CDE Gathers Feedback on Social Studies Standards
Colorado is making major revisions to the state’s academic standards. At the Independence Institute, we’re especially interested in the Social Studies standards. Our own Ben DeGrow has served on the subcommittee to draft new standards for h…
Whose Business is Your Health Care?
Our ongoing debate about government’s role in health care is proving worthwhile because it forces people to focus on the real tradeoffs in a system mandated — if not directly operated — by government, rather than one selected by individuals or their employers. Today, our system is a dysfunctional hybrid.
National Education Association Spends Member Dues for Government Health Care
We are in the midst of a very divisive and controversial debate in our nation over legislation that would greatly expand the role of government in providing health insurance. If you were a full-time member of the National Education Association (NEA) through joining your local teachers union, then you sent money during the 2007-08 school […]
Health Care Protests on Target
Now we know the enemy in the health-care debate, the really, truly despicable people, the worms who ought to be stuffed back in the dirt they crawled out of. It’s ordinary citizens who have had the temerity to show up at meetings of their representatives in Congress, asking in so many words — “What in the name of heaven are you planning to do with our lives?”
Latest News for Independent Teachers: Event Wrap-Up, Updated Info on NEA, AFT Spending
A couple quick links to check out:
– Ed Is Watching has a great wrap-up of Wednesday night’s event for Independent Teachers.
– The Independent Teachers site has been updated with information on financial disclosure reports from the National Educa…
A Fiscal Roadmap for Colorado
Colorado appears to be at a crossroads similar to that in California in the late 1980s. At that point California was a dynamic growing economy. That prosperity reflected a fiscal constitution that kept the growth of government in line with the growth of the private economy. California’s GANN Amendment, which was a precursor of the TABOR Amendment in Colorado, limited the growth of state revenue and spending to the sum of inflation and population growth. In the late 1980s, under pressure from the education employee lobby, the California legislature abandoned the GANN Amendment, and the rest is history.
Indiana Takes a Stand for Private School Choice
June 30, 2009 was a GOOD day for thousands of Indiana children in the home state of the Friedman Foundation and the GEO Foundation, two long-time school choice advocates. Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law a 2.5 million corporate and individual …
High Speed Spending
The Colorado Department of Transportation recently announced how it plans to try to fix the capacity and congestion problems in the Interstate 70 mountain corridor. The plan has two major problems. First, it’s going to take 20 years or more to implement, and second, it will do nothing meaningful to relieve the worst area of congestion from east of Idaho Springs to west of Georgetown.
Why Colorado Should Not Build High-Speed Rail
The Federal Railroad Administration’s high-speed rail plan will cost federal income tax payers $1,000 each— and most of them will never ride it. Colorado isn’t even a part of the plan, but a local proposal for high-speed rail will probably cost $9,000 for every Colorado resident—and most of them will probably never ride it either. High-speed rail won’t relieve congestion, save energy, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Colorado should spend its share of federal high-speed rail stimulus funds on safety measures such as grade crossing improvements, not on new trains that will obligate taxpayers to pay billions of dollars in subsidies.
Why Colorado Should Not Build High-Speed Rail
Why Colorado Should Not Build High-Speed Rail
Why Colorado Should Not Build High-Speed Rail
For all of these reasons—high costs, tiny benefits, and interference with property rights—Colorado should not attempt to provide high-speed rail service. Instead, it should use its share of the $8 billion stimulus funds, if it gets any, solely for incremental upgrades, such as safer grade crossings and signaling systems, that do not obligate state taxpayers to pay future operations and maintenance costs.
Charter School Families and Organizations Connect Online
A new message board is available to help charter schoos and their families connect, with the goal of providing a tool for information sharing, networking and interaction between charter organizations and the families served. The message board is a service of CharterSchoolMom.com. If you are looking for schools in your area, don’t forget to check […]
