Millenium Scholarship

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Millenium Scholarship

University Regents are elected to set policy for Nevada’s system of higher education and hire the chancellor. Yesterday, they heard that for the first time in a long time, the amount of financial assistance given to students was lower than the year before.

Some people knew this was coming as early as the year 2001. By then, Governor Guinn had seen the first numbers on his Millennium Scholarship program. It was pretty easy, then, to extrapolate that first year’s results out into the future and reach the conclusion that the program at capacity would spend about twice its earmarked revenue.

Because it was offered to recent high school graduates, it ramped up slowly, adding one new group of recent grads per year. Thus, there was plenty of advance warning that the program was not sustainable.

The decision was made by the administration to not modify the program – say, by only offering it to our best and brightest students – and instead let it go broke shortly after Governor Guinn’s 2004 re-election.

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor didn’t allow the Legislature and press to see the program’s finances until the 2005 session. That year, the legislature changed the program around to reduce the costs, as well as appropriated tens of millions in additional taxes to prop it up. Today, the Millenium pays for about half of a UNR or UNLV student’s costs, and no longer serves “to keep our best and brightest from leaving the state for their college education.”

US Tops In Higher Ed Spending

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Higher Ed

The United States spends more on higher education, as a percentage of gross domestic product, than any other industrialized nation. Are we getting our money’s worth?

Dentists Per Nevadan

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Dental School

You have to go several places to put the data together… but Nevada now ranks 23rd of 51 states in the number of dentists per capita. Advocates of endlessly expanding our University system justify hemorrhagic spending of higher taxes on our dental school on the grounds that we rank “at the bottom of the list” of dentists per capita – a claim now proven false.

Here is data on the number of dentists…

Here is data on the number of people…

Here are the results…

Medicaid: Ranking Nevada Amongst States

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Medicaid

“Public Citizen” is a Washington-based advocacy group that values expanding Medicaid at the expense of higher taxes.

Here is their recent study ranking Nevada 40th in terms of Medicaid spending.

Another Medicaid expansion advocate, the Kaiser Foundation, finds Nevada’s overall Medicaid spending per enrollee ranks us 37th.

Census Data On Nevada

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Economy

Here is the US Census Bureau’s 2005 “American Fact Finder“.

Some nuggets:

• We have a very young median age (43rd in median age, 41st in percentage over 65)
• We are below average for grandparents taking care of their grandchildren.
• Below average in children living in poverty
• Below average (but nowhere near the bottom) in percent completing high school.
• Average for earnings by full-time, year-round females
• Above average household income (17th of 51)
• Fourth highest in percentage of people who don’t speak English well.

Pension Gap Getting Larger

Posted by Webmaster on November 11, 2008 under Retirement

Here’s an article in USA Today about the growing gap between government and non-government pension costs and benefits.