Rodney Erickson, president of Penn State, will see his salary increase by 16 percent to $600,000 next year. Not surprisingly perhaps, the comments forum on pennlive.com is filled with outrage [1]. But consider that, despite the increase, Erickson’s salary will be lower next year than what Spanier was earning as his base salary last year. PSU says that the increase brings Erickson’s salary in line with that of presidents in comparable institutions. We do not know what that reference list is, but below is data on president salaries and student enrollments at a few public universities [2]. Spanier’s base pay[Read more...]

The federal government’s Summer Work Travel program “provides foreign students with an opportunity to live and work in the United States during their summer vacation from college or university to experience and to be exposed to the people and way of life in the United States” [1]. But the foreign students who came under the program last year and worked in Hershey’s chocolate plant claimed that they were forced to work for minimal wages under physically demanding conditions. The students went on strike, and the ensuing media coverage revealed how subcontractors such as SHS OnSite Solutions arranged for student workers[Read more...]

Rarely does a report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics garner such public attention. But the release of the September employment figures has thrust the staid government agency into the spotlight, inviting closer scrutiny of its methodology and even forcing it to defend its integrity. The reason for the uproar? The unemployment rate for September came in at 7.8 percent, 0.3 percentage points below August’s rate and, more significantly, falling below the psychologically important mark of 8 percent for the first time since January 2009. In February 2009, the unemployment rate breached the 8 percent level, reached a high[Read more...]

Faithful readers of EJ may recall that in December 2009, rats were found infesting the Capitol cafeteria. But political observers were not surprised: the rats could well have referred to politicians in Harrisburg charged with improper use of taxpayer funds to finance their campaigns. Since then, Bill DeWeese and John Perzel (both former House speakers) and Jane Orie (former state senator) have found accommodations in prison, while others, including Ms Orie’s two sisters (one a state Supreme Court justice), face charges of illegal conduct while in office. And now we learn that rodents have been discovered in historic Broad Street[Read more...]

After the traffic signs at the intersection of High and Market Streets were reconfigured several months ago, drivers could make left turns more confidently. Since then, nothing has happened to change that fact, although an astute observer of the local scene reports, having conducted a study of traffic patterns at the signal, that he has seen a number of drivers going through red lights at the busy intersection. Which brings up an interesting question about public safety. What has been the effect of the signal redesign on traffic violations and accidents? Has public safety (defined, broadly, to include that of[Read more...]

The editors of EJ have noticed, with their usual alacrity, that the restaurant scene in Elizabethtown has changed significantly of late. Burger King was closed for a while–is it shuttered permanently? That would be a big blow. For a fast food fix, the eds must now retire to McDs, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. All are admittedly fine establishments, especially Taco Bell, which succeeds in imparting intrigue to the lowly taco by insisting that that its recipe uses “mystery meat.” Of course, they cannot divulge the details—or else competitors will pounce with even cheaper tacos! Nonetheless, the whopper will be missed.[Read more...]

In a deeply disturbing move, the British government has stripped Fred Goodwin of his knighthood. Mr. Goodwin, formerly Sir Goodwin, is the ex-CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, a bank that failed in 2008 and helped usher in a recession in Britain. Following a government bailout of $71 billion, RBS was nationalized. British taxpayers now own an 82% stake in the bank. So what led Queen Elizabeth II to revoke Fred’s knighthood? Apparently, he made some bad decisions just before the crisis, notable among them an ill-timed multi-billion dollar acquisition of a Dutch bank. And though Fred resigned, the[Read more...]

Here are some findings from 2011 America’s Heath Rankings by United Health Group, a leading health care company. Vermont is the healthiest state in the nation. Their strengths are: a high rate of high school graduation, a low violent crime rate, a low rate of infectious disease, a high usage of early prenatal care, high per capita public health funding, a low rate of uninsured population and ready availability of primary care physicians. Pennsylvania is ranked 26th. Our strengths and challenges are as follows: Strengths: • Low rate of uninsured population (11% lack health insurance; MA is lowest in country,[Read more...]

The original stimulus package, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), provided $840 billion in tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and payments to state and local governments for health and education. As of Dec 16, 2011, $736 billion, or 88 percent, has been paid out. Tax Benefits accounted for $300.1 billion; contracts, grants, and loans $219.5 billion; and entitlements $216.3 billion. Has the ARRA proven to be effective? By most estimates, the stimulus, along with a strong dose of monetary measures by the Federal Reserve, prevented a bad economic recession from getting worse. In 2008-09, the private sector had ceased[Read more...]

Late in the evening in the fall, you drive up from Elizabethtown College on College Ave and stop on Market St. The work on the College Ave extension is going on, and from all appearances, only the bridge over the creek remains to be completed. A bridge too far, you sigh, as you make the right and drive towards Bainbridge. But then it hits you–there is a building on the left in total darkness. Till a few weeks ago, the building was always lit, people milling around inside. On some evenings there was live music; at other times, people came[Read more...]