PERHAPS I SHOULD BECOME A CYCLONE?
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 9:50 am
NEWSFLASH: CUTS IN WELFARE POLICY STUDIES!
I nominate this one from the Daily Iowan for the “non-story of the year in Iowa” award. It seems that the state budget crisis is resulting in a funding cut for policy studies on Iowa welfare reform. Given that Mathematica Policy Research has already done over a half-dozen studies on this issue; given that the studies show that, yes indeed, reform has improved the lot of former welfare recipients; and given that some research institute will continue to do such studies, just not on the state’s nickel, should this really be a front-page story? Should it even be a story at all?
GUN CONTROL HEADED FOR THE TOILET?
Democrats or gun control? One of them may be swirling the bowl.
posted by David Hogberg 8:34 PM archived Trackback (0)
. . .
In a post from yesterday I zinged officials at the University of Iowa for shop their whining over having to comply with a Justice Department program to track foreigners on student visas. An article in the Ames Tribune today notes that Iowa State University officials are gearing up to comply with the new federal rules:
"We're not panicked at all," Kathleen Jones, ISU's registrar, said this morning.
"We'll figure out a way to get it done," Jones said. "We'll make sure we're in a position where we can comply."
Compare this to Steven Hoch, the dean of international programs at the University of Iowa who said:
This is clearly an unfunded mandate and no doubt will involve considerable costs in the range of tens of thousands of dollars.
I’ll bet dollars to donuts this is the first time Hoch has ever worried about unfunded mandates. Here’s a suggestion. If UI officials are worried about finding the money to help the Justice Department stop terrorism, perhaps they could stop funding the Women’s Resource and Action Center. Fighting terrorism would be a much better use of the money currently going to WRAC.
I nominate this one from the Daily Iowan for the “non-story of the year in Iowa” award. It seems that the state budget crisis is resulting in a funding cut for policy studies on Iowa welfare reform. Given that Mathematica Policy Research has already done over a half-dozen studies on this issue; given that the studies show that, yes indeed, reform has improved the lot of former welfare recipients; and given that some research institute will continue to do such studies, just not on the state’s nickel, should this really be a front-page story? Should it even be a story at all?
GUN CONTROL HEADED FOR THE TOILET?
Democrats or gun control? One of them may be swirling the bowl.
posted by David Hogberg 8:34 PM archived Trackback (0)
. . .
In a post from yesterday I zinged officials at the University of Iowa for shop their whining over having to comply with a Justice Department program to track foreigners on student visas. An article in the Ames Tribune today notes that Iowa State University officials are gearing up to comply with the new federal rules:
"We're not panicked at all," Kathleen Jones, ISU's registrar, said this morning.
"We'll figure out a way to get it done," Jones said. "We'll make sure we're in a position where we can comply."
Compare this to Steven Hoch, the dean of international programs at the University of Iowa who said:
This is clearly an unfunded mandate and no doubt will involve considerable costs in the range of tens of thousands of dollars.
I’ll bet dollars to donuts this is the first time Hoch has ever worried about unfunded mandates. Here’s a suggestion. If UI officials are worried about finding the money to help the Justice Department stop terrorism, perhaps they could stop funding the Women’s Resource and Action Center. Fighting terrorism would be a much better use of the money currently going to WRAC.