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EAST COUNTY Observer
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, october 27, 2011
Observer opinion | our view EAST COUNTY
“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944
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No-kill policy laudable, risky In a perfect world, we would not have to kill unwanted dogs and cats. In case it is not painfully clear every day, this is not a perfect world. Yet, in the midst of an ongoing funding crisis, the Manatee County Commission unanimously adopted a no-kill policy for its animal shelters, enacting a goal of adopting or “fostering” 90% of all dogs and cats that go into shelters by December 2012. No-kill is laudable. Anyone who has had to put down a pet knows the emotional struggle. And while most of the animals euthanized are unwanted pets, it is still a shame. We don’t envy the people who have to do this on a daily basis. We hope the program works as billed. But it could come back to bite commissioners. It was sold in part on the idea that it would save money for taxpayers by ultimately having fewer animals sheltered and fewer feral animals. That will take an incredible amount of buy-in and sets up the county for potentially more expenses.
Time will ultimately tell, but we would not have encouraged this step now. However, while we have concerns about taking on such a venture in the midst of more pressing issues, the way the county and commission went about the plan is commendable. First, the idea is to get animals into foster homes and adopted homes quickly, using education and grass-roots mouthto-mouth. The county’s private, non-profit animal shelters, pet organizations and many of its veterinarians are on board with trying to make this work. Their voluntary cooperation is imperative. Second, there is the plan to catch and release feral cats. This is humane, but it will take more effort to trap them, then spay or neuter them. Unless that is all done voluntarily, that means more county expense. The approach has been far less top-down than most government work, and that alone suggests hope for its success. Honor Sanctuary in East County is one of
the key private operators that will be part of this, and its mission seems to fit in concert with what the county is trying to accomplish. And there is the question of neighbors of the animal shelters. Several neighbors have spoken out, complaining of dogs barking all through the night. They fear the new policy will mean more dogs, which will in turn mean more noise. If either the program costs the county more money or it ends up with more barking dogs at shelters — both of which would mean it is not working as intended — we hope the commissioners will move swiftly to correct it. Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a major supporter of the policy, said she would reevaluate the program if it ends up costing taxpayers extra money. But if it does work, and it saves taxpayers money and limits the number of dogs and cats being killed, then it will be a job well done.
Editor-Editorial Pages / Rod Thomson, rthomson@yourobserver.com Multimedia Production Manager / Caleb Stanton, cstanton@yourobserver.com
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Anthropological higher-ed changes
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The need for reform in higher education is real, and the real issue for debate — not the relative value of anthropologists in society. Much is being made in the media about Gov. Rick Scott’s move to reform higher education in Florida. Well, not really broad, important reform, but a comment he made about whether Florida taxpayers should subsidize anthropology majors the way they do business, science and engineering majors. “While anthropology is really interesting, there are no jobs there. We don’t tell these kids ROD that,” Scott told the ObTHOMSON server Group’s editorial board recently. “We’re going to put our money into science, technology, engineering and math. So if people want to get degrees in anthropology, that’s great. I just don’t want to take your money to pay for that.” In an exercise in pointless reporting, the media frenzied almost exclusively on the anthropology remarks, going in knee-jerk fashion to the obvious arbiters of objectivity on the issue — university anthropologists and anthropology associations. Predictably as gravity, they were aggrieved at Scott’s “lack of comprehension.” Again, disagreement from the left — yes, an assumption, but a reasonably safe one — always comes down to name-calling, even when it is polite. Scott’s stoopid. Bush was stoopid. Reagan was stoopid. Perry is stoopid. Bachmann is stoopid. Face it, con-
servatives are stoopid. Of course, considering what we know of university faculties, the chances that any of those cloistered, ivory-tower special interests voted for Scott is microscopic. So part of this really is political. But it is a healthy exercise to question the way things have always been — something that used to be a mainstay of liberalism, which has now become largely statist in many ways. The reporting, smelling like just more anti-Scott hit jobs, is a disservice to the greater issue: The need for dramatic reform in the state university system that churns out too many unemployables at too much cost while making sure that its own turf is protected. Scott wants to look at several major higher-education issues, such as: • Reconsidering the concept of permanent, untouchable employment by professors, encapsulated in the tenure concept. No one in the private sector and most in the public sector do not have that kind of job security on steroids. Clearly the weak profs need to go, but do not under the current system. • Reforming university boards so that members will question presidents and other faculty and not just be “yes” members to everything the university establishment wants. That has resulted in ever-escalating tuition costs for students and taxpayers; • Reigning in pay. Scott pointed out that more than 2,000 people make more than $144,000 per year in Florida’s universities,
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THE CASTAWAY by Jorge Blanco
and he is placing public salaries online for transparency. People should know those numbers. Scott is patterning his proposals after Texas reforms known as the “Seven Breakthrough Solutions.” Those reforms look at requiring colleges to quantify their performance by calculating a cost-benefit analysis of teachers. It attempts to let the market of students and parents make better decisions with more information. It rewards success, not mediocrity. In calculating the cost-benefit analysis for professors, these questions are asked: How much are they paid? How many classes do they teach? How many students? How do students rate those professors? The data are then compiled into rankings, which students could review before choosing their instructors. And then professors proving their worth get bonuses. Another part of the Texas reforms calls for redirecting how funding is done. Right now, public money is given to schools as a tuition subsidy. The Texas plan argues that students make the best decision — not politicians — and that they should get the subsidy directly. Critics say this is a voucher system — as though that would be a bad thing. Of course, the government union — United Faculty of Florida — opposes any such changes. Why not? The current system is gravy for its members. Just not for taxpayers and students. The way things are does zippo to reward high performers and provides insulation for crummy professors. Those are the real issues, not anthropology’s contribution to modern society. Rod Thomson can be reached at rthomson@yourobserver.com.