Tag: James A. Bacon
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Backlash? What Backlash?
Yours truly was quoted by The Washington Post as asking how Scott Beardsley, new president of the University of Virginia, differs from former president Jim Ryan when it comes to his commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. The Post also quoted my comrade in arms Stu Smith, a popular conservative social media poster, as calling…
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When Is “Affordability” Not Affordable?
Affordability is a goal that everyone can get behind. I eagerly await an informed and dispassionate discussion by legislators of Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s 17-point agenda to achieve that goal. Just a couple of reminders: Redistributing wealth from Group A to Group B might make life more affordable for Group B, but not Group A. More…
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What Is UVA’s Research Overhead?
And how much is driven by DEI? UVA won’t say. Open the Books has published a new report, “Transparency Crisis,” examining the percentage of research funding devoted to university overhead. Nationally, 50% to 60% of federal research grants go to overhead, which is meant to cover university and departmental infrastructure and support. “Recent reports,” states…
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Violent Crime Down 7% in 2024, Homicides by 19%
Hooray, the Virginia State Police has finally published its Crime in Virginia 2024 report! The big news was that violent crime in the commonwealth dropped 7% that year compared to 2023. The number of homicides (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter) declined from 520 in 2023 to 421 in 2024 — 19 percent! There’s much more to…
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VRS Slowly Closing the Funding Gap
But liabilities still exceed assets by 17 percent. Earlier this week, we discussed how deferred maintenance represents a form of hidden deficit spending. Underfunding pension contributions is another classic gambit of state government. Since bottoming out in the mid-2010s, the Virginia Retirement System has been inching closer each year toward full funding for teachers and…
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Beardsley Selected to Run UVA. Is a Blue-on-Blue Execution Next?
I figured the University of Virginia’s presidential selection would appoint someone from within the University because who in their right mind would move across the country to Charlottesville knowing the kind of reception he or she would get from Virginia politicians:
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Gun Killings Down in 2024
But homicides remained highly concentrated in nine old urban localities. From the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report, “Effects of Community Gun Violence in Virginia“: Virginia ranks 23rd highest among states for violent firearm offenses, with 88 per 100,000 residents annually on average (slightly below the 50-state average of 93). Virginia’s statewide gun homicide…
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State Govt’s Maintenance Backlog: $1.1 Billion+
An insidious form of deficit spending is deferred maintenance. Could that be a problem in Virginia? The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission took a look at state-owned buildings, valued at between $31 billion to $47 billion. The M-R FIX [database] shows that about half of state-owned buildings are almost 50 years old or older,…
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Do Students Benefit from College Athletics?
James V. Koch, a former university president, prolific writer about college governance, and huge college sports fan, chats with Jim Bacon about the seismic changes in the college sports landscape. In his new book, “The Economic Impact of Intercollegiate Athletics on Former Students,” Koch explores the pros and cons of college athletics for students and…
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Outrage Over Reason at UVA Law
“Are we teaching people to think or just teaching them to judge?” At a recent Federalist Society panel discussion, UVA Law professor Xiao Wang described the response from students and colleagues to his role in winning a unanimous ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames vs. Ohio Youth Services. The ruling ended the “heightened…
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No, Health Care Is Not a “Fundamental Right”
Bernie Sanders isn’t “lying,” as Delegate Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, says here. The Vermont socialist believes what he says. Rather, he’s confused about what constitutes a “fundamental right.” However, Freitas nails it when he explains that a fundamental right such as free speech, freedom of religion, etc., does not entitle you to the property and labor…
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Publication of 2024 “Crime in Virginia” Data a Half Year Late
For years the Virginia State Police has published its annual “Crime in Virginia” report each May detailing the number of violent crimes, non-violent crimes, arrests, hate crimes, officer-involved shootings, and other crime-related data for the commonwealth. Then something strange happened last year: The 2023 report came out late — in August, as I recall. This…