October 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 & CEO
At the invitation of Team 100, Sally Pipes participated in an issues forum, "Affirmative Action and the GOP" in New York (September 12). She spelled out three important lessons for the GOP: Make the moral case against preference; hone your message and stick to it; and it's not what you say but how you say it.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Opponents of Proposition 209 grumbled throughout August but, in spite of efforts by Rev. Jesse Jackson to rally an angry mob, the Washington Times (August 29) reported that San Franciscans seemed bored by the conflict. Sally Pipes summarized the situation in the Times: “We voted for this and we have to stand behind our guns. For the vast majority, they are pleased that people will be getting jobs based on opportunity and positive outreach programs. Things are fairer now.”

If any racial group has suffered from the unfairness of affirmative action programs it is the Asian community, contends Lance Izumi, Co-Director for the Center for Innovation in Education, in his essay “Confounding the Paradigm: Asian Americans and Race Preferences,” published in The Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy (Vol. 11, Issue No. 1, 1997). Though “there has been an almost irresistible urge to paint opponents of race preferences as acting not on principle, but on base opportunism . . . impugning the motivations of race-preference opponents cannot extinguish the fact that real injuries have resulted from government race-preference programs.”

When U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell held a press conference (September 24) to announce his legislation to end racial preferences in the federal highway program, Director of PRI’s Center for Enterprise and Opportunity Katherine Post was asked to give remarks on PRI’s position on contracting set asides. As PRI’s “ambassador” in D.C., Katherine also attended the first International Conservative Congress chaired by Lady Margaret Thatcher and William F. Buckley, Jr.

EDUCATION

The back-to-school period has put PRI’s education studies on the political bulletin board. In August, Lance responded to a Los Angeles Times article on textbook shortages with a call to end state categorical programs, introduce vouchers, and remove the cap on state charter schools. On September 8, Lance reiterated these solution-oriented policy reforms on KSCO. His message: Without competitive pressure, don’t expect any improvement. This month, Lance is in England on a fellowship at the Institute for Economic Affairs where he is comparing Britain’s grant-maintained schools with America’s Charter Schools.

Education standards proposed by the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards renewed speculation as to how they might be implemented, reported John Seiler (Orange County Register, September 18), quoting PRI education policy fellow Royce Van Tassel. Tassel indicated that little had been heard from the watchdog committee responsible for supervising the recommended measures.

On September 25, Co-Director for the Center for Innovation in Education Pam Riley spoke at a luncheon hosted by the Coalition of Labor-Agriculture-Business, “Education: Charter Schools, Public Schools, Vouchers.” The program focused on assessing the public school’s and education bureaucracy’s performance, and on considering possible improvements and alternatives. Pam was also quoted in Clint Bolick’s article for the Institute for Justice, “Brightening the Beacon: Removing Barriers to Entrepreneurship in San Diego” on the impasse between San Diego’s charter schools and the San Diego School District.

HEALTH & WELFARE

As contributing editor for NY-based A-Magazine (with 100,000 Asian-American readers nationwide), John Liu (PRI’s Director of Health and Welfare) was invited on PBS’s “News Hour with Jim Leher” to discuss a study documenting hate crimes against Asians. While John conceded that the 300 instances of violence in the study were heinous – and should be tried to the full extent of the law – he pointed out that with a U.S. population of 268 million, this number is not reflective of the general U.S. attitude towards Asians.

John Liu also gave two speeches this month. He appeared as the guest of Blackhawk Republican Women Federated (September 9). On September 23, as part of PRI’s luncheon lecture series, he presented his work on Medicare and proposed a voucher program modeled on the federal employee system as a partial solution to the current health care debacle.

John’s opinions were also cited in the San Francisco Chronicle (September 30) in Debra J. Saunders’ article, “The Supremes: Big Benchers Or Wallflowers.” Also look for John’s op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle (October 1) on healthcare reform.

TECHNOLOGY

With the freedom of internet commerce at stake, Justin Matlick’s op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle (September 16) insists that “the ideal policy would eliminate export restrictions, thus facilitating a totally secure environment.” As Director of the Center for Freedom in Technology, Justin has been interviewed on a range of “tech” topics, from the labor shortage in the technological workforce (San Francisco Business Times, September 17) to what the future holds politically for Silicon Valley (Red Herring, September 23).

PRIVATIZATION

As proselytizers of free markets principles, PRI offers private alternatives to state-run programs. Erin Schiller’s op-ed, “Turning the Page on Library Privatization” (The Orange Country Register, September 1) focuses Bay Area attention on Riverside County library, one of the first libraries to be privatized. As the Public Policy Fellow wrote, “While some feared staff reductions, an end to children’s programs or other spending cuts in the name of efficiency, changes so far demonstrate that quality of service has increased under privatization.”

URBAN STUDIES

Joel Kotkin’s articles in the Washington Post (September 14) and the San Francisco Chronicle (September 30) focused on the revival of America’s cities. As PRI’s Senior Fellow in Urban Studies, Joel also spoke at a PRI luncheon in San Francisco on this issue.

“In a world in which an ear-biting boxer earns $75 million for three days work in 1995, public outrage over CEO pay seems misplaced,” wrote Sally in her bi-monthly column in Chief Executive magazine. Sally blamed an ill-informed press for the unflattering portrayal of CEOs’ 16 percent average pay increase last year, and urged CEOs to step up to the plate and defend themselves.

Senior Policy Fellow Steven Hayward was appointed to the Board of Research Advisors for Urban Net, a website dedicated to market-oriented urban policy. Visit the website at www.urbanfutures.org

OUTREACH

Testimony to the significance of PRI’s work are the accolades it receives from peers. Particularly flattering were the references by respected education historian and former Reagan-appointee, Diane Ravitch to Pam Riley’s briefing, “The Empire Strikes Back” in her new book, New Schools for A New Century: The Redesign of Urban Education (Yale University Press).

The Templeton Honor Roll – a series of awards from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute intended to identify and publicize outstanding individuals, books, and institutions in American higher education – selected PRI’s 1987 book, Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, for its 1997-1998 awards.

Check out the newsstand this week for the October 6 issue of Forbes magazine. Peter Brimelow’s article “Leaks in the Melting Pot” (p.46) credits PRI’s “California Index of Leading Education Indicators” for inspiring Ron Unz in his efforts to end bi-lingual education.

ENVIRONMENT

With the State Policy Network convening in Tempe, Arizona, PRI, under Steve Hayward’s leadership, seized the opportunity to bring together state-based think tanks and similar grassroots organizations for its second annual “Green Grassroots” conference held on September 18 & 19. Participants discussed methods of affecting environmental policy change at the local level, exploring topics such as new clean air standards, global warming, and land use issues.

Director of Research Dana Joel and Policy Fellow Erin Schiller attended the State Policy Network conference. Dana spoke on the panel, “State Think Tanks and the Battles in the Beltway.”