October 11, 2024
Week in Review: October 11, 2024
Independent Institute published a new book Good as Gold: How to Unleash the Power of Sound Money, by Senior Fellow Judy Shelton. The book argues that a stable dollar that provides a reliable measurement tool for making decisions about the future is not a pipe dream and it’s past time to make the US dollar the most trustworthy currency in the world.
James Madison Institute released an updated list of resources for those affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton in the wake of the second major hurricane to hit Florida in the past few weeks.
John Locke Foundation launched a campaign with its online store to direct resources to a local North Carolina nonprofit doing relief work in the area.
Libertas Institute announced a rebrand and reorganization with the launch of The Libertas Network, a new organizational vehicle to advance various entrepreneurial and policy programs all designed to change hearts, minds, and laws to create a freer future. Libertas also announced that its award-winning Tuttle Twins series has surpassed six million copies sold and that Chad Goote has joined the Network as vice president of partnerships.
Mackinac Center announced the addition of eight new members to its Board of Scholars, a group made up of 53 college professors, business leaders and other experts who support and contribute to the Center’s mission.
Mountain States Policy Center presented Idaho Reports with their 2024 Elevation Award in recognition of its in-depth coverage of the legislature and policy debates in the state. The Center also named Joseph Fruehauf, a recent graduate of Northwest Nazarene University, as the first recipient of its Sawtooth Leadership Academy scholarship.
Platte Institute released the first edition of its Annual Cost of Medication report, marking a critical step in providing Nebraskans with transparent, detailed data on the financial impacts of Medicaid expansion.
Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit against the United Teachers of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District on behalf of four Jewish teachers locked against their wishes into a pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic labor union.
Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Chicago Teachers Union members, demanding that the union produce an audit after failing to do so for four years. The lawsuit comes on the heels of the union’s failure to reply to an initial demand letter’s, instead opting to publicly single out the four members and claiming they were part of a supposed “right wing” attack. The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit to compel the missing audits’ release and to fight for the transparency union members are contractually owed. The Center also filed a motion urging an Oregon court to reinstate a high school track and field coach who was fired for proposing an open division for transgender athletes to compete in, to ensure fairness for all student athletes. Alongside the motion, the Center filed ten parents’ declarations also urging the court to restore the coach to his former role. Finally, the Center filed a brief appealing a district court’s dismissal to its legal challenge to firearms regulations in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed an amicus brief in the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a case against the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), urging that because the WIAA has monopolized high school sports and has binding power over the public, including nearly 90,000 student athletes, their parents, and public school officials, it should be considered a state actor and bound by the state and federal constitutions. The Institute also filed a lawsuit seeking a writ of mandamus on behalf of several parents in the Milwaukee Public School District (MPS). This civil action seeks to hold the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, which oversees MPS, accountable for failing to provide the number of school resource officers (SROs) state law requires in order to protect MPS schools and students.
Nationwide: In a decisive and significant victory for free speech, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of Moms for Liberty’s Brevard County, Florida chapter and three concerned parents in their lawsuit against Brevard Public Schools. The victory secures parents’ rights to comment on important issues of public concern—even contentious ones—in public school board meetings (Institute for Free Speech).
Nationwide: The Children’s Entrepreneur Market announced that it had expanded to over 26 states — a sign that young entrepreneurs across America are getting a huge leg up (Libertas Network).
Nationwide: The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delivered a landmark ruling in Crocker v. Austin, strengthening religious liberty protections for all service members. The court reversed the dismissal of the case, brought by a group of Air Force service members, challenging the Air Force’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and its discriminatory religious accommodation process (Pelican Institute for Public Policy).
Nationwide: The American Bar Association removed two racial quotas from its Judicial Clerkship Program following a Title VI complaint and a judicial misconduct complaint filed earlier this year (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Nebraska: Thanks to the state’s Truth-in-Taxation law which required neon postcards to go out to all city residents and a city hearing, Aurora city officials slashed their proposed city property tax hike by half after a single hearing, showing that the state law performs admirably and generated a level of public scrutiny that all massive tax increase proposals deserve (Platte Institute).
Texas: Residents of Whitesboro successfully withstood attempts by city officials to incur a massive local tax rate hike, as the city council voted unanimously to adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate after initially proposing a 30% hike — an example of what happens when citizens stay informed and care enough to let their voice be heard (Texas Public Policy Foundation).
Empire Center posted a brief that examines New York Gov. Hochul’s request for federal approval for a multibillion-dollar “MCO tax” on health plans without announcing the move or providing details to the public.
Garden State Initiative published a brief examining New Jersey Gov. Murphy’s commitment to the California Advanced Clean Cars Mandate which requires 100% of all newly sold cars and trucks to be electric by 2035 — a bold move considering the current state of the electric grid and staggering imbalance between electric vehicles and charging ports in the state.
