From Brinck Slattery: “I’m 22 years old, and I’ve enjoyed reading your site for a few years now. I though you might be interested in David Brooks’ NYT editorial today, entitled ‘Reviving the Hamilton Agenda.’
“Perhaps Brooks has unwittingly put his cards on the table. Some choice sections of the article: ‘If you are reading this column, you’re keeping company with somebody in group No. 2. We Hamiltonians disagree with the limited government conservatives because, on its own, the market is failing to supply enough human capital. Despite all the incentives, 30 percent of kids drop out of high school and the college graduation rate has been flat for a generation. Just when it needs a more skilled work force, the U.S. is getting a less skilled one. This is already taking a bite out of productivity growth, and the problem will get worse.’
“Typical. I get very worried when anyone outside of a human resources department discusses ‘human capital.’ It doesn’t occur to Brooks that productivity stats and the holy GNP stat may not be the end all and be all of human existence.“More (long quote):’When it comes to what Hamiltonians are actually for, two big themes stand out. First, the overall economy has to remain dynamic… The second big theme is a human capital agenda. No one policy can increase the quality of human capital, but a lifelong portfolio of policies can make a difference.
“‘Children do better when raised in stable two-parent families. Bigger child tax credits and increasing the earned income tax credit can reduce the economic strain on young families (and shift the tax burden to older, affluent ones). Extending government income support to young men in exchange for work would make them more marriageable.
“‘Nurse practitioners who make home visits can stabilize disorganized, single-parent families. Quality preschool can help young children from those disorganized homes develop the self-motivation skills they’ll need to succeed.’
“Disturbing on a few levels. ‘Nurse practitioners…can stabilize disorganized, single-parent families’? RNs from where? Paid for by whom, and under orders from whom?
“More: ‘Senior citizen groups could mentor students to keep them emotionally engaged during college years. National service should be a rite of passage, forcing city kids to work with rural kids, and vice versa.’
“Again, what is wrong with this guy! Maybe we can take kids at birth and pull a switcheroo between urban and rural hospitals, to make sure no one gets an advantage either.
“Finally, this cryptic gem, the closing graf: ‘Government is really bad at rigging or softening competition. It can do some good when it helps people compete.’
“Does Brooks realize that the two sentences have the same meaning, just with different words? Apparently not.
“If this is conservatism, I’m glad I dropped out of that movement in high school and became a libertarian!”
7:16 am on June 8, 2007
