and I'm being a little stereotypical here), it probably doesn't matter what type of degree you have; it's more of a door opener than anything else. The real reason why more and more jobs require a college degree is to simply help weed out the applicant pool. And realistically, any salaried job (and even some hourly jobs) is going to want you to have gone to college.

The statistics that a person with a high school degree will make more money over their lifetime is not a joke. It comes with the cost of debt, but so what. Whether you learn anything useful in college doesn't equate to half of what you learn just by being there and listening, absorbing other people's thoughts and just general exposure to a world beyond high school fiefdom.

The point to all of this isn't to rip into this guy for being mad that his kid probably didn't make the cut for a marking period or semester. And obviously, many of the high school students in this area have to work part-time jobs which must be balanced with the school load, and probably have a negative correlation with grades to some degree. The trick is to balance it all out, and just make a goal that once you go to college, you'll just borrow the money to survive. I submit that there is more money in terms of loans and scholarships out there than most people think. This is the job of the guidance counselors in these high schools to become more educated about that aspect of college and inform their students.

So that this entry doesn't go in any more different directions, I'll simply end it here and reiterate my plea for the next governor to sweettalk another MBNA-type organization to come to our state and set up shop. This way those with a college education aren't further tempted to just stay in their college town, or go to a big city to find a job that pays just as much but with a much higher cost of living. And if they can center down here (Kent County) (and the state comes up with some way of getting to the Philadelphia airport a little faster than 95), there may be some more added benefits.

The bottom line is that all of us, including the gentlemen who pled for lower educational standards, to start thinking about ways to improve this state. His point regarding education, however, is incorrect. This isn't the seventies (or the sixties or the fifties) anymore. If you can't finish high school for whatever reason, you're more likely to be an Uncle Rico type person than a real contributor to the economy. Get over it and graduate and quit assuming that high school is the be all end all. Times are changing, and if we don't get with it, the potential decrease in slot and gambling revenue is going to be the least of our state's problems.

Things that we as a State need to think about: Part III. Citizenry

My third suggestion envelops the core of our Citizenry itself. We, as Delawareans young and old, need to re-examine accountability. Not only should our educational system have a role in developing our children’s lives, we need to begin to hold parents accountable. We must coordinate with current service groups, such as the Delaware Girls Initiative, to ensure our efforts are neither duplicative nor underinclusive. Such programs ensure that all young parents understand the responsibility of raising a family.

The extent of parental accountability could be stretched into the criminal context as well, but the balancing and evaluation of positive and negative effects of such a program must be examined first. The costs of these types of accountability, reach-out, and social welfare and development programs can be done on a sector-by-sector, community-by-community, or city basis, in conjunction with existing State efforts. An examination of the DNREC and the state-wide recycling program can also be restructured on accountability-type grounds. The minimal costs of these community based accountability programs justify their continued development.

The revenue from the slot and racing industries and lottery systems can be increased. We should not fear the effects of more slots, either in our State or beyond our borders, and none of these ideas will alter the tourism industry in the least. To the contrary, a mass transit system will stimulate tourism. Revenue can also be streamlined with the development of a system such that all citizens pay their taxes through a professional, and any CPA can be encouraged to take on such clientele simply by offering a tax incentive. With professional tax assistance, not only do we ensure that the government is not getting any more than they should; we ensure that all citizens receive all to which they are entitled. A possible effect would be to determine whether any one sector of the State is unfairly taking advantage of our lesser knowledgeable citizens.

We can also investigate the tax structure itself and determine whether the more affluent citizens of the State are paying an equivalent proportion to the less affluent. We can also lower the tax rate for our poorest such that their hard earned income up to $15000 has no individual State tax assessed to it. The end result may be that the middle class has no tax changes, and with tax credit incentives for young parents involved in social development programs or environmentally-related breaks, it may even result in a net tax benefit. Accountability for our Administration with this regard ensures that the entire Public understands where our income goes and to what.

My hope is that these general ideas spark a Statewide response for more. These ideas certainly should not be construed as exhaustive by any means. Reaching these goals and others come at no uncertain costs, but can be done with a moderate shifting of resources as well as with the savings from the economies of scale that come with the aforementioned ideas.

Let's make it happen.

