Our weekly Top Five feature offers big stories or views from the past week with policy and legislative implications.
1. State to issue $100 million in fines to feds for missing SRS plutonium goal, The Post and Courier, Jan. 8, 2017
“A separate 2003 agreement between South Carolina and the U.S. Department of Energy states that either 1 ton of plutonium was supposed to be recycled at SRS or removed from South Carolina by Jan. 1, 2016. Since that did not occur, the department was supposed to pay a fee of $1 million a day, capping off at $100 million a year, to South Carolina. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office confirmed that fines have restarted for 2017 and will continue through the first 100 days of the year.”
2. Raise the gas tax, The Post and Courier, Jan. 10, 2017
The Post and Courier, never a liberal-leaning organ, makes a solid case that lawmakers should listen to about raising the gas tax, which hasn’t been increased in 30 years. Take a look. It might change your mind. And, Lord knows many say, the state’s infrastructure can use the boost:
“A hike in the 16-cent gas tax would provide a regular, dedicated source of increased funding. South Carolina’s gas tax is the second lowest in the nation, even though we have one of the largest state-maintained road networks. South Carolina’s economy depends on better roads, and that includes the tourism economy that thrives mainly along the coast. In part because of the millions of tourists who visit South Carolina, a third of the state gas tax is paid by out-of-state motorists.”
3. Texas as a clean energy model, Dallas Morning News, Dec. 9, 2016
While this editorial is a few weeks dated, it brings up some interesting notions related to developing an energy policy consistent with conservative values – perfect for the Age of Trump. An excerpt:
“Without talking about climate change itself, Trump could effectively address carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation, industrial and power sectors in ways that promote manufacturing job growth, technological innovation, economic and market efficiency, energy security and public health — especially for Trump’s constituents who live near and work in the industrial and manufacturing facilities he hopes to revive. Trump could establish himself as a respected world leader in addressing climate change by supporting the revenue-neutral carbon tax that dozens of thoughtful conservatives support, but few in Washington are willing to discuss openly….
“Earlier this year, the Texas Clean Energy Coalition issued a report by The Brattle Group that showed market forces, not environmental regulations, are driving a clean energy economy in Texas. The market is enabling natural gas and renewables to provide all of the new power generation the state will need for the next 20 years, with no anticipated increase in wholesale power prices except for inflation.”
4. Fixing math education in the U.S., Scientific American, Nov. 1, 2016
American students generally rely on memorization, rote procedures and speed to learn mathematics, but studies show that such methods might not be the best way to learn – and might be causing U.S. students to perform poorly on an internationally-administered test. An excerpt:
“The PISA 2012 assessment questioned not only students’ knowledge of mathematics but also their approach to the subject, and their responses reflected three distinct learning styles. Some students relied predominantly on memorization. They indicated that they grasp new topics in math by repeating problems over and over and trying to learn methods “by heart.” Other students tackled new concepts more thoughtfully, saying they tried to relate them to those they already had mastered. A third group followed a so-called self-monitoring approach: they routinely evaluated their own understanding and focused their attention on concepts they had not yet learned. ….
“A number of leading mathematicians, such as Conrad Wolfram and Steven Strogatz, have argued strongly that math is misrepresented in most classrooms. Too many slow, deep math thinkers are turned away from the subject early on by timed tests and procedural teaching. But if American classrooms begin to present the subject as one of open, visual, creative inquiry, accompanied by growth-mindset messages, more students will engage with math’s real beauty. PISA scores would rise, and, more important, our society could better tap the unlimited mathematical potential of our children.”
5. Expunging criminal records could put more people to work, Jennifer Billock in The Atlantic’s CityLab, Jan. 10, 2017
More than 100 professions, including working on a farm, running an HVAC company, interpreting for the deaf or working in a factory, have employment restrictions for people with criminal records. Some 70 million Americans have prior arrests or convictions. Even minor offenses sometimes make it harder for people to get jobs, this story says.
“’This is a huge, potentially productive segment of the population that’s being basically taken out of circulation because of having made a mistake at one point in their lives,” says Margaret Love, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who specializes in restoration of rights and serves on the board of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, a nonprofit investigating the economic and social effects of these long-lasting convictions. ;Most of the time, these records last forever,” Love says. “I think that integrating this population into the labor market in a fair and constructive way would be a tremendous advantage to our economy.”
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!