Balance Sheet

Jeff Taylor from the February 2003 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

The National Geographic Society says only 13 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 can find Iraq on a map. Slightly better known --after a year of bombing it --is Afghanistan, with fully 17 percent of those surveyed able to pinpoint it.

Secret Sales

The perverse Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is used by WalMart, Target, Best Buy, and Staples to force Web sites to delete any information giving consumers advance notice about sales. The retailers claim their prices are DMCA-protected trade secrets.

Approval Upheaval

After nearly two years without an administrator, the Food and Drug Administration now takes more time to approve an application than it has in 10 years. New drugs trickle into the market.

Official Reminder

A public school superintendent in Illinois sends policemen and truant officers to demand that homeschoolers appear for a "pre-trial hearing" to prove they are actually teaching their kids. State law has no such requirement for parents.

Pill Boxes

Patients receiving prescriptions in Indiana and 18 other states may find the Drug Enforcement Administration has information on their medical backgrounds, right down to the number of pills they take. Drugs such as Percodan, Vicodin, and Lorcet are part of the Diversion Control Program, which means the feds track who takes them.

Osama Tax

New York City adopts an 18.5 percent property tax hike that some pols call a "wartime tax." In reality, war has nothing to do with it. During the '90s states and localities went on a spending binge that now has to be paid for.