Things that we as a State need to think about: Part II. Economy

My second suggestion deals with the economy of our State. We can no longer avoid the ongoing growth of various sectors in our Delaware; we must embrace it. More commercial growth ensures that those who travel beyond our borders have an economic motivation to come back. Commercial growth, whether it is pharmaceutical, financial, transactional, communication related, research oriented, or simply the next Microsoft looking for its Redmond should look at our Delaware first, and a serious outreach toward fostering this economic developmental growth needs to occur. Our infrastructure and developers can support it, our citizenship will embrace it, and its success will sustain us for the century to come. Urban and suburban planning, with an eye toward the constraints on education and our State generally, can help ensure that the growth occurs without blackening the eye of what distinguishes our Delaware. The effects of bringing such business to our State will minimally quadruple the current economic growth rate.

Stimulating our economy also requires a concurrent development of a massive jobs works program. Anybody who wants a job should be able to find one. I offer four suggestions.

I. Infrastructure
The first jobs works program would be to repave the entire State infrastructure with an asphalt-rubber composite. Such a task which would have several effects: the lifespan of the roadway would be 5-6 times longer than its current levels, and by the time the final road is finished, the original roads would need to be repaved and the effects would be for workers to have a sustained source of income. This technology also assists in solving the environmental dilemma of rubber tires and other refuse, both of which could be reduced because of the composite's composition. The federal government has begun rehabilitation of highways with similar technology; a thorough investigation in coordination with the Rubber Pavement Association’s Technological Advisory Board can determine its feasibility in our State.

II. Rail system
The second jobs works program would be to develop our rail system. Our State’s original economy and infrastructure rested on the rails; the time has come to revisit our roots. Reintegration and development of a massive public transportation system, beginning with the rails and increasing the utilization of the DART system, will stimulate the short and long term economy. The more efficient use of DART (including an increase in frequency throughout the State) and a new passenger train system like SEPTA would have lasting effects on educational transportation efficiency, tourism, and regular travel during the workweek and weekends. With regard to the train system, our economy will be stimulated by the massive number of workers needed to rebuild it as well as the persons required to run it. Developing an equitable and affordable travel cost and frequent travel times to all pertinent sectors of our State ensures that our Citizenry utilizes this source as primary to personal vehicles. Given the increase in fuel costs, we can all agree that a more economical transportation system must be developed, and it must be researched as a priority.

Another way that may accomplish the rail system in a more cost-effective manner would be to investigate the practicality and feasibility of dual mode vehicles. Japan's rail company appears to have perfected the technology; whether it translates over to American soil remains to be seen.

III. Fiber optics
The third jobs works program would be to develop the fiber optics system for our entire State. Doing so would grant every household in the State high speed internet, cable, and telecommunications compatible with forthcoming technology. A program in conjunction with the various telecommunication and electrical suppliers could be developed in such a way that every telephone wire and pole in the state could be removed and the technology placed underground. The aesthetic effect needs no explanation.

IV. Alternative energy creation
A fourth, but perhaps more lofty jobs works program, would have to be done in coordination with the Several States and the Federal Government. To increase our energy efficiency, research and development into geothermal, hydroelectric power through the underwater current system off our shoreline, or solar power could be investigated further as an alternative energy source. The latter may be the most realistic at this juncture, and all new housing developments could be adapted with the technology such that it could become affordable and economical for every other pre-existing housing sector in the State. Test markets could be imposed on our State buildings first, and the effect on the State’s electric bill will justify Statewide adoption.

I do note that the feasibility study with regard to wind power has been completed on a statewide scale and rejected; however, I'm surprised no private entrepreneur has thought about privatizing this for developments and exploiting the technology on a smaller scale for testing.

Things that we as a State need to think about: Part I. Education

This is going to be the first of a series of posts regarding my ideas that I would like to see the next candidates for Governor address. It is my hope that it starts a dialog among the state; whether that happens remains to be seen. Among the top priorities I see that are problem hot spots, they are: education, jobs, economy. There are others, to be sure, but those are the ones I plan to address. Without further ado, part 1: "A Comprehensive Education Proposal."

Introductory remarks:
In the words of Publius, "The friend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to this dangerous vice." The time has come for all of the People of this great State to unite behind a common purpose and begin discussing the positive directions to which we should be heading. I offer these remarks not as a directed commentary or evaluation but as a starting point for a conversation into what I hope becomes a united campaign behind which we can all support and champion.

The rich history of our state needs no introduction or remarks beyond these: all of us appreciate our native roots and the inherent siren call that either brings us back or keeps us here in one form or another. Our citizens have gone on to do a great many things in a great many fields, and all of us have stories that can convey a greater meaning to the statement that the rest of the country looks to our Delaware as a leader. The time for reflection, however, has passed, and our State has asked for all of us to once again turn and listen. The time has come for each of us to stop talking about change and instead ask ourselves what we can do to push our state to the forefront of our great nation.

