A lot of people don’t believe this, but it is possible to be concerned about slowing the spread of COVID-19 and also be concerned about slowing the erosion of fundamental liberties through unconstitutional emergency measures.
Ian Underwood
School Refunding
There’s constant discussion about the problems with how we fund schools. Should they be funded locally, or at a state level? Should funding be distributed as an entitlement, or as assistance? Should the money be given to schools, or to parents? What taxes should be levied on whom, in what way, and for how much? But none of these discussions address the fundamental problem with the way we fund schools.
The Pre-Emptive Veto
There’s a lot of talk lately about how the House wasted time on some pointless reprimands, and consequently everything is behind schedule. However, this represents a small fraction of a much larger slice of time that gets wasted in every session, but especially in sessions — like the current one — where the legislative and executive branches are controlled by different parties.
The Education ‘System’
You never hear people talking about ‘the food system’. Why is that? Because there isn’t one. I mean, we have the USDA, which mostly exists to make it harder for smaller producers of food to compete with larger producers of food. But there is no Secretary of Food, no Commissioner of Food, no Food Czar, and so on.
The Undemocratic Democratic Party
Non-Democrats are having fun criticizing the undemocratic nature of the party’s presidential nomination process — from the large numbers of super-delegates who are free to ignore primary results, to the frequent rule changes that seem to be designed to keep certain candidates from appearing in debates. But such criticism ignores some crucial points.
HB721, The Private School Harassment Bill
Imagine a rule requiring every vegetarian restaurant to be ready to serve meat dishes, but not because anyone currently goes there looking for meat dishes, or plans to. Meat eaters would obviously be better off at other restaurants, of which there is no shortage.
But I can’t teach my child…
When you talk to people about educating their children outside of traditional schools, one of the things you’re likely to hear is some variation of ‘But I can’t teach my children’ math, or chemistry, or music, or some other subjects that they aren’t familiar with. And while they may be right, they’re also wrong.
Amendment 2 and Article 83
It’s not uncommon to hear people say things like ‘the state has a duty to educate children’. But this strikes me as backwards. To see why, consider the striking correspondence between the words of the 2nd Amendment in the federal constitution, and the words of Article 83 in the New Hampshire Constitution.
Charter schools: Red herrings
In a recent editorial about how school choice and charter schools ‘put public school funding at risk’, Donald Cohen waves three red herrings, hoping to distract you from the real issues at hand. They come up a lot, so they’re worth looking at more closely.
Crazy or crazier?
Ideally, the legislature would go through all the RSAs and repeal the statutes that punish vices (which are really just offenses against oneself) and sins (which are really just offenses against one’s god).
School funding: How much is enough?
There is a question that should be asked of anyone who wants to make a case for increasing the amount that we spend on public schools. Usually, they just say that the amount needed is ‘more than it is now’.
But how much more?
Under the new ordinance, illegal ‘immigrants’ driving without a license in Cambridge will not be getting arrested.
City councilors in Cambridge Massachusetts have a new, “Welcoming Community Ordinance.” It was passed last week. They say it formalizes existing policy. Under the new ordinance, illegal ‘immigrants’ driving without a license in Cambridge will not be getting arrested.
Schools: First do no harm
Every once in a while, you come across a simple idea, or a simple question, that changes how you think about almost everything. Paul Goodman once asked a question like that, which is most easily illustrated with a simple curve.
Charter schools: Ideas are more important than money
Discussions of charter schools and school choice often end up focusing on money: Relative costs of the various alternatives, competition for scarce resources, and so on.
The permanent tourniquet
A tourniquet can be a lifesaver when serious bleeding is occurring. But when the bleeding has stopped — when the source of the problem has been identified, and fixed — you remove the tourniquet. Otherwise, you risk developing gangrene in the limb that needs the blood supply that you’ve just cut off. At least, that’s how it works in medicine. In politics, we just leave the tourniquet in place indefinitely.
Charter schools will reverse global warming
Apparently, the NH Department of Education has issued a report claiming to show that accepting a grant of $46 million from the federal government, to be used to create and expand charter schools, will end up saving taxpayers $178 million over time. That sounds exciting, so I thought I’d take a look.
Turns out, there’s so much hand-waving in the report that I was able to dry off after a shower just by standing next to it…
HB1659: Begging for dignity
The Death with Dignity Act (HB1659) starts by saying: The state of New Hampshire recognizes that persons have a right, founded in the autonomy of the person, to control the decisions relating to the rendering of their own medical care. So, right away, it’s lying. Because this were true, you wouldn’t have to get prescriptions to take medicine, whether to cure or kill yourself.
The New Green Deal
I recently saw an article that asked this question: What if students were able to invest their student loan payments towards retirement, instead of paying off the loans with that money?
But a college loan is supposed to be an investment.
The Idiocy-Prevention Tax
The First Law of Holes is: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Don’t change shovels, or set a new schedule, or try a new digging technique. Just stop.
Should government schools teach civics?
Now and then, I hear conservatives calling for ‘more civics classes in schools’. And my first thought is always the same: How can these people seriously think that government-controlled schools are the right places to be teaching civics?