December 21, 2023
Week in Review: December 21, 2023
Americans for Fair Treatment told the story of Vinny Carbone, who left his union as it spent more and more money on administrative costs and less on representing teachers, and also released the inaugural edition of their monthly Federal Labor Policy Newsletter, which covers top-line developments in federal labor and employment policy.
Cardinal Institute published a new report, Benefit Cliffs and Disincentives to Work in West Virginia, showing how these benefits cliffs affect the individuals and families who are counting on safety net assistance to meet needs during challenging economic times.
Empire Center’s Bill Hammond provided testimony to state lawmakers considering policy changes intended to bolster New York’s health-care workforce, cautioning against “overreacting based on incomplete or outdated information.”
John Locke Foundation’s Bethany Torstenson compiled Locke Wrapped 2023, an overview of the organization’s substantial policy achievements in 2023 which illustrated how these strides are forging a path toward a more liberated and thriving North Carolina.
Kansas Policy Institute analyzed new data from the Kansas Department of Education and determined that per-student funding adjusted for the cost of living exceeded $20,000 last year, putting Kansas among the ten highest in the nation.
Mackinac Center released a new study of 25 police union contracts which recommended reforms at both the state and local level to improve disciplinary measures. These reforms would protect police officers who perform their duties honorably while ensuring that command officers can properly hold accountable those who fall short.
Mountain States Policy Center released a new animated video, Governments Must End Home Equity Theft Scheme, and a five-step plan for expanding broadband coverage in a responsible way.
South Carolina Policy Center released a 2023 recap of the major policy achievements that the Center helped pass or move forward this year.
Americans for Fair Treatment lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) caught the attention of U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, who sent a letter demanding answers to questions raised in the lawsuit to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
The Buckeye Institute was joined by Illinois Policy Institute in filing an amicus brief in Schafer v. Kent County, calling on the Michigan Supreme Court to protect homeowners from home equity theft. In Cincinnati v. Ohio, Buckeye also called on Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals to reaffirm the constitutionality of the state’s preemption law.
Liberty Justice Center launched two new cases defending Nebraskans’ Second Amendment rights and challenging executive overreach. The cases have drawn significant media attention since their launch, both in Nebraska and nationally—including coverage by the Daily Signal, the Epoch Times, the Washington Examiner, the Center Square, the Nebraska Examiner, and a variety of local channels. In addition, LJC’s President Jacob Huebert was interviewed about the new cases and LJC’s work on KETV. The Center also filed an amicus brief in a case about the FBI’s “No Fly List”, urging the Supreme Court to hear FBI v. Fikre and rule in favor of government transparency and accountability.
Florida: The United Teachers of Dade, the third largest teachers’ union in the country, failed to reach the required threshold of membership support and now is headed toward “the largest union decertification vote in American history” (Freedom Foundation).
Ohio: The Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) agreed to settle a case with seven school bus drivers who had exercised their First Amendment rights by declining to participate in the union and who were unfairly left out of a one-time distribution of $8,000 for work they had performed outside of normal working hours. Days before the hearing, OAPSE agreed to rightly pay the employees what they had earned (Freedom Foundation).
Wisconsin: Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and the Mountain States Legal Foundation secured a legal victory for a conservative group, Young America’s Foundation, a student organization that was denied student-organization status by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Alabama Policy Institute published a brief detailing why expanding gambling is problematic for the state and its future, citing data that shows that states that have legalized gambling experience higher rates of crime, corruption, addiction, and mental health disorders.
Illinois Policy Institute issued a brief calling out the Chicago Teachers Union for killing private school choice in the state, and pointing out that the union is now targeting another popular school policy: public school choice.
John Locke Foundation’s Bob Luebke offered a detailed analysis of how the $1.2 billion in North Carolina’s education budget is allocated and utilized, while Brian Balfour, delved into the escalating energy rates in North Carolina, examining their impact on families across the Tarheel State.
Mackinac Center added a brief in response Growing Michigan Together Council’s policy recommendations. In it, Mackinac’s Michael LaFaive points out that the report ignores completely that the governor’s pro-union actions make the state a harder place in which to live.
Mountain States Policy Center released a brief highlighting the important protection that supermajority requirements for long-term tax obligations bring to taxpayers, and also published a brief showing the benefits to the state of Idaho should it implement a 30-day threshold for remote income tax income liability policy.
Pelican Institute offered a brief unpacking “digital equity” – policies which bring $1.35 billion in aid to Louisiana for broadband expansion but at the cost of increase to regulation in the name of equity and inclusion.
Texas Public Policy Foundation issued a brief pointing out that federal banking regulators proposed have proposed a new rule which would significantly expand the amount of capital that large banks and other financial institutions are required to hold, increasing federal regulators’ control over bank lending and choking off access to credit for private borrowers.
Washington Policy Center’s Pam Lewison highlighted four ingredients that Washington state is trying to ban in proposed legislation, shedding light on the potential harms of the policy or overblown fears in the public. The Center’s Todd Myers also broke down the ending of the first year of the cap and trade tax on gasoline, noting its impact ends on a high that’s likely to go higher.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty published a brief unpacking Wisconsin’s Unfair Sales Act–an antiquated law that has been proven to have no impact on the success of small businesses and hurts consumers by artificially increasing prices and decreasing competition.
