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Universal School Choice Empowers Parents and Undermines Indoctrination
Over the years, I’ve listened to numerous interest groups and cabinet officials pitch various public policy ideas. While discussing how the proposal would resolve some issue of state-wide concern, proponents often included the caveat, “It’s not a silver bullet.” Very few policies merit silver-bullet designation; however, universal school choice is a notable exception. Truly universal choice can resolve many of the problems that plague today’s education system. During the 2021 legislative session, the state legislature took steps toward increasing mobility within the monopolistic public education system with two pieces of legislation. The first expanded the state’s open transfer law, and the second supported a pluralistic educational system by growing the state’s Equal Opportunity Scholarship program. As the legislature supports legislation that empowers every parent to direct their child's education, an actual educational marketplace will arise. An open educational marketplace will allow students and parents to vote with their feet. It will enable them to determine the composition of a pluralistic system as they send their children to schools that meet students’ individual needs....
Hate
From guest writer John Brock: I hate Hate. It ruins your life. It destroys your soul. “Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater ... when you start hating anybody, it destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe; so, love everybody.” - Martin Luther King, Jr “Always remember, others may hate you. Those who hate you do not win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.” - Richard Nixon “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” - Nelson Mandela I am fearful that we in the United States are institutionalizing Hate. It is institutionalized in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. When you visit Kosovo or other Baltic countries, the first thing they tell you about is an atrocity committed by their neighbors a thousand years ago. These countries are filled with hate. It causes "ethnic cleansing" as in Rwanda and Kosovo. In our country, a multi-million-dollar industry of extortion has grown up around...
Unintended Consequences of Government Intervention: Inflation, Shortages, & Surpluses
The economy before Covid-19 was starting to show the wear of a long-term boom. The Fed funds rate was cut in July of 2019 and has continued on a downward trajectory. The yield curve flipped in the summer of 2019, showing that short term investments were favored over longer term investments, which does not bode well for a robust economy. In the Oklahoma economy both natural gas and oil prices started dropping in January of last year (2020). The rig count, the number of oil and natural gas wells that are currently being drilled, had a sharp downturn in the second half of 2019, with the number being cut almost in half from 96 in July to 51 in November. It is fair to say the economy could have been doing better leading into the Covid-19 crisis. Then the government decided which jobs were and were not needed and some businesses were shut down. Which businesses were allowed to stay open was seemingly random with some businesses favored over others. The closures put undue hardship on businesses that were already faced with a lackluster economy. During this period many businesses that supposedly closed temporarily never reopened. How could the price of such an intervention be truly...
Legislators Have a Responsibility to Make Laws, Not Goals
The world seems to be dividing into two camps. In the first camp, we value freedom, and we know that it can only survive with a healthy dose of personal responsibility. We accept responsibility for our actions, including our mistakes. Those in the second camp value safety, even when it comes at the expense of freedom. They also tend to look for ways to escape accountability. Some vague notion of “society” is somehow responsible for every mistake you make. Individuals who act wrongly are victims of this ineffable society. Most Oklahomans are in the first camp. And, logically, we tend to vote for leaders who reflect these values. We like it when adults take responsibility for their actions, even if they turned out poorly. Political scientists theorize that legislators prefer to delegate responsibility to unaccountable administrative agencies. The theory goes that legislators are constantly trying to keep everyone happy. They create administrative agencies with vague missions and send them forth into the state to do good things. They bask in the goodwill created by forming these agencies. But when the agencies act in ways that are unpopular, legislators can plausibly claim they...
Oklahoma Policymakers End Perverse Incentives, Encourage Oklahomans to Get Back to Work
This week Governor Stitt and the Oklahoma Legislature decided to end participation in a handful of federal pandemic aid programs, namely the $300 per week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC). These federal benefits will expire on June 27th, giving recipients approximately six weeks to find a new job. In addition, the governor signed an executive order offering a special one-time $1200 incentive to the first 20,000 workers to rejoin the workforce. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has turned into a partisan issue. Governors and legislatures in many GOP-led states have opted out of the federal assistance programs or signaled their intention to do so. Those on the other side of the aisle decry such actions as a dangerous attempt to take aid away from people in their most vulnerable state, leaving them without a job or the enhanced unemployment benefits. One article in the Oklahoman lists a few reasons why they believe opting out of these benefits is dangerous (quoting from the article): Some jobless workers don't have the...
Open Transfer, Great! But Transfer to Where?
