Opinion
-
Competing Health Reform Plans Battle it Out on Campaign Trail
Opinion -In early September, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said he wants to make preventive care mandatory in his proposed universal health insurance system. -
Fall Showdown Looms for U.S. Farm Bill
Opinion -The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are at odds over the outlines of a comprehensive farm bill, and an extension of the five-year-old law currently in effect may be necessary. -
Negotiation Documents Are Public Record, Judge Rules
Opinion -A Washington state judge has ruled that documents exchanged between the state and public employee unions during contract negotiations are public records and can be disclosed to taxpayers. -
Debate Over Public-Private Highway Partnerships Takes a New Turn
Opinion -The latest chapter in the continuing debate about the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) has featured uncharacteristically blunt congressional criticism and equally pointed rejoinders from the states. -
Floridians Rebel Against Governor’s Global Warming Proposals
Opinion -Greenhouse gas restrictions proposed by Florida Gov. -
Salmon Farming Controversy Goes to Ninth Circuit
Opinion -In a fight against a court decision that many have characterized as unnecessary regulation of fishermen, business people, and private property owners, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) attorneys on August 2 filed a notice of appeal for Trout Unlimited v. -
Arizona Charter Schools Fight for Autonomy
Opinion -Five Arizona charter schools must abide by all state standards for now, a Maricopa County Court judge ruled August 7. -
Civic Group Finds Illinois Charter Schools Don’t Drain Resources
Opinion -In July, the Chicago-based, nonpartisan Civic Federation released a comprehensive study showing Illinois charter schools do not place undue financial burdens on their host school districts and do not hamper districts' ability to manage finances. -
Hispanics Want Candidates to Focus on Education: Poll
Opinion -If 2008 presidential hopefuls want a piece of the Latino voting pie, they must concentrate on their educational agendas and focus on the future of America's public education system, according to the results of a national poll released July 23. -
Michigan Economy Declines as Legislature Fiddles
Opinion -The depth of the economic crisis in Michigan is greater than ever, and there is little evidence of a turnaround any time soon. Consider the following data from May and June of this year: Michigan had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 7. -
Washington State Government Workers Get Record Raises
Opinion -The current collective bargaining agreements between Washington state and its employee unions give state employees the largest raises some have ever seen. The minimum increase union-represented employees will receive is 12. -
House Leadership Breaks Rules to Pass Subsidies for Illegal Aliens in Farm Bill
Opinion -The politics behind the farm bill came into full view August 2, when the electronic scoreboard in the House showed a vote of 215-213 and the word FINAL in favor of a motion to deny illegal aliens benefits in the agriculture bill. -
Climate Science Supports Realism, Not Alarmism
Opinion -This is the third in a three-part series exploring how industry, and society at large, should respond to predicted climate change. No thinking person should feel compelled to believe climate science is settled. It is not. -
Real Scientists vs. Media Darlings
Opinion -This article is one in a continuing series excerpted from the book Smoke or Steam? A Guide to Environmental, Regulatory, and Food Safety Concerns, by Samuel Aldrich, adapted and serialized by Jay Lehr. -
Home Solar Power Fails Due to Practical Difficulties
Opinion -This article is the second in a series outlining the technological and economic obstacles to the widespread use of solar power. -
School Choice Book a Quick, Compelling Read
Opinion -School Choice: The Findings By Herb Walberg Washington, DC: Cato Institute Press, 2007 110 pages, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-933955-04-5, $9. -
Absence of Choice Helps Explain Parental Dissatisfaction
Opinion -A poll released July 31 by the Strong American Schools' "ED in '08" campaign found the vast majority of voting-age Americans are deeply worried about U.S. public schools. -
Carriers Sue Iowa Telcos over ‘Traffic-Pumping’
Opinion -AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Qwest Communications International have filed lawsuits against 14 Iowa telecommunications companies--10 rural local exchange carriers (LECs) and four other service providers--over alleged "traffic-pumping schemes" aimed at -
Congress May Act to Define Graduation Rate
Opinion -Because accurate measures of dropout and graduation rates are so important for accountability purposes, and because states and local school districts have done such a deplorable job in reporting them, Congress is poised to take serious action. Rep. -
Congress Reignites Asbestos Scare with Ban on Aggregates
Opinion -Depending on your perspective, hearing that something is "the next asbestos" fills you with either great joy or great trepidation. -
Congress to Impose Collective Bargaining
Opinion -Congress is considering imposing unionism and collective bargaining on state and local public safety departments in states that have not given public-sector unions monopoly bargaining powers. H.R. -
Court-Ordered Spending Mandates Raise Taxes, But Don’t Help Education in the Long Term
Opinion -A new report questions the effectiveness of school funding lawsuits in generating the sustained results their plaintiffs seek. -
DC Opportunity Scholarship Program’s Future in Question
Opinion -About 1,800 children in Washington, DC headed to private schools in August using tuition scholarships provided through the DC Opportunity Scholarship fund. -
Examination of NEA Records Reveals Misdeeds
Opinion -The accounting practices of the National Education Association (NEA) could be more transparent in coming years, thanks to a nearly decade-long investigation by the Landmark Legal Foundation into the union's unreported political expenditures.