PANDEMIC | Involuntary Homeschoolers

The pandemic has closed schools, because the proximity of students in schools enables the coronavirus to spread rapidly. The virus is well tolerated by children but they become carriers and the illness is more likely to fell their grandparents. Some 400 million children worldwide are therefore being involuntarily homeschooled. Teachers and parents dealing with COVID-19 are facing, perhaps for the first time, the challenges of teaching from a distance, and children are ramping up their exposure to online learning. I have three points of reference to offer:

1. A report from a involuntarily homeschooling mother in Italy.  This an excerpt from the Baltimore Fishbowl, a lively newsletter. Cara Ober interviewed Irene Woodbury, an American living in Italy. I lightly edited, to save space, this paragraph from the long mid-March interview:

We have no experience in Italy with homeschooling. I’m supposed to be a remote worker, working 4 to 6 hours a day, but I have my kids home and I’m supposed to be homeschooling them in Italian, math, and geography. My 6-year-old is in first grade. Even so, the school assignments are building up and his math skills are getting rusty because we have not been diligent, and now his teachers are sending more stuff. I don’t know how many hours I am supposed to teach him, but Monday through Friday I’m aiming to devote three hours a day.

But homeschooling for various reasons is already well-entrenched in some 2 percent or more of the population of the United States and Canada. Homeschooling families have been tackling the problem of keeping up with a government curriculum for decades.

2. A report from my homeschooling niece in Canada. An Oxford alumna (doctorate in English), she homeschools her three children, and has seven years of experience homeschooling.

One thing that's important with homeschooling is to take the long view. It's not a matter of cramming masses of information into a child's brain within a short space of time. Rather, figure out what basic skills you are trying to impart to your child over a given period of time (say, for at least the next three months, preferably longer), and decide which of those skills you will try to impart each week. Follow a schedule but don't feel you need to cover every subject every day. Observe your children to see how much repetition they need before they have grasped a skill. Don't force them to do unnecessary repetition. Schools give students a lot of busy work because they have to keep everybody busy until all the students are ready to move on. But your child can just move on to the next thing when he/she is ready.

If you're not sure what skills are appropriate for your child's age, check your state's curriculum guidelines, which should be easy to find online. Another option is to follow a recognized homeschooling curriculum, such as Seton [Seton Home Study School]. It's not necessary to follow their system slavishly – just take what's useful and leave the rest. We combine resources from a few homeschooling programs (Catholic Heritage Curricula is one of our favourites), and add our own too.

At the end of the day, try to enjoy the process. This is a unique opportunity to bond with your child – to learn how your child thinks. What really interests each child – that is a great discovery. Have fun, and don't stress too much! Your child will learn lots, as learning from parents is a very natural way to learn.

3. Some recommendations from Bethlehem Books. I asked Jack Sharpe of Bethlehem Books for some recommendations for homeschooling aids, based on his long exposure to the field. Bethlehem Books is a big supplier of books to homeschoolers. He gave three recommendations:

• Homeschool.com, a blog founded by Rebecca Kochenderfer 19 years ago and now edited by Jamie Graddy. 
• Sonlight.com, a 30-year-old shopping site and homeschool curriculum.
• Time4learning.com, a curriculum that appears to offer the parent a great deal of flexibility. They promote the idea that their resources can be used for after-school of summer programs.

If you don't like any of these suggestions, visit a site that lists the 25 top homeschooling blog sites. Two of the 25 are on Sharpe's list.

CANADA | "There Is No Planet B"

Protest in Ottawa against Farm Policy
 (Subsidies, Hormones, Caged Animals...)

OTTAWA, July 15, 2018–On our way yesterday from our hotel to The Glebe area of Ottawa, where my brother lives, we went by a protest of Canadian farm policy.

The signs recited the shortcomings of farm policy, from caged animals to hormone injections to animal-farm subsidies.

My favorite sign was "There is no Planet B".

The central concern of the protesters seemed to be about treatment of animals.