Much ado has been made about the passage of HB 2074, which expands the Open Transfer Act – allowing children to more easily transfer from one school or district to another. While it isn’t perfect and leaves room for bureaucratic gamesmanship, I am happy to see a move toward increased student mobility. In the world of parent empowerment and school choice, expanding transferability is a good but small first step. Regrettably, the options available to a majority of parents remain severely limited. Much of the state is still legally and culturally antagonistic to parental control and educational choice. During a recent conversation, I mentioned that my wife and I were trying to find a school for our soon-to-be kindergarteners. We were informed that the schools in the area were “good,” something we are frequently told even though school report cards do not support this claim. I then stated that I was hoping to set up some tours of the local schools and classrooms to get a better feel for the campus as well as what was being taught and how. The response? Laughter. Apparently, that does not happen. The complacency and lack of transparency are concerning to me as a parent, a resident,...
Grand Jury’s Epic Schools Report – Abuse of Justice System
What would a grand jury know about school funding? What an odd question. One might as well ask what an elephant knows about landing on the moon. The two have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, the question is far more relevant than it ought to be. Earlier this month, a multi-county grand jury investigating Epic Charter Schools issued an Interim Report, offering its “expert” opinion on how the legislature should reform charter school laws. Yes, you read that correctly, a secret body convened to investigate potential criminal charges, armed with subpoena power, is offering the legislature a position paper on school funding and management. The grand jury’s position can be boiled down to two concerns: first, the company managing Epic is for-profit, rather than a not-for-profit company or a government agency; and second, the company managing Epic is acting like a for-profit company, rather than a not-for-profit company or a government agency. Neither of these is against the law. Remember that a grand jury’s role is to bring indictments for criminal activity. The report stresses that the grand jury is not concerned with the quality of education Epic is offering. The grand...
HB 1775: Preventing Bigotry, Preserving Liberty
Well before Governor Stitt signed it into law last week, Oklahoma’s House Bill 1775 was controversial. The Oklahoma PTA (parent-teacher association) urged the bill’s veto, as did “[d]istrict leaders from Millwood to Mid-Del to Oklahoma City Public schools.” The chair of the OKCPS board, quoted by KOCO News, expressed what appears to be a common opinion of HB 1775, claiming, “[I]t’s just a flagrant attempt to limit conversations about race and accurate history, and mostly because it makes Americans that look like me – white – feel uncomfortable.” That board has unanimously denounced HB 1775. Television news and various articles about HB 1775 emphasize people’s opinions about the new law, but there has been a good deal of spin twisting its actual contents. So, looking at the actual language of the new law, where it comes to public education, HB 1775 prohibits “critical race theory” (CRT) concepts from being taught in public schools. HB 1775 doesn’t prevent discussion of the Tulsa Race Massacre or attempt to sweep the ugly face of racism and bigotry under a rug. It does not prevent teaching about American slavery or its ugly close cousin, Jim Crow. It does not prevent honest...
One Small Step in Economic Distraction, One Giant Leap in the Size of Government
Infrastructure spending to foster economic growth is not a new idea. These programs hearken back to some of the most expansionary periods of government. The American Jobs Plan is multi-faceted, with focuses on traditional infrastructure spending and strengthening the care economy – caregiving for the old and disabled. The Jobs Plan is partnered with the American Families Plan, which is problematic spending intended to build back the middle class. Proponents claim these plans would build the economy back better with copious amounts of government spending. However, neither of these plans is appropriate to achieve stated goals. The extension of the government into almost every part of the American life is a horrible consequence for the false hopes of economic stability. An improvement to basic infrastructure (roads and bridges) could lead to some economic prosperity; however, any improvement is quickly diminished, given the cost and scope of these infrastructure programs. The improvements to infrastructure found in these programs goes beyond that of roads and bridges, and seeks to create 10 million clean energy jobs. Improvements to infrastructure of this size will be expensive and...
SB 962: Rectifying the Issue of Voter Suppression in School Board Elections
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here.SB 962, a piece of legislation that would move school board election dates to November from the current obscure spring election dates, has stalled in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Hopefully it will continue moving next session, as it would go a long way toward rectifying the woefully low voter turnout that is the current status quo for school board elections in this state. It’s unclear why the House Rules Committee failed to consider and vote on the bill, as it easily passed through the Senate Rules Committee with a 12-1 vote, and subsequently passed the Senate floor with a vote of 38-9. Why is this bill so important? According to Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, the author of SB 962, school boards have the greatest impact on the people they are supposed to serve, and yet school board elections have extremely low turnout. In addition, the voters in general elections tend to be more reflective of the electorate that the school board serves. Consider the following: in the most recent presidential election, total votes in Payne County numbered about 30,000. However, in the recent school board elections held...
