We haven’t heard a whole lot of hollering and gnashing of teeth over the I-164 Ballot Initiative, commonly known as the “Pay-Day Loan” measure, but nonetheless the fight between those backing the initiative and those opposing it has been intense and passionate. On the other hand, the media circus that has chronicled every parry and thrust in the oft-times soap operatic drama of the proposed health curriculum of the Helena Public School District has raised awareness of this issue to one of the most widely discussed in the Helena Valley.

So why should they be juxtaposed in this post? Well, perhaps because they’ve both been on my radar this week and I have some thoughts about them.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the proponents of both issues will prevail: I-164 is expected to pass with as much as an 80% – 20% margin. The health curriculum will be implemented regardless of the will of the community; the administration has played this game before and they know how to play it to win it.

The second thing then that puzzles me is how, in what is purported to be such a “Republican” year, these two bleeding-heart liberal, feel-good, progressive, socialist measures will be so successful.

Let’s look at I-164 for a minute. If this isn’t a an anti-free market, anti-business, do-gooder, Big Brother measure, I’ve never seen one. “Oh, those poor people who get sucked into the monster clutches of these heartless, greedy, corporate b*st*rds”. You’ve seen the editorials and letters to the editor, lamenting the fate of the unfortunate sucker soul who turns to these lenders when they have a sudden emergency or find themselves with too much month left at the end of the money. Oh, woe, oh, woe. So into the fray charges the 400. Well, the “400% Is Too High” warriors anyway. Their loins girded with righteousness, confident that they fight on the side of angels.

How adroitly they brush off the claims of the pawn shop owners and title lenders that they offer a product that isn’t available elsewhere. “Pshaw”, they reply. “Banks and credit unions abound and are more regulated; they will offer these short-term, small consumer loans at lower interest rates and with more compassion”, goes the pious mantra. The teensy fact that nothing has been stopping said banks and credit unions up to this point goes unacknowledged by these do-gooders; certainly the profit motive will suddenly be suspended once the voters have spoken, they seemingly imply. (Funny how those same banks have been the subject of such vitriol and disdain for the last 18 months or so, huh?)

So, too, are the lenders’ and owners’ warnings that the success of this measure will result in layoffs and higher unemployment in an already depressed economy ignored. When there is much good to be gained for the suffering masses, the pain and suffering of the few must be borne. By the few, of course.

And thus, those swell folks who brought you “Healthy Montana Kids” are poised to march into the victor’s circle again. And – like the Healthy Montana Kids program – in two years, we can look back and find that, while the supporters have cheered their victory and lauded their efforts at every opportunity, the problem has not gone away and the benefits are largely non-existent. Those poor suckers who turned to the mean, nasty villains who charged those outrageous rates will still be out there, turning to black-market, unregulated loan sharks; and the “good old days” where someone with lousy credit could be at least somewhat assured that the business he turned to was licensed and following the legal constructs imposed on the industry will be nothing more than a fond, but distant, memory.

Once again, the bleeding hearts have misdiagnosed a problem and have prescribed the wrong medicine. Instead of recognizing the fundamental problem that causes so many people to get into trouble and turn to these sources to bail them out is because they haven’t been taught sound financial management skills. The vicious circle that these people find themselves in is not caused by the pawn brokers and title lenders; it’s a result of poor judgement and planning on their part. I-164 will not solve the problem. The demand will continue – only the supply will be gone. But nature abhors a vacuum, so the demand will be met – somehow.

Which brings me to the health curriculum proposed by the Helena School District. Since the effort is being led by the same type of elitist, liberal, “we know better than you what is good for your child” mindset, the end result is likely to be similar, albeit for entirely different reasons. It is the misdiagnosis of what ails the patient that is at fault. It’s not that our kids don’t know enough about sex at an early age, it’s that they know too much and have no appropriate context in which to place the knowledge. And, although the district is attempting to address the issue, these highly educated administrators have ignored an irrefutable fact of life: Kids tend to stop listening to adults after they hear what they want to hear. The only way the message is going to be conveyed successfully is if the school and the parents are working together, each reinforcing the efforts of the other. Given the acrimonious nature of the debate so far, and the deep-seated resentment and mistrust generated by the heavy-handed, non-transparent process utilized by the school district, the odds of that happening are somewhere in the slim-to-none range.

So, here again, in two years we will evaluate the impact of the liberal agenda. Will there be fewer teenage pregnancies? Will STDs be on a steady, measurable decline? Will our students be able to spend their school days in an accepting, bully-free environment? Will pigs fly?

It’s unfortunate that these two very real problems are being given such short shrift. They both deserve better. Like maybe if the school board would work with parents and develop a K – 12 program that teaches children how to make smart money choices so that the demand for those high interest loans is diminished. And then when the parents feel like they can trust the school board to work with them, maybe they can work together to develop a comprehensive health program that will really work for the children.