We are constantly bombarded with pleas for more money for education. After all, it’s for the CHILDREN. They DESERVE a good education. MORE MONEY is the answer.

Sadly, more money is not the answer. Locally, Milwaukee Public Schools shows us exactly why money is not the problem.  The district increases total spending nearly every year. If you look at the spending on a per student basis, the spending increases are staggering.  In an 8 year period, MPS increased per student spending by over 56%. At the same time, less than 1/2 of 10th graders were able to read, and less than 1/3 of 10th graders were able to do basic math.

UPDATE: On February 17, 2010, Medifast Inc. filed suit in US District Court, Southern District of California, alleging defamation, violation of California Corporations Code, and unfair business practices. On March 29, 2011, Judge Janis Sammartino dismissed all of Medifast’s claims against me in her ruling on my anti-SLAPP motion.

Nearly a year ago, Medifast Inc. (NYSE:MED) filed suit against me and several others, for what it claimed was defamation of its Take Shape For Life division (TSFL). My client initiated an investigation of Medifast more than year prior to the filing of the lawsuit, and published several reports on the company. I was retained as a consultant to do a small bit of analysis. Some of my work was included in reports published by the client, parts of which were reproduced on this blog, along with some of my own analysis of Medifast and TSFL.

TSFL is a multi-level marketing company which peddles weight loss products. It entices new “health coaches” to invest in the system with claims of “healthy body, healthy mind, healthy finances.” I was critical of this business model, as I frequently am with MLMs.

If you follow any business new sites, you can’t help but notice that the U.S. government is talking tough about enforcement. Issues like insider trading, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and healthcare fraud are hot topics. I question the government’s ability to significantly step up enforcement efforts, particularly in light of budgetary issues related to doing so, but businesses can’t take a chance that they will be able to fly under the radar.

White collar criminal defense lawyer Brian Mahany writes on his blog Due Diligence about why this issue of enforcement and compliance is so important: