ARTICLES CONCERNING
HOW MONEY IS SPENT
(October 26, 2009) CoB News, 26 October 2009 ECONLINE The CoB's economists appear to be loading up on online
courses in the spring of 2010. Associate professor Sami Dakhlia, who is reportedly taking a leave of absence during
spring 2010, has been assigned one online section of ECO 336. The course is capped at 100, and currently has 22
enrollees. Sources indicate that Dakhlia is likely being paid as an overload (from $6,000 to $8,000) for teaching the
course, or he has been hired on an adjunct-type basis for even greater compensation (possibly on a per-student
basis).
(October 30, 2009) It Is Not Their Money Two commonly asked questions are in fact interrelated. Why
administrators, bureaucrats, and government officials (1) appear not to care about what anything costs, and (2) why
they get away with squandering taxpayer money on airplanes, ridiculous lawsuits, lavish trips, etc.?
(November 2, 2009) IT’S NOT THEIR MONEY! The Hattiesburg American, November 1, 2009, reported: “Mayor
Johnny DuPree says that the city subsidizes about $800,000 of the zoo’s annual $1.2 million budget…” I can’t help
but wonder, how many teachers, police, or firefighters could we support with $800,000?
(November 5, 2009) IT’S NOT THEIR MONEY! Why do Mississippi legislators and its governor use taxpayer
dollars to support the USM Foundation when the Foundation is not subject to public accountability? Taxpayers pay
hundreds of thousands in salaries, pension contributions, benefits as well as other operating expenses of the
Foundation. The Foundation Director, who is a state employee, reports to and is evaluated by USM President
Saunders.
(November 6, 2009) ITS NOT THEIR MONEY! What do President Saunders’ expenditure of taxpayer/student
money to buy a $1.89 million dollar airplane for her personal convenience and Mayor DuPree’s spending city
taxpayer dollars to buy an old church for $3 million before deciding on its use have in common? We know both
purchases were made during a severe recession marked by substantial revenue shortfalls. But is that all?
(November 11, 2009) Blueprint for Bloat A Look at How ECO Maintained Itself for Far Too Long If you've been a
regular reader of USMNEWS.net for any length of time, you've seen the phrase "their bloated existence" in
reference to the CoB's economics unit, which many believe maintained several faculty lines beyond what was
warranted by their population of majors. With the CoB's economics unit exiting the CoB in just a few short months
– five retiring in June-2010 and the remaining four heading off to life in the CoAL – it seems fitting to lay out a
portion of the blueprint that the ECOers used to build up their bloated existence.
(November 20, 2009) Ruminations on CoB Administrative Changes More cuts this year. Huge cuts in the next few
years. Where is the money going to come from in the College of Business (CoB)? Staff cuts seem popular with the
current dean, but how much of that can he do, and how much will it really help? One area that needs cogitation is
the administrative structure of the CoB.