Kansas Policy Institute released a brief explaining why the dismal 2024 state K-12 assessment results won’t change until adult behaviors change.
Mountain States Policy Center issued briefs that analyze the significant financial burdens consumers face due to taxes and fees imposed on wireless services, and argue that lowering expectations for K-12 performance sends the wrong message to children.
Washington Policy Center posted briefs that guide voters on upcoming ballot initiatives and examine how the West Seattle Link Extension has gone off the rails.
Minnesota: Under orders from the state Public Utilities Commission, clean-up has begun to a field of used wind turbine blades that were abandoned years ago outside of the small down of Grand Meadow—much needed relief for the beleaguered southern Minnesota community (Center of the American Experiment).
Wyoming: Legislators are considering a bill that would ease the process of removing illegal occupants of residential properties (squatters) — a positive move to protect property owners as the issue continues to gain attention from lawmakers (Mountain States Policy Center).
Topics:
Minnesota School Board Elections Enter Silly Season
Center of the American Experiment
School Board Races: Whose Endorsements Are Minnesotans Most Likely to Trust?
Center of the American Experiment
Chicago Public Schools Spends More, Gets Poorer Test Scores
Illinois Policy
Chicago Public Schools Adds 2,500 Staffers for 80,900 Fewer Students
Illinois Policy
An Unconscious Indiana GOP
Indiana Policy Review Foundation
Today’s K-12 Test Scores Confirm IRG CIO Report
Institute for Reforming Government
IRG’s CIO Exposes DPI Records on New, Biased Test Score Standards
Institute for Reforming Government
What North Carolina Could Learn from Tennessee About School Finance
John Locke Foundation
Claims from WCPSS Leaders Wither Under Close Scrutiny
John Locke Foundation
The Tuttle Twins Launches New Academy for Teens
Libertas Institute
New Curriculum Produced for Youth Entrepreneurs
Libertas Institute
Libertas Honored with 2024 Ed-Prize Award
Libertas Institute
Gov. Evers’ Lawyer: 400-Year School Funding Veto Not Technically Illegal
MacIver Institute
MPS Sued Over School Resource Officers: “Officers Are Not Optional”
MacIver Institute
US Supreme Court Denies Blaine Amendment Challenge
Mackinac Center
OSSAA Rule Harms Student-Athletes
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Policy In Person: ESTF Families React in Real Time to Stolen Opportunity
Palmetto Promise Institute
Time to Junk the ESA? Not So Fast, My Friend
Palmetto Promise Institute
Louisiana Must Prioritize Resources and Fulfill Education Promise to Families
Pelican Institute
Homeschooling with Hope: Katie Switzer’s ESA Experience
Pioneer Institute
Lynch Foundation’s Katie Everett on School Finance Model for Catholic Schools & School Choice
Pioneer Institute
Updated: Governor, Education Agency Seek Rehearing on School Choice Ruling
South Carolina Policy Council
Should Missouri Consider a 3rd-Grade Retention Policy?
Show-Me Institute
What Self-Reports of Parent and Teacher Efforts Reveal for Reform
Sutherland Institute
How Information Lag Could Be Impacting the Parent-Teacher Partnership
Sutherland Institute
Round Rock ISD Hides Details of a $5 Million Contract from the Public
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Getting the Numbers Right on Public Education Spending
Texas Public Policy Foundation
A Point of Contention in the 34th District Legislative Race: Is Harmful CRT Being Taught in Public Schools?
Washington Policy Center
Gaming the System: Wisconsin’s Forward Exam Scores Now Useless
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty
More on DPI’s Forward Exam Changes
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty
The Green New Twilight Zone
Center of the American Experiment
Mining Report: Lack of Minerals Put Net Zero Goals Out of Reach
Center of the American Experiment
Grand Meadow Turbine Blades Start to Leave
Center of the American Experiment
Solar Protectionism Is Anything but Sunny
Commonwealth Foundation
Private Investment—Not Subsidies—Will Empower Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Energy
Commonwealth Foundation
Fear Keeps Nuclear Power from Crossing the Threshold
Mackinac Center
Annual Report: Cost of Nebraska’s Medicaid Expansion
Platte Institute
I-2124 Restores Choice, Could Rightly Rid People of WA Cares
Washington Policy Center
Pioneer Institute Study Finds Wide Range of Approaches to Compliance with MBTA Communities Law
Pioneer Institute
Tax-happy Aurora Officials Buckle Against Truth in Taxation
Platte Institute
Missouri Shows that More Government Doesn’t Equal More Housing
Show-Me Institute
More Housing, Less Crisis
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Protected: More Property Taxes to Come? Will Informs Wisconsin Property Taxpayers about Upcoming Referenda
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty
Badger State Dominates Plummeting US Mink Production
Badger Institute
The Dangers of Floors and Ceilings
Cardinal Institute
To Bee or Not to Bee?
