January 5, 2024
Week in Review: January 5, 2024
Alabama Policy Institute released its 2023-2024 Educational Freedom in Alabama report, which showed the benefits of putting families first instead of allowing the government and failed education bureaucracy to control all education dollars.
Beacon Center of Tennessee released its third quarterly Beacon Poll, a statewide poll of 1,302 registered Tennessee voters, which covered questions about political races, policy issues and more.
Blugrass Institute released an analysis of trends in K-12 education spending and performance in Kentucky over the past few decades. Notably, the analysis revealed that funding has risen dramatically but test scores saw only modest change.
The Buckeye Institute released updated Economic Freedom of North America rankings in partnership with Canada’s Fraser Institute. These rankings, which rate every state based on its economic freedom, as measured by government spending, taxation, and labor-market freedom, saw Ohio move up two spots.
Dad Saves America podcast hosted Kristi Kendall, the director of the feature film Undivide Us, and Ben Klutsey, Director of the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, in their latest episode, Toxic Polarization, Civil War & Local Conversation.
John Locke Foundation’s Brain Balfour explored a new report from The Archbridge Institute, revealing North Carolina’s 23rd-place ranking in social mobility. While Locke’s Dr. Andy Jackson examined the changes to voter registrations in North Carolina over the past two years.
Mountain States Policy Center announced its top recommendation for the Idaho 2024 Legislative Session and looked back on some of their favorite memories from 2023. The Center also announced the launch of its Sawtooth Leadership Academy, which aims to train and inspire the next generation of free market leaders.
Mackinac Center announced it is appealing the Michigan Court of Claims’ denial of Mackinac’s motion for summary disposition as a part of their suit to preserve a $700 million tax cut for state taxpayers.
Alabama: With the start of the new year, Alabama became the first in the nation to eliminate the overtime tax. Previously, workers paid a 5% state tax on any overtime work (Alabama Policy Institute).
Liberty Justice Center enjoyed a free speech win on Jan. 1, as California’s repeal of the physician censorship law AB2098 officially took effect.
Alaska Policy Forum published a brief in partnership with the Reason Foundation that examined a proposed bill that would likely cost Alaska $9 billion in the coming decades while benefiting only a small group of people.
Cesar Rodney Institute issued a brief breaking down the costs and scant potential benefits of the Delaware Governor’s potential agreement with an offshore wind developer that would bring power cables ashore in Delaware Seashore State Park.
Empire Center released a brief examining how New York state lawmakers have retained little control over state renewable energy spending.
Illinois Policy published a brief pointing out how state licensing policies are hurting jobseekers, especially the poor.
John Locke Foundation’s Bethany Torstenson examined the sixteen newly enacted laws now operative throughout North Carolina, examining their implications for the state’s residents. Locke’s John Sanders also discussed the energy policies proposed by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Libertas Institute released briefs with information supporting proposed bills that would streamline Utah’s regulatory sandbox by waiving rules or regulations that place unnecessary burdens on innovation and remove barriers for microschools by permitting them in all areas of a city or county and more.
Mountain States Policy Center issued a brief unpacking Alaska v. Alaska State Employees Association which has the potential to enhance the First Amendment rights of workers from being forced to subsidize union speech they may disagree with.
Washington Policy Center issued a brief examining the absurd and ineffective environmental policies espoused in the state – a stark contrast to private environmental innovation that accelerated in 2023.
Washington: A ballot initiative that would allow W2 workers to keep more of their paycheck by opting out of WA Cares and its payroll tax collection is gaining momentum. Supporters announced that they have gathered over 420,000 signatures – more than the 324,519 needed to get it on the November 2024 ballot (Washington Policy Center). There are also several other tax repeal proposals currently collecting signatures that if passed would provide needed relief in the state (Mountain States Policy Center).
Topics:
API Report Reveals Hurdles, Hope for Universal School Choice in Alabama
Alabama Policy Institute
No, Universal Preschool Won’t Solve Kindergarten Readiness Issues in Kentucky
Bluegrass Institute
Pennsylvania’s Christmas Gift to K-12 Students
Cascade Policy Institute
School Choice Won in Pennsylvania This Year—And 2024 Is Even More Promising
Commonwealth Foundation
Ready Or Not, Montanan High Schoolers Are Heading to College
Frontier Institute
AZ Gov. Hobbs’ Bizarre Attack on ESA Families
Goldwater Institute
School Spending Plan Doesn’t Make the Grade
Mackinac Center
Lessons from PRI’s School Board Member Conferences: Your Superintendent Does Not Have the Final Say – You Do
Pacific Research Institute
What Democrats and Republicans Have in Common on Education Curriculum Beliefs
Sutherland Institute
What Is the Georgia Department of Education Trying to Hide from Parents?
