February 2004 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.

EDUCATION STUDIES KEY ISSUE: TESTING

Policy Briefing
The California legislature is poised to pass a bill that would eliminate state testing of second-grade students. Supporters of the legislation argue that testing young students imposes too much stress and causes loss of self-esteem. Testing second graders, however, provides valuable information about student achievement and helps schools target remedial assistance.

PRI Perspective
Testing second graders is vitally important in assessing student progress and determining areas where students need help. If students are not tested until the end of the third grade, with results not being available until the beginning of the fourth, many will fall far behind in foundational skills such as reading, with little hope of getting back to grade level. Many classroom teachers who work with struggling students support early testing as necessary for pinpointing students’ weaknesses and targeting remedial instruction. Also, early testing helps improve instruction by forcing schools to teach to the state standards that are aligned with the state tests.

Roy Romer, superintendent of the Los Angeles school district, says that second-grade testing has improved instruction in his district and raised student achievement. Research has also shown that improved student achievement is the key factor in building self-esteem. Thus, if lawmakers eliminate second-grade testing they may be undermining the very thing they seek to improve.

PRI Impact
• February 17, KQED-FM broadcast Lance’s commentary on why state testing of second graders should be continued.

• February 20, the Education Consumers Clearinghouse posted Lance’s Orange County Register op-ed “Do We Value Self-Esteem or Learning” on its Internet network.

• February 16, Lance advised Kimberly Yee, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s deputy cabinet secretary, on the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on California.

• On other issues, Lance was published on National Review Online and cited on Andrew Sullivan’s widely read blog.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC STUDIES KEY ISSUE: MARCH BALLOT

Policy Briefing
The March election represented the first real test of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tenure as governor. He placed significant political capital in his propositions 57 and 58, campaigning around the state on their behalf. His success in passing these measures will certainly impact his ability to dictate the debate when it comes to his other priority for the year: workers’ compensation reform.

Also on the ballot was a proposition that had the potential to greatly influence the type of bills being passed in the legislature. Proposition 56 would have reduced the two-thirds vote requirement for passing a budget to 55 percent, making it easier for legislators to raise taxes.

PRI Perspective
Governor Schwarzenegger has been particularly effective thus far in presenting a winning policy message when it comes to the budget and the economy. He is facing a showdown with Democrats in the legislature over workers’ compensation reform, and all eyes were on the March ballot to see how he would fare with his two propositions. His overwhelming success on the March ballot only strengthens his hand in the workers’ compensation debate. With so much attention being paid to propositions 57 and 58, proposition 56 largely escaped public scrutiny. According to the January Field Poll survey, voters were pretty evenly divided on the measure, 37 percent "yes" and 36 percent "no."

PRI Impact
• February 11, Andrew Gloger was interviewed on KFWB News Radio Los Angeles on how the governor has been doing since taking office, with particular focus on his efforts to reform workers’ compensation and achieve a budget deal.

• February 16, the San Diego Business Journal quoted Andrew extensively in the cover article “New Workers’ Comp Plan Falls Short.”

• February 22, Andrew’s letter to the editor opposing Proposition 56 was printed in the Oakland Tribune and the Alameda Times-Star.

• February 25, Andrew was interviewed on KGO News Talk 810-AM (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose), regarding Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s comments before the House Budget Committee.

• March 1, Andrew was interviewed on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight.

TECHNOLOGY STUDIES KEY ISSUES: CANNING SPAM

Policy Briefing
Junk email, otherwise known as spam, outnumbered legitimate email traffic for the first time this year, prompting consumer outrage and the passage of a new federal law. Seventy percent of email users say spam makes their online experience unpleasant and it’s been estimated that spam costs U.S. corporations 8.9 billion in 2002.

PRI Perspective
The law isn’t an efficient response to spam because spammers are very good at hiding themselves and often send messages from outside the country where American laws can’t be enforced. Technology, such as spam filters that attempt to recognize junk mail based on indicators in the message, have proven too easy for spammers to beat.

The reason spam is such a problem is that it travels for free. This creates incentives to send as much unsolicited email to as many people as possible. The solution, therefore, is to create conditions to make spammers pay for their follies. One method to do this is called estamps. Email stamps would allow each user to charge senders who they don’t know for sending them mail. Email addresses of family and friends could be placed on the user’s “free list,” so that free communication among willing individuals would continue unfettered. Accidental charges could be refunded with the click of a button.

PRI Impact
• February 2, PRI released Sonia Arrison's study titled Canning Spam: An Economic Solution to Unwanted Email.

• Feb 5, Minnesota Public Radio interviewed Sonia on spam for their “Future Tense” program. The show airs all over the country and in the Bay area on KALW 91.7 at 5:30 every evening.

• Feb 6, Sonia's study was covered in an article by the Digital Freedom Network.

• Feb 10, National Journal’s Tech Daily covered Sonia’s spam study.

• Feb 11, Sonia's op-ed on spam was published in Technewsworld and Ecommerce Times.

• Feb 16, Sonia was quoted in Newhouse News Service and the Tampa Tribune on spam.

• Feb 23, Sonia's spam study was cited in the Christian Science Monitor.

If you would like to receive this monthly update by email, please contact Christina Donegan at cdonegan@pacificresearch.org or 415/955-6110.