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Apprenticeships Can Be Lifeline for 177,000 Idle Illinois Youth
Illinois Policy
781 Layoffs in September, With Amazon Closing a Chicago Facility
Illinois Policy
Michigan Lawmakers Trying to Establish Unnecessary Interior Design License
Mackinac Center
The New York Times Should Apply Its Pay Gap Skepticism to Its Own Coverage
Mackinac Center
Migration Data Show Oklahoma Losing Taxpayers Under 35
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The Gordon Chang Report–Will China’s ‘Doom Loop’ Economy Trigger the Next Great Depression?
Pacific Research Institute
Civil Discourse in Ag Policy Matters
Pacific Research Institute
The Meteoric Rise and Spectacular Fall of CA’s SB1047: A Lesson in Preemptive Regulation
Pelican Institute
DOJ’s Attack on Google Threatens Small Business and Innovation
Pelican Institute
How to Vote Your Economic Values
Sutherland Institute
Senate Panel Forgets Farmers in Discussion About Ag
Washington Policy Center
Oregon’s ‘Rebate’ Proposal a Backdoor Tax Increase
Cascade Policy Institute
Gov. Walz’ Broadband Extension Will Cost $6,753 per Household
Center of the American Experiment
Are Minnesota Public Pensions “Cooked”?
Center of the American Experiment
Fix for Relocating Misplaced Tracks Adds to Light Rail Line’s Cost Overruns
Center of the American Experiment
The Real Context Behind Maine’s Projected $1 Billion Shortfall
Maine Policy Institute
Maine Has More Than $100 Million in Unspent COVID-19 Relief Funds
Maine Policy Institute
Experts Warn Oklahoma Pension Changes Could Harm State Finances
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Judge Tim O’Hare on Responsible Taxation
Texas Public Policy Foundation
San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte Discusses Zero Based Budgeting Initiative
Texas Public Policy Foundation
It’s Car Tax Day, Let’s Move Forward on Governor Gilmore’s ‘No Car Tax’ Pledge
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
The West Seattle Link Extension Gone Off the Rails
Washington Policy Center
Major Supporter of Washington’s CO2 Tax Admits Gas Prices Will Fall if It’s Repealed
Washington Policy Center
NEA-Endorsed Judges Show Far More Radical Backgrounds than Labor Issues
Freedom Foundation
Connecticut Union Leader Exploits Climate Hysteria for Big Labor Power Grab
Yankee Institute
The Road to Nashville
Center of the American Experiment
A Great Minnesotan Just Became a Great American
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Insights into the Constitution from English Social History
Independence Institute
Comparing Hurricane Helene Election Law Changes
John Locke Foundation
Freedom’s Just Another Word for Everything to Lose
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
Murdering the First Amendment, California Style
Pacific Research Institute
How Religious Communities Lead the Hurricane Relief Effort
Sutherland Institute
The Most ‘Consequential’ Election
Sutherland Institute
Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Phil Williams, policy director at the Alabama Policy Institute, in an op-ed for the Trussville Tribune says the ‘key terrain’ this election cycle are the 8% of undecided voters who ‘just aren’t sure yet.’
In Reason Magazine’s The Volokh Conspiracy, Law Prof. Eugene Volokh praised American Juris Link’s unique StateConstitutionTool.org for researchers who want to compare state constitutions.
In the New York Post, the Empire Center’s Bill Hammond sounds the alarm on a New York healthcare union’s senior-care power play that could significantly drive up spending in the state.
Nick Stehle, vice president of communications at Foundation for Government Accountability, in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner says the REINS Act will address ‘excessive regulations.’
Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, in a column for Colorado Politics says Colorado’s ‘tax-funded energy warfare’ is ‘sick.’
In The New American Anti-Semitism, the Independent Institute’s Benjamin Ginsberg points out that failing to teach history in schools turns children into “useful idiots.”
In The Hill, the Independent Institute’s Benjamin Powelldescribes the strike-driven demands of port workers as worthy of a modern Luddite movement.
John Hood, board member at the John Locke Foundation, in an op-ed for the Wilmington Star-News says with remote work has come ‘significant costs.’
In The Columbus Dispatch, People United for Privacy Foundation’s Alex Baiocco warns that lawmakers are putting constitutional rights at risk in their pursuit of tougher anti-corruption laws.
In The Spokesman Review and Seattle Times, the Washington Policy Center’s Elizabeth New argues in favor of making Washington’s long-term-care program optional.