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
The 2023 Energy Year in Review
Center of the American Experiment
Drilling Set to Probe Major Minnesota Helium Gas Deposit
Center of the American Experiment
Winter Storm Elliot: The Ghost of Christmas Future
Center of the American Experiment
Colorado PUC Trims Xcel’s Unprecedented Renewables Plan
Independence Institute
Power And Higher Prices to the People
Pacific Research Institute
RGF Shares Concerns about EV Charging Station Mandate (and 750 Petitions in Opposition)
Rio Grande Foundation
Expanding Interstate License Reciprocity Can Improve Access to Healthcare
Show-Me Institute
Repeal Certificate of Need for the Health and Welfare of Missourians
Show-Me Institute
Duluth’s 195k Tiny House Faces Likely Foreclosure in Affordable Housing Fiasco
Center of the American Experiment
An Ode to the Suburb
Pacific Research Institute
Delawareans are Moving to these Three Southeast States
Caesar Rodney Institute
Reviving Downtown Portland Requires Stronger Medicine
Cascade Policy Institute
Data Show That Texas Keeps Beating Minnesota
Center of the American Experiment
Pizza Hut Laying Off Delivery Drivers Ahead of California’s $20 Minimum Wage
Center of the American Experiment
Out of Work but Optimistic
Libertas Institute
Michigan Population Council Says Out with the Old And…In with the Old
Mackinac Center
The Success Sequence Is Not So Simple
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Study Shows Minimum Wage Hike Will Cost Jobs, Opportunity
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Oppressive State Policies Keep Cities Shackled in Chains
Pacific Research Institute
One Door to Lift Louisianans Out of Poverty
Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Two-Time Pulitzer Winner T.J. Stiles on Cornelius Vanderbilt & American Business
Pioneer Institute
Minnesota Now Has the Highest Rate of Corporate Tax in the United States
Center of the American Experiment
New Jersey Taxpayers Cannot Tolerate a $1b Shortfall for NJ Transit
Garden State Initiative
First Half of Fiscal Year Sees Slight Revenue Dip
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation
Why Don’t We Remove the Floor from Missouri’s Income Tax Triggers?
Show-Me Institute
Illinoisans Pay Nation’s Highest Wireless Cell Phone Service Tax
Illinois Policy
Paid Administrative Leave: A Costly Illusion of Stern Action
Yankee Institute
Mayo Clinic Austin Medical Workers Oust Steelworkers Union
Center of the American Experiment
When Unions Play Politics
Commonwealth Foundation
Membership Plunges Again for Michigan and National Teachers Unions
Mackinac Center
What We Can Learn from Tradition
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
‘E Hana Kākou’ Works at the Dinner Table Too
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
How Free are We in Minnesota?
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Here’s Some Hope for 2024
Indiana Policy Review Foundation
Idaho’s Continued Population Growth Could Increase Congressional Clout in 2030
Mountain States Policy Center
In the 1819 News, the Alabama Policy Institute’s Stephanie Holden Smith calls for Alabama to start putting students first.
In The Courier Journal, the Bluegrass Institute‘s Jim Waters notes Republican legislators must resist over-spending in Kentucky’s 2024’s budget.
In The Topeka Capital-Journal, The Buckeye Institute’s Rea S. Hederman Jr. and Kansas Policy Institute’s Ganon Evans highlight the findings of a joint report and call on Kansas lawmakers to pursue responsible tax and spending reforms.
At Broad + Liberty, the Commonwealth Foundation‘s Gordon Tomb considers if ‘green’ agendas are carrying governors to political cliffs.
In the New Jersey Herald, the Garden State Initative‘s Regina Egea points out New Jersey taxpayers cannot tolerate a $1B shortfall for NJ Transit.
In his recent column, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation‘s Kyle Wingfield notes state legislators should demand to know what’s happening with student achievement.
In the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Policy Institute‘s Paul Vallas looks at the state of Illinois as we head into the new year.
In his column for The Denver Gazette, the Independence Institute‘s Jon Caldara outlines the problems with Colorado’s shopping bag ban.
In the Orange Country Register, the Independent Institute’s Lloyd Billingsley notes how California will see plenty of new laws but few actual solutions to the state’s problems.
At the Wall Street Journal, the Institute for Reforming Government’s C.J. Szafir recaps the left’s failed attack on school choice in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In the Daily Caller, the Liberty Justice Center’s Jacob Huebert discusses efforts to defend the Second Amendment and challenge government overreach in Nebraska.
In the Daily Signal, the Liberty Justice Center’s Dean McGee discusses the threat posed by special interest groups intent on destroying school choice.
In the Washington Examiner, the Mackinac Center‘s Molly Macek notes Michigan gets an ‘F’ for educational accountability.
At National Review, the Mackinac Center‘s James M. Hohman points out that special interests have realized they don’t have to fight with each other for taxpayer funding.
At Fox Business, the Mackinac Center‘s James M. Hohman highlights how the Big Three automakers are still receiving large subsidies despite laying off workers.
In The Center Square, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy‘s Douglas Carswell shares what he loves about living in America.
In The New York Post, the Texas Public Policy Foundation‘s Greg Sindelar and the Pelican Institute‘s Daniel Erspamer point out the simple reform Congress can make to move millions from welfare to work.
At The Spokesman-Review, the Washington Policy Center’s Donald Kimball highlights how most voters think that state and local governments are more effective than the federal government.