The Reason City Governments Owe Businesses Money Over COVID Lockdown Policies
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here.1889 Institute doesn’t generally come down on the side of government “owing” money or material goods to anyone. We favor negative rights - those that say government shall not abridge a given freedom - over positive rights, like the “right” to free medical care. So what is different now? How could we possibly say that governments owe someone money? Well, in this instance, state and local governments throughout the country drew first blood. They forced businesses to close, reduce capacity, and require masks for entry. The results were obvious: thousands of businesses closed, many permanently, and millions of workers out of a job. Remember those negative rights? Some of them are outright bans. The government cannot abridge your freedom to speak, practice your religion, or bear arms under any circumstances. Others are conditional: for instance, government actors cannot take your life or liberty without due process - a criminal or civil trial. A taking falls into the latter class. A government actor, or someone to whom the government lends its condemnation power (like a railroad or utility company), cannot take your...
Chesapeake Arena’s New Name Should Honor the Taxpayers who Pay for It
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here.With the announcement that the current naming rights to the Chesapeake Energy Arena have been terminated, there’s been significant interest in and speculation about its new name. Setting aside the speculations about who may be likely candidates to purchase the naming rights, perhaps we should recognize the Oklahoma City residents who have and continue to pay for the building. Perhaps naming it “Atlas’ Arena” may be appropriate. It’s a bit tacky and overly sentimental, I know. But the allusion adequately captures the relationship of city taxpayers to the city’s numerous programs, including the arena. Allow me to explain. In Greek mythology, Zeus punished Atlas by literally placing upon him the weight of the heavens. The famous Farnese Atlas depicts Atlas, driven to his knee by the weight of the celestial globe bearing down on him. Similar to the mythological titan, taxpayers shoulder the burden of the arena. In 1993, voters approved a temporary sales tax increase to support a revitalization project known as the Metropolitan Area Projects, or MAPS. Through MAPS, Oklahoma City administrators sought to use $350 million in...
Principles Matter: The Examples of Senate Bills 131, 548, and 608
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here.No doubt, lawmaking is hard. Multiple mixed messages coming from a variety of directions and generally from people who seem trustworthy make it difficult to separate wheat from chaff. But then, there isn’t one person in any legislature in the land who didn’t actively seek the legislative seat they occupy. The job, ideally, is precisely to choose the wisest course of action when faced with a legislative measure. This task is not easy, but it is made much easier when one chooses to act under a set of principles rather than “shooting from the hip,” so to speak. President Obama once said that he liked to get smart people, experts, with different points of view in a room, listen to all their arguments, and then make up his mind on the right course of action. This implies that his decisions were not based on basic, proven principles, but were based on some sort of divine discernment not possessed by any of the experts in the room who presumably had studied the issue for years. In reality, there is no reason for anyone, regardless of IQ, educational background, or narcissistic tendencies, to think that they alone have the...
Tax Credits for Aerospace Engineers: Robbing the Poor to Give to the Rich
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here. The Robin Hood legend has evolved over the centuries with thousands of re-tellings. No one knows if the legend is based on a real man leading a gang of outlaws. Some, like one of the characters in the movie, Time Bandits, interpret Robin Hood as nothing more than a brigand using his ill-gotten gains to buy the loyalty of locals. Others interpret the legend as telling the story of a freedom fighter plundering the corrupt Prince John and Sheriff of Nottingham of the proceeds of oppressive taxes in order to give the money back to the plundered. But even if you’re not a leftist looking to redistribute income, and despite some moral ambiguity depending on the circumstances, there is at least a certain amount of logic in robbing from the rich to give to the poor. There seems to be no moral ambiguity, however, when it comes to the idea of robbing the poor to give to the rich. Put simply, that’s just wrong. Right, left, or center, whatever one’s political philosophy, and regardless of one’s religious beliefs, taking by force from poor people to make someone already richer than them even better off is disgusting to...
Oklahoma City’s School Board Chooses Politics over Educational Excellence
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here. From 2001 to 2010, the population of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area (OKC MSA) grew by 150,000. From 2010 to 2019, the population of the OKC MSA grew by almost exactly the same number of people, 150,000. In other words, there has been a steady increase in the population in and around OKC over the past 20 years. Year-to-year, the data show not even a temporary drop. Nevertheless, the population of Canadian County, part of the OKC MSA, has seen a faster rate of increase in population. To illustrate, the Piedmont school district’s enrollment in October of 2014 was 3,417; by 2019, it was 4,535, a 33% increase. During that same time, however, the OKC school district’s enrollment went from 41,074 to 35,897, a 13% decrease. Population data do not indicate that Oklahoma City’s total population decreased over the 5-year period from 2014 to 2019, but there is no denying the fact of the flight from Oklahoma City’s Public Schools (OKCPS). This drop in student count has been steady since 2014, too. That year OKCPS hit its highest enrollment number in recent decades. The student count has dropped every year since...