The demonstration was sponsored by Nation Rising, a Canadian organization. They were heading for Parliament Hill, where they listed to some speeches. https://bit.ly/2uxYQRG

They were chanting: "The PLANet, the PEOple, the A-NI-MALS. In a Morse code version of iambic verse meter, the line went: .–., .–.,.– – –.

I thought it was effective to have a police escort on bicycles, showing some sympathy with the environmental concerns of the protesters and at the same time allowing the police to control the crowds at ground level with more equipment than a pedestrian could carry.

See also: "Democrats Seek Unity" https://cityeconomist.blogspot.com/2018/07/east-hampton-democrats-united-to-defeat.html.

ART BIZ | Ottawa, Orange Gallery (Comment on Giclées)

Brigid Marlin with her painting, "The Green Man,"
which was a focus of attention in the Art of
Imagination exhibit. All photos by JT Marlin.

I had the pleasure on Saturday, Sept. 13, of visiting an exhibit at the Orange Art Gallery at 290 City Centre Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario.

This was the last day of a ten-day exhibition with three venues and a faerie parade. The other two exhibits were at the Glebe Community Center Gallery and the Roast 'N Brew Coffee Shop.

The gallery is on two floors.
Note bird headdress
on a live model.

The exhibits and events were organized by the newly formed Canadian Chapter of the Society for Art of Imagination, part of an international association of more than 400 artists in 24 countries around the world.

Here is a slide show with some video clips of it. (I am in it at the 4:57 mark - proves I was there.)

The Ottawa exhibit was organized by Bhat Boy, a successful local artist and art teacher. He started out drawing people's houses in Ottawa. He then went in for surrealistic pairings of royals or writers and politicos. He also does paintings that merge and mix buildings in his own rearrangements of urban landscapes. In his spare time, he has become well known in Ottawa as an advocate of better traffic control and of protecting local cultural institutions (like the Glebe Neighborhood Centre) from Ottawa City budget cuts.

Some of those who  came to look at the art.

The events on the final day were well attended, especially given a day-long deluge of cold rain. Fall comes earlier to Ottawa than to New York City.

The Orange Art Gallery on this occasion was targeting its art to a younger crowd, which is indeed where I have found the interest in fantastic realism – the focus of the Art of Imagination – to be strongest in New York City.

A preponderance of the art is in the sub-$1,000 range, mostly $300-$900 per painting.

"The Green Man" protects (preys upon?) innocence.
Much admired, this was priced at $7,500.

Also shown in the large space were rooms with the gallery's regular artists. One such artist, Gwendolyn Best, paints all-black, red-eyed cats and bats and crows and rats on pastel backgrounds. It's all kind of cute. She has sold 700 of such paintings in the last year, mostly at the $300-$500 price point, although she has sold larger paintings for as much as $2,000.

One of her paintings on display was of a Board of Directors of rats with one rat distinctly out of sync with the others. I was advised that this could well have been a representation of the painter's own experience dealing with a board.

Some of the paintings in the show were priced at up to $7,500. However, only framed giclées of these higher-priced paintings were successfully sold, at $350 to $600 each.

Judging by the mismatch between enthusiasm for the higher-priced items and the concentration of sales at a lower level during the closing party from 6 pm to 10 pm, the bull market for this kind of art in Ottawa – as in New York City! – seems to await the coming into money of a younger generation.

The gallery itself is apparently doing well in a new and better location, in part because it is active in using the space for events, including weddings and other paying assemblies. The space used to be a bank to serve railway employees and users. It combines longer-term exhibits with special events and it has an artists' workshop in the lower level.

I was especially taken by several lifelike foot-high sculptures by Maria Saracino - an Einstein-like man feeding birds, two people sitting at a Starbucks-branded table, and other characters sitting with a cleverly fabricated miniature newspaper on park benches. This artist is one of many artists tethered on a long-term basis to the gallery. Her sculptures sell well, for a minimum of $1,000.

