Broadcaster Press 15 March 15, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com Festival Of Nations Brings Capitol Notebook Experience The Door Opens With Tuition Aid GlobalCampus To For New Schools BY BOB MERCER State Capitol Bureau PIERRE – Some of our legislators can be really crafty at times. They spent much of the 2016 session struggling over transgender bathroom policy in our public schools. Meanwhile they passed another piece of legislation that could make the issue go poof! It would provide money, so transgender students or any students could have non-public schools. Seriously. Soon we could have Republican or Democratic or socialist non-public schools. We could have non-public schools where only Lakota is spoken. Or Latin. Or Mandarin. Or Spanish. Or any other language a family might choose. We could have non-public schools oriented along beliefs of any religion, not just Christianity. We could have people starting non-public schools in their neighborhoods, or for their parts of the prairie, or forest. Entrepreneurs could set up franchise systems or offer starter kits. This has giant potential. You can hear the potential job numbers climbing. Unfortunately the legislation that would allow all of this has a $2.5 million cap. And also unfortunately, only insurance companies would be allowed to donate the $2.5 million. in return for 80 percent credit against their state insurance premium taxes. The question heard most often is why do only insurance companies get to give their money away, and pay only 20 percent of their state taxes. And why a $2.5 million limit on the donations? Insurance companies pay 30 times that much in state taxes in South Dakota. There could be many insurance companies who get left out because they didn’t get in line fast enough. Why would we want to hold private enterprise back? We don’t know yet whether Gov. Dennis Daugaard will sign SB 159 into law or veto it. He faces a big decision. If SB 159 wasn’t so constraining, it could revolutionize K-12 education for South Dakota. If enough tax credits were offered, to enough companies, public schools could be needed much less. And why not tax credits for the everyday citizen? Why not pay 20 percent of your property taxes to the govern- ment, and send an amount equivalent to 100 percent of your property taxes instead to a non-profit organization? Oh wait, that would cost the taxpayer120 percent. But if a taxpayer really, really want to give money for tuition aid for a non-public school, an 80 percent tax credit looks a lot better than no tax credit. Never mind the two sections of the South Dakota Constitution that bars government from financially assisting sectarian institutions. We can get around that. Don’t let the government have the money in the first place. Let the taxpayer instead pay a non-profit that distributes the tuition aid. Give the tuition aid directly to the family. Let the family pay the institution. This is how school choice would work under SB 159. The Senate approved it 24-11. The House of Representatives passed it 45-23. There are almost enough supporters to override a governor’s veto. That takes 24 in the Senate and 47 in the House. And we can afford this. Come June 1, we’ll pay 4.5 percent sales tax in South Dakota, up from 4 percent. Oh, some of our legislators can be really crafty sometimes. The Poverty Problem By Rep. Kristi Noem The poverty problem in our country – in our own state – breaks my heart. It’s more than a lack of cash flow. It’s a deficiency of opportunity, of hope. It’s a seemingly inescapable reality for many that is time and again passed down from generation to generation. And the programs put in place to help often perpetuate the problem. In the last seven years, the cycle of poverty has not only continued, it’s accelerated. Since President Obama took office, around six million more Americans have slipped into poverty. The path to upward mobility for these individuals and families is lined with obstacles. We have to help break down those barriers. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and as a representative of a state that includes some of the most impoverished counties in the country, I am working to move forward real solutions that restore opportunity and address the root causes of poverty. That agenda begins with recognizing the best path out of poverty goes through the workplace. Today’s federal programs can help to avoid crisis, but they fail to equip low-income individuals with the tools needed to move up the economic ladder. There are very few people in this world who want to stay on federal programs their whole life. They want to achieve their dreams. Our system, then, should be focused on getting people back to work, out there searching for a job, or into a training program that will help them launch a career if they are to receive benefits. But right now, the federal government often disincentives work, and by doing that, it can trap people in poverty. The government has set up cliffs where it can make less financial sense to get a job or accept a promotion than to stay on federal programs. That’s wrong. The incentives system needs to be realigned. This means we must also redefine “success” when it comes to welfare policy. For decades, success has been defined by increasing enrollment numbers and the dollars spent. It should be defined instead by whether or not the programs are producing meaningful outcomes. None of this can be accomplished, however, without also improving the integrity of our welfare system. It is wrought with fraud, waste, and abuse. Today, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – or TANF – is the predominant federal program used to support low-income individuals and transition them into the workforce. Loopholes have diluted the program’s effectiveness. Some states have been allowed to manipulate their numbers in order to get taxpayer money without helping people find jobs. South Dakota doesn’t allow for this kind of manipulation and I’d like to see our way of doing things carried out nationwide. I’ve introduced legislation to close this loophole and am actively working to ensure it advances through the legislative process. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan often says: “The condition of your birth should not determine the outcome of your life. This is who we are as a nation.” I agree, but many – including thousands in our state – don’t see how that could be true for them. Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced South Dakota’s economy grew by an astounding 9.2 percent in the third quarter of 2015 – the largest rate of growth in the nation. That compares to just 1.9 percent growth during that same period nationwide. Still, the poorest county in the country is in South Dakota. These families deserve a solution and I’m committed to offering one that produces more accountability and better efficiency to protect what Middle Class Americans have earned, while also generating greater financial independence and a path to upward mobility for those who need it most. This must be a priority. The University of South Dakota invites the public to participate in the Festival of Nations, a one-of-a-kind cultural experience offering food and entertainment from more than 15 countries on Sunday, March 20. Starting at 5:30 p.m., cultures from across the globe will be represented in the Muenster University Center ballroom. USD has hosted the Festival of Nations for more than 20 years as a means for international students to express their cultures and pay tribute to their home countries through food, dress, music and dance. This year’s festival will recognize international students graduating in May with a presentation of graduation stoles embroidered with their home country’s flag. Last year, the festival included upward of 65 dishes from 30 countries and was attended by 200 people. Patrick Morrison, the international student advisor and a coordinator of the event, hopes for even more attendees this year. “This is the only time of year in Vermillion where you’ll see so many cultures in one room,” he said. “Here on campus, there are people from all over the world. This gives them an opportunity to express themselves and honor their home countries.” The student-driven event is made possible by the International Club, with the help of USD’s Center for Academic and Global Engagement (CAGE). Tickets go on sale March 14 in the CAGE office; prices are $12 for adults, $7 for students, and free for children ages 10 and younger. To volunteer, visit http://tinyurl.com/FON2016; volunteers are needed to cook, perform and set up the event. USD Healthcare Careers Camp Registration Open High school students interested in health care careers can register now to attend the 10th annual Healthcare Careers Summer Camp at the University of South Dakota, June 19-24. Students selected will participate in information-gathering activities and receive hands-on learning, including a gross anatomy lab tour, certification in cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), field trips to area medical facilities and group activities and discussions. Additionally, camp participants will interact with health care professionals, faculty and others relative to the pursuit of careers in health care. Applicants eligible to attend are students entering 10th through the 12th grades this fall. Staff advisers from the Sanford School of Medicine and the USD School of Health Sciences will also be available during the camp to discuss everything from education requirements to future employment opportunities and salaries. Sponsors for the 2016 Healthcare Careers Summer Camp are the Sanford Vermillion Medical Center, the Dakota Hospital Foundation, Sanford School of Medicine, the USD School of Health Sciences, Sanford Health, Delta Dental of South Dakota Foundation and the 7th District Medical Society. USD’s Healthcare Careers Summer Camp is open to students from South Dakota, northeast Nebraska, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota. Tuition is $100 per student with meals, lodging and all educational and recreational activities provided. All applications require a counselor nomination, a parent or guardian signature, an official school transcript and a personal statement. Application deadline is Friday, April 1 and details are available at www.usd.edu/medicine/healthcare-careers-camp. Here’s My Card e Your dvertis A d Here! Car 4-4429 Call 62 & Sewer • Water t Excavation en • Basem n olitio • Dem paration • Site Pre g • Ditchin g • Gradin nded sed • Bo • Liscen sured • In ollman Mike P nda, SD 57073 ako ravel and • G 424 • W 5-267-2768 0 PO Box Rock • S Fill Material e/Fax: 6 1-1063 • e Phon Quartzit 5-66 Cell: 60 ahoo.com r@y xkv8to bp Since 1934 Broadcaster Pressdcaster roa B JACKIE WILLIAMS 201 W. Cherr y 069 Vermillion, SD 57 t 4-4429 Media Consultan Phone: (605) 62 08 05) 624-2696 Cell: 605-661-23 Fax (6 t line.com ams@plaintalk.ne www.broadcasteron email: jackie.willi w.plaintalk.net ww Press