Could Wildflower Elem. Show Colorado How to Climb Peak on 3rd Grade Reading?
The big news in Colorado education the past couple days is the release of the latest round of 3rd grade reading scores on the state CSAP test. While we still have a long ways to go, it is mildly encouraging to see the small increase in reading proficiency across Colorado:
Statewide, 73 percent of third-graders scored […]
SB 11-128: Colorado government compels insurers to sell plans to kids
Colorado authorities are forcing insurers to sell child-only health plans to parents, and at the same price regardless of the child’s health risk. This encourages insurers to cater to healthy people & underprovide to the sick.
TSA Helps Kill High-Speed Trains
One of the punchlines of President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address had to do with high-speed rail: “For some trips,” he said to “laughter and applause,” “it will be faster than flying–without the pat-down.” Now the Transportation Security Administration has announced a new policy that will eliminate this frequently used but inane argument […]
Jeffco Teachers Union President Credits DeGrow, Institute on Open Negotiations
At the May 5 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Education, representing Colorado’s largest school district, Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) president Kerrie Dallman said she was “perplexed” that open teachers union negotiations had become such an issue and credited “Ben DeGrow and the Independence Institute” for bringing it attention.
Michigan Governor Calls For More Parent-Friendly Open Enrollment (a la Colorado)
Open enrollment is something I haven’t told you much about lately, but now it’s in the news as Michigan’s governor looks to break down a barrier to parental choice and educational opportunity in state law. The Detroit News yesterday highlighted Rick Snyder’s plan to allow any public school student access to an open public school […]
Fiscal Conservatives Should Want Colorado Parolees To Succeed
To be sure, when offenders released to parole then re-offend (commit crimes), a revocation of parole (or a new prosecution) and a return to prison is a necessary part of the price we pay for separating criminals from the public. But technical parole revocations back to prison (where there is not a new crime, but rather some violation of the terms of parole) is an available area for lawmakers to seek out reforms for both cost savings and more efficient use of existing criminal justice resources.
Primary Care Can Be Comprehensive and Convenient for $2 a Day
For example of how people can get primary health care without insurance, see John Goodman’s post: Primary Care Can Be Comprehensive and Convenient for $2 a Day. Goodman notes that “all this will go away, however, if Obama Care is fully implemented.”
Latest High-Speed Rail Grant
Secretary of Immobility Ray LaHood announced yesterday the latest–and possibly last–round of high-speed rail grants, this one from redistribution of the $2.4 billion rejected by the state of Florida. As the Antiplanner noted in March, LaHood could have given the entire $2.4 billion to California, sending a signal that the administration remains serious about building […]
Anti-National Curriculum Manifesto Worth Signing in (Virtual) Ink, Not Crayon
If you gave me a big box of crayons and asked me to write a manifesto, it’s probably not what I would have come up with. But I am glad to give it a big thumbs up, and hope that lots of big people sign on. What am I talking about? Closing the Door on […]
Notes from All Over
The Economist published an article claiming that traffic is worse in the United States than Europe and lamenting that the U.S. was not building high-speed rail. Wendell Cox responds with a data-filled article basically showing that everything The Economist said was wrong. John Charles of the Cascade Policy Institute just published Light Rail, Streetcars & […]
Colorado SB 11-213: Parents can afford higher child health plan fees
Colo. SB 11-218: Households earning twice the federal poverty limit can afford higher fees for the Colo. Child Health Plan Plus. Many kids in such households have commercial insurance, & the poorest U.S. households spend more than $100/month on booze, sweets, tobacco, & entertainment. $20/month for one kid isn’t too much.
Colorado Bridge Enterprise: A Case Study in Contravening Colorado’s Constitution
In 2009 the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 09-108, more commonly known as FASTER. Signed by Governor Bill Ritter, the bill relies on distortions and deliberate misdirections to subvert Colorado’s Constitution and silence the voice of the people. The bill depends on continued silence for its provisions to move forward. Under FASTER, Colorado families are being forced to pay an unconstitutional tax of almost $100 million annually. This tax hits everyone who registers a vehicle in the state squarely in the pocketbook—a tax that was enacted directly by the legislature without a vote of the people.
