Justin Katz

Boy in a library

Anybody who wants to help disadvantaged minorities should support this.

By Justin Katz | January 19, 2022 |

You can’t help but be moved by stories like this.  Similarly, you can’t miss the political reasons they aren’t more widely spread. [Denisha] Merriweather’s future looked bleak. “Teachers would sigh when I walked through the door,” she said of the district schools she attended. “Another Merriweather,” they would judge. “My family name was not that…

A water drop and ripples

Someday we’ll learn that centralizing power centralizes benefit.

By Justin Katz | January 19, 2022 |

Brad Polumbo conveys a should-be-unsurprising finding from an MIT study: The federal government has spent an astounding $42,000 per federal taxpayer on so-called “stimulus” efforts since the pandemic began. Where did all that money go? Well, as it turns out, one of the biggest stimulus programs, the Paycheck Protection Program, failed miserably. … The analysis…

An essential worker sign

It’s starting to feel like we’re being bought off.

By Justin Katz | January 19, 2022 |

I’ll be honest.  Facing a massive imminent bill for a prematurely failed septic system while I’m in the midst of a career adjustment and at a high-water mark for higher-education expenses spanning generations, news about a state-administered federal program to hand out up to $50,000 to homeowners initially felt like an opportunity: The newly opened…

A water drop and ripples

Is Langevin getting out in advance of an investment controversy?

By Justin Katz | January 19, 2022 |

John DePetro speculates: The real reason is an explosive story about to hit regarding Langevin under investigation regarding stock trading. Langevin would feel obligated to answer questions and face constituents if he was seeking another term in office or was indicted, but will ignore the press as the story leaks out. Congress has seemed to…

A Nipyata

Do we want to be defined by nanny-state bans?

By Justin Katz | January 19, 2022 |

Democrat state representative from Warwick David Bennett continues his long streak of bad legislation with an effort to ban nips — those little bottles of alcohol that have been a fixture of liquor stores for decades: Rep. David Bennett, D-Warwick, is tired of spotting discarded nips strewn along the side of the road whenever he…

Sign reading "You'll Get It Eventually"

McCardle is wrong to saddle the Somewheres with election concerns.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

Libertarian columnist for the Washington Post Megan McCardle appeared on Russ Roberts’s EconTalk podcast to talk about the late Roger Scruton’s contrast of the Somewheres, whose worldview is deeply tied to a sense of belonging somewhere, and the Anywheres, who (if I may attempt to summarize their desire charitably) want to feel at home wherever they may go. …

A water drop and ripples

Here’s something to think about if you’re down.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

Late January and February can be tough, emotionally, in New England.  Even when it’s sunny out, things look kind of dead, and biting cold can be painful rather than invigorating, which is to say, not very inviting. Christian believers will often comfort those who feel down by assuring them that they are loved.  As wonderful…

Biden & Fauci comply posters

Rhode Island Democrats, is this you?

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

As expected as it probably should be, I have to say I’m still a bit surprised by these survey findings: – Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters would oppose a proposal for federal or state governments to fine Americans who choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, 55% of Democratic voters would support such a…

A water drop and ripples

They really do think that racism is good.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

Apparently, the RI Foundation’s racist pay boost for Providence teachers of the right race is not the only policy of its type in the country.  This is in Minnesota: The Mankato School Board voted unanimously earlier this month for a policy that may grant additional pay exclusively to non-white teachers. The board is chaired by…

Scene from Fun Home musical

Did a Pawtucket parent finally find education insiders’ sense of shame?

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

These days, it’s surprising to see an article, by Abigail Judson in the Valley Breeze, that doesn’t make Pawtucket father Brendon Hall out to be a suspicious villain for objecting to inappropriate material in his daughter’s freshman classroom.  The graphic novel at the center of the controversy (now a Broadway musical!) is Fun Home, which features…