Comment on Giclées

It is good to know that art markets are thriving in middle-sized cities like Ottawa. I found the same thing to be true in Vero Beach, Florida when I was there in March.

Based on looking at the paintings and the posted prices, and on interviews with some of the artists at the show, two types of sales were made at the exhibit or by artists who were exhibiting:

- Artists who are local and sell paintings that have a style or a gimmick that identifies them (i.e., a "brand") and sell in the $350 to $600 range.

- Visiting artists with paintings that sell at a higher price, mid to high four figures, who sold framed giclées also in the range of $350-$600.

This sale of giclées is promising. The neologism dates back - from what I can determine from a quick bit of research - only to 1991. A giclée is simply a high-resolution print with long-lasting ink on canvas-like material. It is a good solution to the ongoing problem of reconciling gallery price points. A gallery knows that more sales will occur at lower prices, but the higher-priced art may suffer by being shown with lower-priced art.

Cadillac showrooms don't sell Yugos or Kias at the same site. Similarly customers at Wal-Mart they are not likely to be in a frame of mind to buy on impulse an expensive Rolex. Putting a Rolex in with a less expensive Timex (a fine watch, I'm wearing one now) does not enhance the prestige of the Rolex, which prefers to be associated with pictures of up-market casinos and racetracks and yachts.

The giclée offers an opportunity for the aspirational collector to participate in ownership of a more expensive artist at an affordable price. This is a good solution, but to protect the prices of the original art I believe that every giclée should be plainly marked.

A viewer should not have to puzzle over whether a painting is an original or not, even though the idea is to make the copy as faithful as possible to the original. If the copy is really as good as the original it could cheapen the market for the original paintings. What do you think?

SINGLE PAYER NY? | Inequality and Health Costs

NYS Assemblyman Richard
Gottfried (D-NYC, Chelsea)

In yesterday morning's edition of The NY Times, David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy launch a new feature, "The Upshot", by providing new data on rising inequality of U.S. incomes in the United States.

The charts show that incomes have been falling for the lowest 5th percentile in the United States, and while rising in the other percentiles have been rising more slowly than other industrialized countries in the 10th, 20th, 30th and 40th percentiles. U.S. median income is likely to be exceeded now by Canada's.

The implications that the authors draw from the data are reasonable. Their focus on the subject is justified. Their report pushes policy in the right direction...

More Complex Than It Seems

But the chart and its meaning are more complicated than might seem at first look.

• The intervals in the table are not even. They are 5 percentage points at the top and bottom and then switch to 10 percentage points. 
• The intervals by years are foreshortened at the recent end from four to two years. 
• The key to understanding the relationship between the United States and other countries is the slope of the lines for each point in time for each percentile. This requires sophisticated thinking - it's cross-sectional trend analysis. There are pitfalls here because exchange rates are changing for independent reasons.
• The United States appears to be losing ground only for the 5th percentile. If the chart only showed the 10th percentile, none of the trend lines would point downward. 
• For the percentiles the United States is increasing but other countries are getting better faster, at least up to the median (50th percentile).
• The reporters base some of their their conclusions on data not in the chart. In a followup table published online later in the day, the reporters provide a simplified table showing clearly that Canada's median income in 2010 for the first time appears just about to equal the U.S. median income. But the evidence for the idea that Canada has bypassed the United States since 2010 comes from "other data".

These  complications don't negate the results or the headline, but they provide food for further thought. Focusing on disposable income does not provide a final answer to the question: "What goods and services can people at each level of income buy or get access to?" This may help the case for Sweden's poor, but it raises questions about a U.S. average, since states vary in what they provide. Since 1980, for example, has health care become more accessible for more Americans? Leaving Obamacare aside, drug benefits were added to Medicare.

The many online commentators on the Leonhardt-Quealy story point out the following causes of an apparent growth in U.S. income inequality relative to other countries:

• U.S. education is not maintaining its leadership in building literacy and skills.
• Government policies encourage more inequality, with a minimum wage that hasn't been raised for years, soaring increases in executive compensation, and The U.S.  

