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A father and daughter flying a kite

School systems have an educational duty to engage parents.

By Justin Katz | July 9, 2021 |

On her Substack page, Rhode Island education advocate Erika Sanzi asks the question, “What Happened to Listening to Parents?” We were united by the fundamental belief that parents need and deserve to be heard, seen as partners in their children’s educational experience. We were united in the belief that parents should have a front row seat…

A chart of taxes over time

States can use federal stimulus money to cut taxes… if they want to.

By Justin Katz | July 9, 2021 |

That is the conclusion of a federal court ruling in Ohio, although it’s limited to that state, for now.  The following comes from an analysis by Jonathan Adler: The two primary federalism arguments against the Tax Mandate are that a) Congress did not specify the terms of this condition with sufficient clarity (i.e. the condition…

Children sneaking up on a deer

We need to get the family back in focus before it’s too late.

By Justin Katz | July 9, 2021 |

To our detriment, we took Italy’s experience of COVID-19 to gauge our reaction, but when it comes to that country’s deteriorating family life, we’re not paying enough attention.  From Hannah Brockhaus for the Catholic News Agency: Leaders in Italy’s public and private sectors will meet Friday to discuss the country’s dismal birth rate in a…

A medical mask on the sidewalk

The governor keeps the pandemic going.

By Justin Katz | July 8, 2021 |

As Ian Donnis tweeted earlier, I was in Providence this afternoon at the Public’s Radio studio for an all-too-brief conversation with National Education Association of Rhode Island director Bob Walsh about the obstacles to improvement of Rhode Island’s education system. Arriving a bit early, I walked around the area, and it struck me that the…

Chart of extreme poverty since 1850

Private aid is great, but freedom is better.

By Justin Katz | July 8, 2021 |

Rachel Sharrett’s essay for the American Institute for Economic Research on the advantages of using private charity to help the disadvantaged is an interesting read, but the eye-catcher comes at the end.  Explaining the chart used for the featured image of this post, Sharrett writes: The bottom line is, aid has never been and will…

Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson

Note the dog that isn’t barking about Fed spying on Tucker Carlson.

By Justin Katz | July 8, 2021 |

Popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson has noted a development in his ongoing conflict with the National Security Agency (NSA) after a whistleblower informed him the agency was reading his emails and planned to leak them to the media to discredit him. Jon Brown reports on The Daily Wire: Speaking with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo…

The Statue of Liberty and U.S. Flag

Do American teachers’ unions love (or even like) their country?

By Justin Katz | July 8, 2021 |

In fairness, it’s possible that GoLocalProv didn’t quote part of a statement from Frank Flynn, the president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, which is the Ocean State’s branch of the national American Federation of Teachers, and I couldn’t find it in full on the labor union’s website or anywhere else. As…

Thomas Eakins Cowboys in the Badlands

I’ll admit it: I’m glad there’s a Donald Trump in the mix these days.

By Justin Katz | July 7, 2021 |

Yes, I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing he would focus more — keeping his targets separate for separate attacks, resisting the gratuitous own-back-patting, articulating his points more without requiring interpretation, and so on. On the other hand, I think people should generally be more humble about proposing counterfactuals.  Whether instinctively or intellectually he has…

Bankrate's map of best states to retire

RI’s surprisingly good ranking for retirement raises important considerations.

By Justin Katz | July 7, 2021 |

Bankrate has published its “The best and worst states for retirement 2021” and as indicated in the featured image of this post (if you look closely), Rhode Island does pretty… not terribly, coming in at twentieth among the fifty states. As is often the case with these more-broadly-construed rankings, the key conclusions are to be…

Black man reviewing business trends

A public-private partnership focused on businesses by race is inherently destructive.

By Justin Katz | July 7, 2021 |

Attitudes may be changing rapidly on this (or at least the mainstream narrative may be), but the partnership between the administration of Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Foundation focusing on minority-owned businesses is destructive to our state.  From an RI Foundation press release by Chris Barnett (emphasis added): “Supporting and growing our small…