Oklahoma’s Legislature Should Protect Federalism While Guarding its Own Power
To recieve notifications when we post new content, click here. Oklahoma’s senate has called for a national federalism task force. The senators wisely recognize the dangers of the federal government’s ever-expanding role in our lives. This move should not be undersold nor under-appreciated. America’s founders wisely divided power between the federal government and the states, knowing that the two would pull against each other and keep each other in check. Legislators in all 50 states should be working to keep that power properly balanced. However, there is another division of power that the legislature often ignores, or even tries to break down: the separation of powers between the various branches of state government. The legislature is supposed to jealously guard their power from the executive and judicial branches. But far too often, it seems as though legislators believe they serve at the pleasure of the other branches, especially the administrative agencies. When bills come up for a committee vote, far too often debate begins and ends with whether the bill has the support of the agency it will affect. This is a badly flawed view of the legislature’s duty. The legislature...
SB 634 Respects Free Speech and Saves Teachers Money
On Thursday, the House Rules Committee approved SB 634, which would prohibit school districts from deducting union dues from teachers’ paychecks unless they obtain a written authorization every year. Another provision of the bill has the state provide free liability insurance to any public-school employee. House Minority Leader Emily Virgin voiced opposition to the bill, stating that it is an attack on public educators and the people and organizations that fight for them. However, according to House Speaker Pro Tem Terry O’Donnell, who is one of the bill’s sponsors, those claims are unfounded. He stated that it is the best pro-teacher bill run in the Oklahoma Legislature in years. So, which is it? Let’s take a look. First, if SB 634 becomes law, teachers who do not wish to continue paying dues to a union will not have to proactively take steps to end dues deductions; they simply won’t sign the re-authorization form. Instead of the burden being on the teacher, this bill shifts the burden to the school district and the unions. Interestingly enough, employers are already required to get re-authorization from employees for other payroll deductions such as health insurance. The bill...
Hollywood, Oklahoma?
Here at the 1889 Institute, we firmly believe in an economic system that rewards individual initiative and eschews government intervention in markets. In addition, it is clear that when government is directly involved in markets, it can only distort them and cause resources to be used inefficiently. As a result, we are developing a directory of Oklahoma subsidies and tax incentives which are just that – government distortions of the market. The subject of the first installment (released today) in the 1889 Institute’s Corporate Welfare Directory is the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate. It has been around since 2001, but was most likely going the way of the dinosaurs until the legislature gave it new life in 2019 (thanks in large part to Governor Stitt’s appreciation for such programs). As explained in “Policymakers Guide to Evaluating Corporate Welfare,” we developed a five-part test which legislators can use to determine if a certain program is, in fact, corporate welfare. The Film Enhancement Rebate fulfills every requirement and is clearly a corporate welfare scheme. In essence, the program allows film production companies to apply for a rebate (more properly, a subsidy) of up...
Open Public Testimony: Doing What It Takes and Putting in the Hours for Informed Public Policy
According to a recent Oklahoman article, when asked about the prospect of having open public testimony in the Oklahoma Legislature, former State Senator A.J. Griffin argued that allowing “ample,” open public testimony in Oklahoma would result in “grandstanding and long debates that would be a significant time and cost burden for Oklahoma’s part-time Legislature.” According to Griffin, allowing open public testimony “would be a real heavy lift.” However, we argue that operating a part-time legislature is not only not an excuse for denying Oklahomans the chance to testify, but is one of the most compelling arguments to allow it. Part-time legislatures across the country value the voice of the people and are willing to take the time necessary to hear them, weigh both sides of an argument, and then act with a fuller understanding of a bill’s implications. Additionally, as we have previously written, legislators are not, and should not expect to be, an expert for every bill on which they vote. Without the time, resources, and staff necessary to cast an informed vote, public testimony can serve as a critical part of the legislative process, educating part-time legislators and giving...
Why Aren’t Taxpayers Getting a Refund? And Other Education-related Questions
Where’s Our School Property Tax Refund? Recently, the Naperville School District board in Naperville, IL, authorized returning $10 million to its taxpayers due to savings from the schools being closed for most of 2020. The question occurs: if a school district in Illinois can afford to return taxpayers’ money due to savings from buildings standing empty for nearly a year, why can’t some of the biggest school districts in Oklahoma do the same? Oklahoma City’s school district opened for in-person attendance for all of one week last November before telling everybody to stay home again. Otherwise, that district’s buildings stood empty for the bulk of the 2020 calendar year and nearly a full year, including the first months of 2021. Similar stories can be told about other districts in the state. Schools across Oklahoma continued to pay teachers even after the schools effectively completely closed March of 2020 at the direction of the state’s board of education, and teachers’ summer break was effectively extended by more than two months. That wasn’t the fault of the teachers, and many teachers have been stressed by constant changes, inadequate training and district unpreparedness to...