Written

Suburban house with a slot machine on the side

We react to increases in housing prices in exactly the wrong way.

By Justin Katz | February 28, 2024 |

Lance Lambert, who appears to be a reporter on the housing beat, shared a table of increases in housing prices in the 50 largest metro areas.  As the following snip from the table shows, Providence experienced the third-largest increase over the past year: Various contextual points are important to remember.  Metros can vary in size,…

A water drop and ripples

Progressives’ Valentines give a hint of life when everything’s political.

By Justin Katz | February 28, 2024 |

It seemed to be a mini-fad, this year, for progressives to post fake Valentines on social media that weren’t about love, but about their political positions.  This one, from RI Kids Count captures the distasteful feel with particular gusto: The tone is hard to miss, with its insinuation of superiority and assumption of bad-intent and/or…

A water drop and ripples

There’s a subtler lesson about the lie of Biden’s loan forgiveness.

By Justin Katz | February 27, 2024 |

Brian’s got this right, but it’s not the entire story: $3.4 million to 450 people is $7,556 each.  That’s not life-changing money; it’s purely a political handout at others’ expense.  Wait until the kids discover how limited this handout is, by the way.  Most of them are actually struggling with their private loans, which tend to…

A teacher Xes out George Washington on the blackboard

We’re crossing the line from inadequate education to malevolent indoctrination.

By Justin Katz | February 27, 2024 |

For those willing to step outside the boundaries of “just the way we do things,” the justification for mandatory schooling backstopped by taxpayer-funded government schools is an interesting question.  I’d pick up the rope and pull for the “yes, justified” side.  A country founded on freedom and individual achievement and held together by abstract agreement…

A water drop and ripples

Education will not improve in RI as long as these folks are setting the agenda.

By Justin Katz | February 27, 2024 |

This is all about ideology and politics, not about truly educating Rhode Island students: Most Rhode Islanders don’t have any idea who these people are, and many of those who do want to avoid the danger and cognitive dissonance of believing they have ulterior motives.  Nonetheless, as long as they have prominent roles in public…

A water drop and ripples

The ACLU of Colorado has reached the point of psychosis.

By Justin Katz | February 26, 2024 |

That’s the only explanation for this sort of thing:   The activist-lawyers at the ACLU would have us believe that they are so blinkered by ideology that they can’t see a distinction between a children’s hospital removing unhealthy breast tissue to stop cancer and removing healthy breasts for cosmetic reasons under the assertion that it…

A water drop and ripples

Yes, pet euthanasia often comes down to convenience.

By Justin Katz | February 26, 2024 |

I mean, I know from experience it can still be sad and traumatic, but at the end of the day, few people exhaust the medical possibilities before concluding the cost is too high.  That’s why this tweet is an example of the way in which political arguments can brush aside the most significant distinctions: Kelsey…

A water drop and ripples

The cause of the young-adult suicide drop is less important than the cause of its resumption.

By Justin Katz | February 24, 2024 |

Armand Domalewski asks an important question, when he observes a quick decrease in teen and young adult suicide after 1994, which held until about 2008 and in 2017 exceeded its previous high: The more important question, though, is what has been happening since 2007/2008. Having graduated high school in 1993, I’d speculate that the drop…

A water drop and ripples

The union push is a bad sign for ABC6.

By Justin Katz | February 23, 2024 |

Entirely apart from ideological battles, the push at the ABC6 news operation in Rhode Island is a bad sign for the station: Over a quarter century of living in Rhode Island, I’ve seen no movement from ABC6 toward a greater competitive position against WJAR (10) and WPRI (12).  The perennial third-place laggard from a struggling…

Even By Her Own Metric, Rhode Island’s Education Commissioner Has to Step Down

By Monique Chartier | February 22, 2024 |

The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity has called for the removal of Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green. They make their case here. I echo their call. During her tenure, Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green has failed to implement successful education reforms. She has instead prioritized questionable, experimental, non-education initiatives in Rhode Island’s K-12…