September 6, 2024
Week in Review: September 6, 2024
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy announced the date of October 5 for its 2024 Libertas Award Dinner, which will celebrate New Hampshire entrepreneur and philanthropist Peter T. Paul.
Kansas Policy Institute’s media outlet The Sentinel exposed false claims made by a school superintendent claiming that a large property tax hike was necessary. The outlet pointed out that school board members are entitled to the full disclosure of the calculations behind every recommendation and that approving a budget with anything less is a disservice to students and parents. In addition, the outlet showed that another school district is making false claims about being underfunded, a wild claim considering that the district is not spending all the funds it receives. The district of Shawnee Mission demonstrates its priority is not on improving student outcomes.
Liberty Justice Center President Jacob Huebert joined the Cato Daily Podcast to discuss illegal electioneering against school choice in Kentucky.
Mountain States Policy Center’s teampublished a recap of their experience at the 2024 SPN Annual Meeting.
Pacific Research Institute announced that their book, The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, has garnered Amazon’s number one best seller status in two categories. Written by Kerry Jackson and Tim Anaya, the book explores how “The California Way” — the litany of bad policy ideas enacted over the years in Sacramento — are inspiring politicians to enact these bad California policies across the country. The Institute also released its second annual national survey of voters conducted by Echelon Insights rating voter attitudes on their local schools and local school boards.
Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers was featured by Stossel TV, a program sponsored by Center for Independent Thought, in its newly released “Dam Liars!” video. The video spotlights the disinformation that activists and politicians are using to get support for the destruction of four dams on the Snake River in Washington State.
The Buckeye Institute, in Buffalo v. Hyundai, called on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to stop local governments from misusing the courts to turn private businesses into ATMs to fund local government operations.
California Policy Center submitted an amicus letter supporting Ghost Golf, an indoor miniature golf venue that was shut down for more than a year due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide business shutdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, that refutes the Governor’s and Department of Public Health’s claims that they may re-impose such restrictions at their discretion—in contradiction of the state constitution which grants only the Legislature the power to make law.
Goldwater Institute filed a brief in the Arizona Court of Appeals urging the judges to enforce the state Constitution’s guarantee of the right to trial by jury, instead of letting state officials prosecute crimes in “administrative hearings” that are presided over by government bureaucrats.
Liberty Justice Center issued a statement supporting the Huntington Beach City Council’s decision to make Huntington Beach a “Parents’ Right to Know City” where school employees are prohibited from keeping information about minor children hidden from their parents.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed its 12th lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration, this time targeting the U.S. Department of Education’s McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program. This $60 million program provides financial and educational opportunities to students nationwide who want to pursue graduate studies, but many college students are ineligible because of their race, including Asians, whites, Arabs, Jews, and some Latinos.
Oregon: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Oregon State Bar officials violated a conservative lawyer’s First Amendment rights when the Bar endorsed political statements critical of then-President Donald Trump and his supporters in a magazine funded by mandatory member dues (Goldwater Institute).
Washington: With the launch of a government website facilitating applications for refunds, farmers finally have the ability to get reimbursed for the illegal gas tax collections they faced last year (Washington Policy Center).
California Policy Center posted a brief which examines how natural gas can help California get to net zero by helping to make energy delivery more efficient.
Mountain States Policy Center released briefs that examine how education choice programs are working across the country and show how the private sector should lead the way for broadband expansion—not government-owned networks.
Pacific Research Institute released a brief showing that CalPERS – which adheres to a politicized Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda – is generating lower returns in its investment strategies compared to a more typical investment strategy.
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy published a brief examining ways to overcome a stalemated Virginia General Assembly to bring much-needed tax reforms to Virginia families.
Washington Policy Center issued briefs that expose how the city of Snohomish is taking another step to make housing unaffordable, outline a path to repealing Washington’s capital gains tax, and recap the Center’s victories in the 2024 legislative session.
Ohio: The Cleveland Clinic quietly removed all traces of the “Minority Men’s Health Center” from its website, following a federal civil rights complaint — a move that signals that Cleveland Clinic is taking seriously the challenges against its racially discriminatory patient programming (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty).
Topics:
Fall Means Back to (Skipping) School for Too Many Students
Center of the American Experiment
Mississippi Students of Color Outperform Minnesota’s in Reading and Math
Center of the American Experiment
Learning Nothing, NY Heads Back to School
Empire Center
What Can the Arizona Cardinals Teach Montana About Education?
Frontier Institute
Goldwater’s Back-to-School Toolkit
Goldwater Institute
Vallas: Biggest Obstacle to Improving City Schools Is Chicago Teachers Union
Illinois Policy
Dane County Judge Upholds Partial Veto of Literacy Program Legislation
Institute for Reforming Government
Delayed Budget Adjustments Cause Charter School Funding Woes
John Locke Foundation
Another Look at Local Teacher Pay in North Carolina
John Locke Foundation
What Exactly Is a Microschool?