One Cause of Greater Inequality: Growing Health Care Costs

Rapid growth of U.S. health care costs over the 1980-2010 period is another reason for the decline in disposable income for the poorest Americans. Health care costs on average are a higher proportion of the incomes of people below the 50th percentile than above it, and they have been rising steadily for decades.

This reduces discretionary income, especially for the poorest people. Norway, Sweden and Canada have had a national health care system in place. This has to be a significant factor in why their poor are doing better.

An Idea from Richard Gottfried

To reduce health care costs in NY State, Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, Chair of the NY State Assembly Health Committee, is trying to emulate the health care systems of Europe and Canada by introducing a Single Payer Health Plan for New York. It recognizes that the national Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is making health care more accessible and efficient, but still leaves a costly layer of administration that should eventually be unnecessary.

His “New York Health” bill (A.5389-A/S.2078-A, sponsored in the Senate by Bill Perkins) will make sure that in NY State, everyone is covered. It will also save billions through a publicly sponsored, single-payer health coverage, like Medicare or Child Health Plus for everyone.

A majority of doctors, nurses, and patients prefer a single payer system, as do many small businesses and unions. The proposed New York Health program would:

• Provide comprehensive, universal health coverage for every New Yorker and would replace private insurance company coverage.
• Cover all New Yorkers for medically necessary services, including: primary, preventive, specialists, hospital; mental health; reproductive health care; dental; vision; prescription drug; and medical supply costs - more comprehensive than most commercial health plans.
• Be funded through a graduated tax on payroll and non-payroll taxable income, based on ability to pay. Today, the same premium is paid by a CEO and a receptionist, and a successful company or a small, new business. For most people, it will be a substantial reduction in what they now spend and most people’s discretionary income will go up.

Confirmation of Canadian Bank Law

Logo of the Office of the Superintendent
 of Financial Institutions, Ottawa

Joseph Perella of Perella Weinberg told me after the recent panel discussion on the U.S. Economy at Guild Hall in East Hampton that the Canadian bank regulatory authorities have the right to send a representative to the board meetings of large banks. What I found out online is that the Minister of Finance requires the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to send a representative to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation board meetings.

I have today heard from OSFI confirming that Mr. Perella is correct and providing a citation of the law. OSFI says that attendance is their option, a RIGHT (not an obligation) to send a representative to any board meeting of any bank subject to its jurisdiction.

Here is the OSFI message:

With respect to OSFI’s right to send a representative to a meeting of the board in this particular scenario, the applicable provision would be subsection 187(1) Bank Act. Please note that this is true of not only large banks, but all banks.  Other sections of the Bank Act, such as paragraph 643(2)(b) and subsection 187(1) are also relevant. 

U.S. bank supervisory bodies should have the same right. In an article on bank examinations that I co-authored with the late George Benston in the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, included in his collected works, we found that existing bank examination practices were inadequate and some practices were misconceived. The right to attend bank board meetings, suitably exercised from time to time, would address some of the information gaps we identified and, more important, would raise the standards of bank disclosure.

The two referenced Canada Bank Act sections read as follows:

Meeting required by Superintendent and Attendance of Superintendent
187. (1) Where in the opinion of the Superintendent it is necessary, the Superintendent may, by notice in writing, require a bank to hold a meeting of directors of the bank to consider the matters set out in the notice. (2) The Superintendent may attend and be heard at a meeting referred to in subsection (1). 

Access to records of bank
643. (2) The Superintendent or a person acting under the Superintendent’s direction
(a) has a right of access to any records, cash, assets and security held by or on behalf of a bank; and
(b) may require the directors, officers and the auditor or auditors of a bank to provide information and explanations, to the extent that they are reasonably able to do so, in respect of the condition and affairs of the bank or any entity in which the bank has a substantial investment. 

• 1999, c. 28, s. 46;
•  2001, c. 9, s. 176;
•  2012, c. 5, s. 76.