Vested Interest - Trends - March/April 2000 Issue

Another Best Cities Survey

Syracuse University has examined data on the 35 top metro areas nationally and qualitatively ranked their local governments according to finances, human resources, capital, information technology, and results. The top cities were Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas. Indianapolis and Minneapolis both garnered “B+” grades, while Chicago earned a “B-.” Lowest grades went to New Orleans and Buffalo, which took “C-“ grades. (AP, January 31, 2000)

Clinton Gets Average Ranking from Historians

C-SPAN convened 58 presidential historians to rank the nation’s presidents and determined that President Clinton is only average. Top marks went to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. Clinton scored 21st position, behind George Bush but ahead of Jimmy Carter. The worst presidents were William Henry Harrison (who died one month after taking office but still placed 37th), Warren Harding, Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan. Other recent presidents landed 8th (John F. Kennedy), 10th (Lyndon Johnson), and 25th (Richard M. Nixon). (Reuters, February 21, 2000)

Employees Health Costs Depend on Residence

The American Association of Retired Persons released a report finding that access to health insurance, and the cost of health insurance, vary widely by state. Florida workers pay more than $2,000 for family coverage, while workers in Michigan pay just $757. AARP’s John Rother concluded “where you live might affect how many years you have left.” The report went on to determine that a fourth of Arizona residents had not seen a doctor due to concerns about the cost, while just 6% of Wisconsin residents let cost keep them from medical treatment. (AP, February 15, 2000)

Dim View of Mega Mergers

Princeton Survey Research Associates polled 754 adults nationwide for Newsweek magazine to measure attitudes toward recent mergers. A plurality (36%) believed that "the U.S. government has been too approving of corporate mergers and acquisitions these days," while a third (33%) thought the government was handling the mergers "about right." Respondents were more likely to have no answer (18%) than say the government had been "too disapproving" (13%). Asked what effect mergers typically have, a plurality said that mergers have an adverse effect on "how responsive companies are in handling consumer complaints" (41%), "how well companies take care of their workers" (46%), "the prices consumers have to pay for products and services" (49%), and "companies support for local communities where they have plants and offices" (36%). (The Polling Report, January 31, 2000)