December 20, 1999

Meet the Press
School vouchers
Russia on the way to reforms?
Terrorist in Washington

Meet the Press

In a feisty exchange on yesterday's Meet the Press program, Al Gore challenged Bill Bradley to give up using campaign commercials, and instead and debate him twice a week up to end of the Democratic primaries. Bradley dismissed the challenge as "ridiculous," saying that it must mean the vice president is "having trouble raising money." Bradley then went on to blame the Clinton Administration for not reforming the system instead of corrupting it further. Last week, McCain and Bradley held a joint press conference touting campaign finance reform.

In a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell, one of the key players on the campaign finance reform issue, Roger Pilon noted that the reforms that GOP presidential nominee John McCain (and Bill Bradley) endorse are unconstitutional. In "Campaign Finance Regulation: Faulty Assumptions and Undemocratic Consequences," Bradley A. Smith argues that political campaigns and political speech are protected under the Constitution and therefore cannot be limited.

School vouchers

Bill Bradley, in a bold move that might alienate his Democratic base, endorsed the use of school vouchers yesterday, also during the Meet the Press program. In an article in Policy Report entitled "Let the Children Go," David Boaz argues that the public school system is a one-size-fits all approach where "students are assigned to schools by the government, and in most cases the only alternative to the assigned school -- and even the assigned classroom -- is to pay for a private school."

In "Spending to Educate?" Jennifer Grossman takes a look at the contributions of two men who have given millions of dollars of their own money to provide scholarships (or their own voucher program) to children whose parents want to send them to private school but can't afford it.

Russia on the way to reforms?

In elections held over the weekend, a new political party in Russia backed by the Kremlin made gains against the Communist Party in the Duma, early tabulations show. Control of the parliament by the new Unity party could mean enactment of badly needed economic reforms backed by Yelstin that he has been unable to pass with Communists in control.

In "Time to Replace Russia's Potemkin Capitalism," George Selgin discusses Russian economic reforms, arguing that the IMF should stop supporting both the Central Bank of Russia and attempts to reform Russian banks from within. Read his policy analysis, "Replacing Potemkin Capitalism: Russia's Need for a Free-Market Financial System," on the same subject.

Terrorist in Washington

An Algerian man was caught in Washington state with "powerful bomb-making materials," having crossed into the United States across the Canadian border, reports the New York Times. As a result, the State Department is again warning Americans to be "vigilant" due to "heightened risk of terrorist actions."

In "The U.S. Government Is Endangering American Citizens," Ivan Eland finds it is "both ironic and potentially tragic" that our government issues warnings about problems it may have caused in the first place. "The United States should resist the temptation to intervene overseas in situations that are not critical to its vital interests."