LEGISLATURE CONCLUDING '06 SESSION.
USUAL STREAM OF LAST-MINUTE BILLS.
SPEAKER SILVER IS DEFENDED IN SUN.
ARE BILL GATES' GIFTS WISELY USED?
 

By Henry J. Stern
June 23, 2006

With the State Legislature's adjournment imminent (they are supposed to be gone by the time you read this), it is increasingly difficult to follow the fate of individual bills, which are being considered in large numbers, discussed quite briefly or not at all.  Compromises have been reached on requiring DNA testing for all felony convictions and some misdemeanors, and extending the statute of limitations for rape.  A massive bill on budget procedure is in the process of last-minute adoption, as well as unsettled financial issues.  A host of union-enhancement bills will be passed, reflecting labor’s enormous influence in Albany.  See Newsday's editorial today.
 
The concentration of activity in the last days of the session makes the proceedings more difficult for the public and press to follow, which could be an intended result of shelving legislative action until the final days of induced frenzy, when sessions run late into the night.  But whether the pile-up is intended or not, the dilatory practices of Albany result in substantially more difficult legislative oversight by newspapers and good government groups. 

The pay-to-play lobbyists prosper under the confusing system, since it is easier for a special interest bill, considered as the session is about to close, to fall below the radar screen of public or media attention.  The capacity of the public and the press for outrage is likely to have been exhausted before the grand finale of the legislative session, where bills appear and disappear like fireworks, after which the stage turns dark and the performance ends.  But not to worry, the show will be back next year with essentially the same cast.  We will learn whether the new ringmaster will make much difference.


The Sun published two articles today which are particularly interesting, at least to us and hopefully to you.  Starting on p1 and jumping to p4, Jacob Gershman writes in defense of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, "How Mr. Silver Manages to Unite Post, Times, O'Reilly, Daily News."  Gershman gives the positive side of the Silver story, emphasizing the loyalty of his flock.  He does not, however, discuss conflicts of interest, outside employment or the repeal of the commuter tax.  Link to his story.
 
Gershman's article's premise is that since writers on the left and right are attacking Silver, he must be doing something right.  His constituency is the 105 Democratic assembly members in a body which is gerrymandered just as the Senate is gerrymandered to favor Republicans.  What would the odds be of one house going 35-27 for party A, while the other house in the same state is 105-45 for party B?  Do you think the dice may have been loaded?.  

A safe seat means that a legislator has more to fear from his line-drawing leader than from the voters, from whose displeasure he is insulated.  The legislator will face more pressure from ideologues in primaries than the public in general elections.  Silver is a major power in the Democratic Party (the state chair is his principal liege in Albany, ways and means chair Denny Farrell).

The writer pays tribute to Silver's political skills, which are acknowledged to be formidable.  The Speaker takes the flak for unpopular positions held by his Conference (the 105 Assembly Democrats).  Being a media target is said to endear him to his disciples.  The lesser fry are rarely attacked, in part because so few people have heard of them.  Silver is serving his 31st year in the Assembly, and his 13th as Speaker.


On p11, Andrew Wolf's column discusses "The Education of William Gates.”  The Sun has an unusual policy, you can only link to articles on the day they appear, so if you want to read them, link to them soon, or buy the newspaper for 50 cents.  Friday's paper is dated to cover the weekend.  If you receive or read this article too late to link to the Sun, e-mail us and we will help you get what you want.

Bill Gates, America's leading philanthropist, has given over a billion dollars to help failing high schools around the country.  He is a leading benefactor of New York City's schools, paying to establish smaller high schools which he believes will lead to better educational outcomes.  He relies on the judgment of philanthropic advisors, a subset of the academic, politically correct foundation types who have acquired significant influence in public policy. 

What Gates does not know is that, even though these people are bright, articulate and fashionable, their judgment may not be sound, since most of it comes from their peer group, or books written by other true believers and paid for by similarly-minded donors.  As far as actual education is concerned, we suspect that these gentlefolk are today's incarnation of believers in phlogiston.
 
Without the credentials the educrats bestow on each other, we cannot say with authority how far off the mark they are.  But someday they will find the substance or process that will do for education what Prozac did for psychoanalysis.  Your misery is not all your mother's fault, nor are school problems entirely due to conditions in the home, although they surely do not help.
 
It was the best and the brightest that managed the Vietnam War in the 1960's, operating on the basis of information that they believed to be true.  We are not conspiracy theorists, but we are aware of the possibility of enormous error.  Why did Hitler invade Russia, for example?  But not only madmen make mistakes.  Decent folk may misjudge issues, especially if they are not in possession of all the facts, for which they necessarily rely on the media.  And if they are rich enough, important enough, or hold positions of sufficient power, thousands or millions may follow them in error, sometimes into harm's way. 

It is unfortunate that the social sciences are not as advanced as the natural and the physical sciences with regard to peer review and other mechanisms to determine truth through repeating experiments.  Researchers usually want experiments to succeed, if only in order to secure more grants.  But the social sciences are more vulnerable to ideology than the natural sciences, Stalin and Lysenko being an exception to that generalization.

If Microsoft were to invest a billion dollars in R & D for a new product, there would be intense oversight and examination of alternatives to assure that the product worked before it was placed on the market.  Spending a billion on education should receive the same rigorous scrutiny, rather than be treated as a simple exercise of generosity in helping to educate the less fortunate.

If all academia thought the world to be flat, or to be the center of the universe, that would not make it so.  The history of recent centuries is littered with hundreds of theories proven wrong by scientific advances.  Unfortunately, what we have learned in medicine, physics and molecular biology has not been matched by progress in education, a field which probably has a closer relationship to neurology than educrats realize or are likely to admit. 

Just because Bill Gates is honorable, decent, generous and the richest man in the world does not mean he or his staff is infallible on matters of education or any other issue.  Some say that intercession at the high school level comes too late to help those children who are already hopelessly behind in reading and other basic skills.  We believe there are enormous resources already going into primary education, and relatively little private assistance in educating adolescents.  Gates' help is timely and more than welcome in New York. 

But wouldn't it be better if the money were spent more wisely, in terms of securing, through proven methods, favorable outcomes for both the students in the program and the other students not selected for it who may be adversely affected by receiving less attention and resources and fewer opportunities for interaction.  Remember, also, those left behind.