Libertas Institute
The Tyranny of Homework
Libertas Institute
From Garden to Table: How Alicia Garcia Reshapes Home Ec with ESAs
Pioneer Institute
How Nonprofit Next Step to Success Teaches Kids the ‘Success Sequence’
Sutherland Institute
How Utah Can Increase Parent Access to Curriculum
Sutherland Institute
California Policy Czars Ignore Water-Supply Solutions in Plain Sight
California Policy Center
The Numbers Behind CARB’s Goal of “Net Zero”
California Policy Center
Natural Gas Can Help Get California to Net Zero
California Policy Center
More Water Supply Requires Industry Unity
California Policy Center
Only 63 of 1,500 Climate Policies Reduced CO2 Emissions
Center of the American Experiment
An ‘All-of-the-Above’ Energy Plan Is No Plan at All
Commonwealth Foundation
Fuel Standard Will Increase Gasoline Prices
Rio Grande Foundation
On Covid in Nursing Homes, There’s No Comparison Between Cuomo and Walz
Empire Center
New Medical Debt Program Underscores Obamacare’s Failure
John Locke Foundation
Controlling Drug Prices: Costs and Benefits of Direct Negotiation with Big Pharma
Pioneer Institute
Review of Colorado’s Property Taxes and Model Policy
Independence Institute
Another Special Session on Property Taxes: What Changed?
Independence Institute
Florida Politics: The Joe Biden Administration Comes for Landlords
James Madison Institute
Affordable Housing vs Housing Affordability
Libertas Institute
Don’t Horse Around with Our Livelihoods—An Excerpt from “Modern Davids”
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Rising Costs and Diminishing Returns
Cascade Policy Institute
Civil War Among Rideshare Drivers
Center of the American Experiment
Will Keith Ellison Go After Twitter/Elon Musk?
Center of the American Experiment
NY Labor Day 2024: Most Regions Still Haven’t Recovered Jobs Lost in Pandemic
Empire Center
Labor Day: A Call to Strengthen Mississippi’s Workforce
Empower Mississippi
Will Front Street Become just a Fond Memory?
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
1,190 Illinois Jobs Shed in July, With Deere Leading For 2nd Month
Illinois Policy
Illinois Bans Mini Shampoo Bottles in Hotel Rooms
Illinois Policy
Learn How Much It Will Cost You if Federal Tax Cuts Expire
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation
Sowing Resilience Chapter 4: Tomorrow
John Locke Foundation
Guaranteed Basic Income Programs
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Is There a Problem with MN Teachers Pensions?
Center of the American Experiment
Legislators Must Reign-In Bureaucratic Spending on Idaho Child Care Programs
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Stares Down $1 Billion City Budget Deficit
Illinois Policy
Direct Taxes and the Founders’ Originalism
Independence Institute
Michigan Taxpayers Lose Permanent Tax Cut
Mackinac Center
A Look at Oklahoma CareerTech Spending
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Back to School, Back to the Union?
Center of the American Experiment
Government Unions are Down — But Not Out
Commonwealth Foundation
‘Bright Future’ Costs SEIU 1199NW 1,000 Members
Freedom Foundation
No Current Teachers Voted to Make Chicago Teachers Union Their Union
Illinois Policy
Public Sector Unions Should Only Speak for Their Members
Mackinac Center
The History of Labor Day
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Reporting for Jury Duty
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Needs to Be Replaced with Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Regulators Tying the Hands of Innovation in the Face of an AI Race
Libertas Institute
Support Policy, Not Politics
Mackinac Center
The Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: A South Carolina Response
Palmetto Promise Institute
UK’s Prof. Richard Holmes on Coleridge, the Ancient Mariner, & Poetry
Pioneer Institute
Are We a Democracy or a Republic? Answer: Yes
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Phil Williams, fellow at the Alabama Policy Institute, in a column for the Trussville Tribune says that ‘when entrusted with something valuable,’ one’s role is to ‘be a good steward’—and that includes preserving liberty.
Ethan Rohrbach, research associate at Cascade Policy Institute, in an op-ed for DJC Oregon says that a $410 million high school in Oregon is oversized and a waste of taxpayer dollars, as enrollment at the high school declines.
Brittany Hjelte, research associate at Cascade Policy Institute, in an op-ed for the Forest Grove News Times, says the ‘premise’ that wind and solar energy could be ‘reliable’ sources of energy is ‘fundamentally flawed.’
In RealClearMarkets, The Free State Foundation’s Randy May considers Abraham Lincoln’s views on labor.
In the Tampa Free Press, Liberty Justice Center Senior Fellow Mark Janus reflects on the landmark Supreme Court victory Janus v. AFSCME and on the fight for workers’ rights.
In the Tampa Free Press, Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Jeffrey Schwab argues that union should not force employees to subsidize speech they find offensive.