Topics:
Free Curriculum Resources for Teachers
Americans for Fair Treatment
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
California Policy Center
Why 2023 Is the “Year of Universal School Choice”
Cascade Policy Institute
Rochester Schools Double Down after Losing Tech Referendum
Center of the American Experiment
School Choice Spotlight on Private Education – Syreeta Campbell
Commonwealth Foundation
Is Educational Freedom Poised to Transcend Union Power?
Commonwealth Foundation
My Education Christmas List
Libertas Institute
Hiring Surge at Root of NV Education Spending Boom
Nevada Policy
For Whom Is School Choice, and Who’s for It?
Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Missouri Public-School Enrollment Continues to Fall
Show-Me Institute
Education Establishment Willing to Give Up Billions to Spite ESAs
Texas Public Policy Foundation
New Farmer-Led Group Takes on Environmental Activists
Center of the American Experiment
Who’s in Control Here? Texas Court Rules Power Companies Not Responsible for 2021 Blackouts
Center of the American Experiment
German Manufacturing Firms Pay Much Higher Electricity Prices than American Firms
Center of the American Experiment
How PA Can Prevent Deadly Blackouts
Commonwealth Foundation
Human Costs of Electric Vehicles
Mackinac Center
More Mayo Clinic Nurses File for Vote to Dump Union
Center of the American Experiment
The Biden Administration Abuses Inflation to Attack Medical Innovation
Pacific Research Institute
Cities and Homeowners Must Replace Lead Pipes Under New Biden Administration Plan
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation
New Hampshire Can’t Address Homelessness Without Addressing Housing Regulations
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
SLC Apartment Surge Causing Increase of Rental Incentives?
Libertas Institute
Money Isn’t the Key to Fixing Utah’s Housing Crisis
Libertas Institute
Protect Property Rights to Boost Housing and Preserve History
Pacific Research Institute
Social Capital: A Fresh Way to Look at Minnesota’s Economic Well-Being
Center of the American Experiment
Minnesota Lost Residents to Other Parts of the United States Again in 2023
Center of the American Experiment
Minnesota’s Post-COVID-19 Economic Growth Ranks 35th Out of 50 States
Center of the American Experiment
NY’s Population Loss Slowed a Bit in ’23, But Loss Still Worst in U.S.
Empire Center
The Cost of Christmas Is Up, Especially for the Poor
Georgia Center for Opportunity
The Costliest Christmas Ever
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Illinois Has Highest ‘Home Alone’ Age in Nation
Illinois Policy
How the Grinch Made Christmas More Expensive
Libertas Institute
Oklahoma Remains Top 10 in Domestic Migration
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The Creative Disruption of Digital Wallets and Chinese Direct-to-Consumer Marketplaces in Holiday Shopping
Platte Institute
State to Hire 64 Bureaucrats to Squander Your Tax Dollars on ‘Green Energy’ Programs
Center of the American Experiment
State Budget Update: The Calm Before the Budget Storm
Pacific Research Institute
Mehlville School District Reaps Windfall at Public Expense
Show-Me Institute
‘This Christmas’ Your Gift from Chicago Is 9% Tax, Even if ‘Home Alone’
Illinois Policy
Teacher Union Membership Drops Significantly
Center of the American Experiment
Government Unions Spend Third Highest on State Politics in Minnesota
Center of the American Experiment
Empowering Public Workers: A Season of Hope and Choice
Freedom Foundation
U.S. Senators Press Biden Administration to Account for Federal Employees’ Union Work
Freedom Foundation
Do You Know the Most Common Topic Addressed in the Bill of Rights?
Empower Mississippi
The Wright Brothers and the Plane That Landed Itself
Frontier Institute
Christ May Be Back into Christmas
Indiana Policy Review Foundation
In the Washington Examiner, the Free State Foundation’s Randy May called for a stop to the Biden Federal Communications Commission’s plan to control the internet.
At RedState, the Freedom Foundation’s Ashley Varner comments on how public employees are leaving their unions in record numbers.
In The Epoch Times, the California Policy Center’s Lance Christensen points out that the remedy to a misinformed populace is to inform them.
In The Oregon Catalyst, the Cascade Policy Institute‘s Kathryn Hickok notes student-focused solutions can address pandemic learning losses.
In The American Spectator, the Commonwealth Foundation‘s Kevin Mooney considers if educational freedom is poised to transcend union power.
In the Washington Examiner, the Commonwealth Foundation‘s Andrew Holman highlights The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’ mismanaged finances.
In The Augusta Chronicle, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation‘s Kyle Wingfield notes the need for CON laws has long since passed and they should be repealed.
In The Center Square, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation notes Gov. Ron DeSantis takes inspiration from Calvin Coolidge.
At National Review, the Mountain States Policy Center’s Amber Gunn cautions that a new federal reporting rule presents an unwanted New Year’s Eve countdown for small business owners.
In The Daily Caller, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy‘s Douglas Carswell notes DEI is destroying American universities.
In his recent column, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs‘ Jonathan Small highlights the free speech double standard at colleges.
In the Washington Examiner, the Pacific Research Institute‘s Sally Pipes considers how 2024 Republican presidential candidates should talk about healthcare.
In the Farmington Daily Times, the Rio Grande Foundation‘s Paul Gessing notes another electric vehicle mandate looms.
In the Washington Examiner, Sutherland Institute‘s William Duncan highlights how religious groups in Washington are fighting for their conscience.
In the GV Wire, the Washington Policy Center’s Pam Lewison celebrates the agricultural community and relates the tireless effort farmers put into their work to the Christmastime hustle of Santa.
In his recent column, John Hood points out land-use rules cost us dearly.