I base my remarks, in part, on the preamble to our State Constitution, which states in pertinent part as follows: "[A]ll people have by nature the rights . . . of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting reputation and property, and in general obtaining objects suitable to their condition, without injury by one to another. . . ." For over a century and beyond, our citizenship has developed on the premise that the rights inherent in these words are bounded only by reason.

Grounded in reason, then, I offer my suggestions, bearing in mind the words of the Federalist No. 1: "It may perhaps be thought superfluous to offer arguments to prove the utility of the Union, a point, no doubt, deeply engraved on the hearts of the great body of the people in every State, and one, which it may be imagined, has no adversaries." Feasibility and expense aside for the moment, I hope the adversaries to these remarks recognize their inherent merit.

A Comprehensive Education Proposal:
First and foremost, every Delawarean’s access to public education should be such that it does not matter which end of the public school system a student belongs. The diploma eventually earned by an elementary student in Delmar should have no different value than one from a student in Brandywine or any district in between. The legislative power to accomplish this goal exists in Article X of our Constitution, and reaching this goal requires no small sacrifice from each Citizen. It begins with the unification of the public school districts and abolishment of the current individual school board systems. Because no such system exists nationally, we need to develop our public education system in such a fashion that the rest of the States may follow.

A united public education across all districts ensures that every Delaware student, guided by the State, will no longer be disadvantaged by location. One economic benefit and effect from a unified public school system would be quantity pricing for necessities every district currently purchases individually, such as ordinary supplies and textbooks. An annual bid among all subcontractors for these various necessities ensures our State is not saddled with any one contractor trying to prosper unfairly at the expense of the General Public. The efficiency of the student transportation also increases ten-fold with a unified public school system, and an increased utilization of DART, as further explained below, may be of great assistance in making this an attractive and economically feasible goal.

Reaching the educational goal ensures that all graduates of our public schools are afforded the opportunities that a high school diploma brings, including the educational opportunities beyond high school if they so choose. Achieving a unified educational curriculum may be ambitious, but necessary for the long-term health and welfare of the State. I propose two methods that all educators and parents can agree upon as the ground to which reaching this goal begins and its success ultimately rests.

First, the pay scale for all public teachers must be unified across all districts. If a police officer in Sussex County makes as much as her counterpart in New Castle, the discrepancy in pay for teachers across districts can be and must be consistent before accountability and other related issues come to bear. A unified and equitable salary system potentially attracts qualified teachers to all districts in our State, not just the ones in the more affluent sectors. Such a system, to say the least, also requires a substantial increase in educational salaries. Recruitment and retention of qualified teachers will begin to increase the general education level of our State, a necessary precursor to reaching the rest of our goals. While all districts should be encouraged to enhance any teacher’s pay, we need to ensure that "teacher shopping" no longer occurs by reducing the percentage differences for similarly pay-graded teachers across districts. The education majors produced by University of Delaware also need to be enticed further into considering our Delaware schools as a viable option. Teaching our children, however, only solves fifty percent of the problem. Encouraging our students to learn constitutes minimally the next bulk percentage of the education quandary.

Second, we, as a State, need to adopt a means of affording a higher education to all. Such a long-term incentive may encourage our students to develop inherently a love for learning that motivates this result. Accomplishing this side of the education equation requires several steps, not least of which would be to create a full scholarship fund allowing all high school students with a certain GPA to be granted both conditional acceptance and complimentary tuition to one or both of the public universities. We need accountability to ensure that in-state students are not being selected out by the higher-paying out-of-state students. An equitable balance can and must occur. One feasible alternative to this suggestion would be to empower Del-Tech to award various four-year degrees, similar the power given to the satellite Penn State University campuses in Pennsylvania twenty years ago.

For those citizens who wish to pursue education out-of-state and are bogged by the financial aid process, the Department of Education should be funded to investigate the possibility of a financial aid non-profit organization devoted to all of our Citizens. No Delawarean should be deterred from the real possibility of a higher education simply because of application fees and associated CSS costs. Regarding the myth of exorbitance and college prices, our State could and must develop various incentive programs for debt relief to ensure that our graduates and college graduates return to Delaware with diplomas in hand. The money to pay for these education-related ideas can come from or through an increase in the lottery system revenue or from the revenues generated from the gambling industry.

Tags: unifying the education system in delaware