Ms. Taylor declined to elaborate on how the state could insure lower costs for insurance companies.

He added that the state should have insured that the site was sealed and notices of the hazard posted while it awaited the agency's response.

After that exercise, she says, the state should insure that all districts - rich, poor, middle-class - have the resources to do the job.

"That might sound absurd, but we're not far from a situation where people want the state to insure them for everything under the sun."

The state must insure that the poorest cities spend as much on their children's education as wealthy suburbs, the court said.

The $5 billion it would give the states wouldn't insure very many kids - probably fewer than half of those now without coverage.

Instead, Washington agreed to dispense $24 billion in block grants to help the states insure children.

"The taxpayers invest massive amounts of money in education, and the state insures some minimal level of quality in return," he said.

The auto insurance carriers have made billions while the state has insured the highest risks.

Philosophy and Economics He did not, for instance, propose that the state insure all its citizens.