August 1997 PRI Ideas in Action
Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report

PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. The following is just a sample of PRI's recent contributions.

Sally Pipes, President and CEO

As head of the Institute, Sally carries PRI's ideas into the national spotlight. The highlight of her most recent efforts was a July 25th appearance, her second, on the ABC television program "Politically Incorrect." Sally appeared alongside actor/comedian Louie Anderson, musician Jim Sonefeld, and Dr. Cary Savitch, M.D.

WELFARE

John Liu, PRI's Director of Health and Welfare Studies, continues to educate policy makers and the public on welfare. On July 24th, in response to a request by the San Francisco Chronicle, he published an op-ed that pointed out the weaknesses in the latest welfare proposals offered forth by California's Democrats. "Instead of requiring welfare recipients to make contributions to society in return for their cash benefits," John wrote, "the proposal provides them with numerous exemptions from work opportunities." Also in July, John co-authored a legal brief for California state Attorney General Dan Lungren outlining the state's right to impose a residency requirement on state welfare beneficiaries.

EDUCATION

"Anytime you allow teachers more freedom to pursue different aspects of their profession" said Lance Izumi, co-director of PRI's Center for Innovation in Education, in an interview with the Lima News, "it's good. The problem now is that many teachers in the education sector are strait-jacketed." Freedom in educational choice and curriculum is the cornerstone of the message that Lance takes to the media. He expounded on his views in July interviews with such newspapers as Investor's Business Daily and the Orange County Register. In addition, Lance used his bi-weekly guest commentary on KQED radio, San Francisco's NPR Affiliate, to criticize the inefficiency and coercive nature of a state bilingual education program that acts to hinder the progress of the students it is intended to help.

OUTREACH

Summer is a time for outreach in the policy world, and every year the PRI staff takes advantage of this environment by sponsoring and attending a variety of conferences and workshops.

Educating the Media

From July 17-21, Sally Pipes and the staff of the Center for Innovation in Education took their message to the messenger. Pam Riley, Lance Izumi, and Education Policy Fellow Royce Van Tassell brought policy makers and key members of the education media to the picturesque Alden Vineyards for a small colliquium entitled "What's News: How the Media Covers Education and School Reform." Attendees included Peter Brimelow, a Senior Editor at Forbes magazine; David Brooks, a senior editor at The Weekly Standard; Joanne Jacobs, an editorial columnist at the San Jose Mercury News, U.S. Congressman Tom Campbell (R-Campbell), Guilbert Hentschke, USC Dean of Education; Lloyd Billingsley, Report Card editor; and Yvonne Chan, principal of the Vaughn Learning Center Charter School. By focusing on the role that the media plays in shaping the debate over education reform, the conference allowed PRI staff members to both educate the media on the Institute's agenda and to gain insight on how to best market the reform message.

Urban Studies

On July 28th and 29th Sally Pipes, Cindy Sparks and John Liu represented the Institute at "Urban America: Creating Opportunities for Business and Places for People," a conference that PRI co-sponsored with the Milken Institute, the Manhattan Institute, and the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy. The conference brought together academics, policy makers, and business leaders for a series of panel discussions and a keynote presentation by PRI Senior Fellow Joel Kotkin entitled "Saving Ourselves: Towards an Urban Revival." Notable attendees included Michael Milken, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith and Professor Peter Linneman, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Educating Educators

PRI believes it is wise and prudent policy to view education as an industry and to analyze the nation's education system and the massive amounts spent on it accordingly. On July 30, Pam Riley, co-director of the Center for Innovation in Education, expounded on our views in a speech at the annual meeting of the Association of Educators in Private Practice in Nashville. Present at the meeting were more than 300 charter and private school educators, private practitioners, and members of the education investment community.

Educating Policy Makers

Pam Riley, John Liu, and Public Policy Fellow Justin Matlick briefed Ms. Gisele Stavert on elements of PRI's agenda that could be incorporated into her campaign for U.S. Congress. Ms. Stavert, who will be challenging incumbent Lynn Woolsey in California's 6th district, was most interested in learning about the Institute's ideas on how to effectively challenge the education unions in the fight over charter schools and school choice.

Staff Outreach

Justin Matlick's efforts have been focused on broadening his understanding of free market economics and philosophy. In July he spent a week in Bozeman, Montana at a Political Economy Research Center seminar on free market environmentalism. He also attended a week-long seminar sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies that focused on how to effectively communicate libertarian ideas through writing and other media. In addition to updating his intellectual arguments, these conferences, which were attended primarily by students and graduate students, allowed Justin to reach out to young, market-minded people eager to learn about PRI's work.