Education

Education

Rethinking Big ED

Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
Commentary

Money before unions

Orange County Register, January 7, 2010 blog.abwre.com, January 10, 2010 Sacramento legislators and Gov. Schwarzenegger may have achieved one of the most elusive accomplishments in California politics: bucking the teachers unions. The Assembly passed a package of education bills Tuesday that give parents more authority to move their children out ...
Business & Economics

State’s taxes putting us all on the ropes

Los Angeles Daily News, January 5, 2010 MANNY Pacquiao is the premier boxer in the world, and his upcoming match with Floyd Merriweather could be the richest in history. Promoters are pushing for Staples Center in Los Angeles, but Pacquiao does not want to hold the bout in California. The ...
Education

The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program

Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...
Commentary

Suburban schools not always great

A prominent California legislator from an inner-city district recently told a friend of mine that there were no poor-performing schools in the wealthy suburbs. This is a common perception among legislators, the media and parents, but it stands at odds with the facts. In 2008, there were 528 schools where ...
Commentary

As Congress Ends D.C. Voucher Program, Qatar Moves Toward Universal School Choice

As regular readers of the Foundry know, Congress has recently moved to end the popular and effective D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, denying low-income families the chance to attend a school of their parents’ choice. Meanwhile, other countries are pushing forward with plans to give all parents school choice. In September, ...
Commentary

My Word: Awful school funding formula plagues Alameda County

Bay Area News Group (Oakland, CA), December 23, 2009 CA Political News, December 23, 2009 CALIFORNIA’S FISCAL outlook continues to worsen. Concern is mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association (CTA), along with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, ...
Commentary

California Students Need the Gift That Keeps on Giving

The holiday season finds Sacramento legislators scrambling for $700 million in Race to the Top money from the federal government. In the midst of the chaos, policy makers, parents and taxpayers should take time to reflect on what California’s six million public school students really need, starting with high expectations. ...
Commentary

The Union that Stole Christmas

The holiday season is upon us, but California’s schoolchildren won’t be receiving many gifts this year—at least not from their lawmakers or teachers’ unions. California is poised to become the nation’s largest school system that will not qualify to compete for $4.3 billion of federal Race to the Top funds. ...
Education

New Study Finds that Medicare Advantage Relieves the “Hidden Tax” On Privately Insured Americans

San Francisco – The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, today released its new report, Medicare Advantage or Medicare Monopoly: Protecting Seniors’ Choices and Taxpayers’ Wallets in the Federal Government’s Largest Entitlement Program, by Health Care Studies Director John R. Graham. The report examines the ...
Education

Rethinking Big ED

Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
Commentary

Money before unions

Orange County Register, January 7, 2010 blog.abwre.com, January 10, 2010 Sacramento legislators and Gov. Schwarzenegger may have achieved one of the most elusive accomplishments in California politics: bucking the teachers unions. The Assembly passed a package of education bills Tuesday that give parents more authority to move their children out ...
Business & Economics

State’s taxes putting us all on the ropes

Los Angeles Daily News, January 5, 2010 MANNY Pacquiao is the premier boxer in the world, and his upcoming match with Floyd Merriweather could be the richest in history. Promoters are pushing for Staples Center in Los Angeles, but Pacquiao does not want to hold the bout in California. The ...
Education

The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program

Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...
Commentary

Suburban schools not always great

A prominent California legislator from an inner-city district recently told a friend of mine that there were no poor-performing schools in the wealthy suburbs. This is a common perception among legislators, the media and parents, but it stands at odds with the facts. In 2008, there were 528 schools where ...
Commentary

As Congress Ends D.C. Voucher Program, Qatar Moves Toward Universal School Choice

As regular readers of the Foundry know, Congress has recently moved to end the popular and effective D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, denying low-income families the chance to attend a school of their parents’ choice. Meanwhile, other countries are pushing forward with plans to give all parents school choice. In September, ...
Commentary

My Word: Awful school funding formula plagues Alameda County

Bay Area News Group (Oakland, CA), December 23, 2009 CA Political News, December 23, 2009 CALIFORNIA’S FISCAL outlook continues to worsen. Concern is mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association (CTA), along with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, ...
Commentary

California Students Need the Gift That Keeps on Giving

The holiday season finds Sacramento legislators scrambling for $700 million in Race to the Top money from the federal government. In the midst of the chaos, policy makers, parents and taxpayers should take time to reflect on what California’s six million public school students really need, starting with high expectations. ...
Commentary

The Union that Stole Christmas

The holiday season is upon us, but California’s schoolchildren won’t be receiving many gifts this year—at least not from their lawmakers or teachers’ unions. California is poised to become the nation’s largest school system that will not qualify to compete for $4.3 billion of federal Race to the Top funds. ...
Education

New Study Finds that Medicare Advantage Relieves the “Hidden Tax” On Privately Insured Americans

San Francisco – The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, today released its new report, Medicare Advantage or Medicare Monopoly: Protecting Seniors’ Choices and Taxpayers’ Wallets in the Federal Government’s Largest Entitlement Program, by Health Care Studies Director John R. Graham. The report examines the ...
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