SHORT-FORM
Articles, op-eds, and other writings in various national and local publications
August 29, 2023 | EdChoice
School choice has a history of overcoming political division. Neither the first private school choice program in Milwaukee nor the first charter school law in Minnesota would have been enacted if it weren’t for progressives and conservatives who were willing to put aside their differences, recognize their shared goals, and push for legislation together. It took people of varying political backgrounds to overcome the first hills on America’s path to educational freedom. If we don’t reclaim that asset, we put a ceiling on what we are able to achieve nationally.
This is where The Three Languages of School Choice comes in. In a new EdChoice working paper, which continues work I started in an article published in the Journal of School Choice, I offer the first step in a path through the polarized fog that obscures our perception of our longtime allies.
May 10, 2023 | The 74 Million
Recent research finds schools are a major trigger for teen suicide. Too many families can’t move their kids to other schooling environments when they know something is wrong. US education fails to serve everyone until this changes.
September 22, 2022 | EdChoice
A lot has happened in the last decade. We have seen three presidential administrations, a pandemic, and record numbers of school choice programs, just to name a few changes. What's changed, what's remained consistent, and what are new questions we should be asking?
August 9, 2022 | The 74 Million
According to a recent survey we at EdChoice conducted in conjunction with Morning Consult, teenagers are embracing their agency in an increasingly broad array of choices. What they told us might worry institutions of higher education — because the next generation appears less interested in the traditional college pipeline.
March 28, 2022 | EdChoice
Self-identified Democrats support education savings accounts at least as much as Republicans. Should this change our conversations around school choice?
September 2, 2021 | EdChoice
Schools sit in the crosshairs of American politics. All eyes turn to the 2021–22 school year as K–12 education institutions across the country enter their third academic year responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also emerge out of a summer of bitter conversations about curriculum and the relationship between politics and the classroom.
At EdChoice, we set out to assess what Americans and, in particular, parents of school-age children think about COVID-19, K–12 education, their personal experiences, and public attitudes on policies that affect schooling.
January 18, 2021 | Arc Digital
"If you want to love your enemies better, remember the lesson from Part II’s game design — proximity itself can build empathy and familiarity.... The Last of Us: Part II should be remembered for years to come both for its entertainment value and for its sophisticated social commentary. Not only does it pose the questions around loss and division we face today, but it also demonstrates the path toward hope."
December 16, 2020 | EdChoice
"ESAs allow kids to have customized K-12 educations that apply state dollars to areas families would find most helpful—including college education."
November 20, 2020 | Real Clear Education
Under the plan from Senator Schumer and Senator Warren, for every $14 of loans we forgive for the lowest income quintile, we give $17 to those in the highest income quintile. Sweeping loan forgiveness is inefficient welfare policy.
June 24, 2020 | Foundation for Economic Education
"With the country solidly in a recession and Congress in fiscal gridlock, it is sensible to allow private banking institutions to maximize their services to small businesses. There are billions of dollars in untapped resources across the nation that can help businesses survive and even develop through this period. Lawmakers would only have to lift member business lending caps on credit unions."
April 4, 2020 | Real Clear Health
"Months after numerous states reactively banned or overly regulated e-cigarettes, researchers at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy conducted a study and concluded that vaping offers significant health advantages over smokable tobacco, and that bans are an inappropriate response to a limited problem at the expense of society at large."
April 30, 2020 | Washington Times
"Expanding the black market and increasing EVALI cases in the coming months couldn’t come at a worse time."
March 26, 2020 | The American Conservative
"Concluding that a costly emergency response to a widespread, imminent, non-permanent threat means we should create whatever permanent programs we want is illogical and narrow-sighted."
March 24, 2020 | The National Interest
"While the coronavirus has proven to be the exception to many ideologies’ rules, it doesn’t take an anarchist to see how the central, nationalized government response has been weak and cumbersome. In comparison, responses from city and state governments and private businesses have been rather nimble. If anything, the pandemic has taught us how dangerous a centrally-controlled economy would be to our daily lives."
January 14, 2020 | Orange County Register
After years pushing a narrative that immigrants threaten the American economy, the Trump administration is reducing immigration to the U.S., and it’s not just illegal immigration––legal immigration is falling fast.
But as the U.S. grows more desperate for more people, native-born Americans are paying the price, too.
October 23, 2019 | Detroit News
"Most of those losses are concentrated around blue-collar workers in manufacturing and agriculture. Trump’s 25% tax on steel, for example, raised costs for American manufacturers who use steel to make other products, such as cars. And steel-using manufacturers far outnumber steel manufacturers –– over 46 to 1 in 2018. For every blue-collar worker that the steel tariff subsidized, it threatened 50."
October 18, 2019 | Free the People
"If Congress is struggling to keep Medicare afloat now, passing a Medicare for All bill and making it the single insurance provider in the country will only push it closer to a breaking point."
August 13, 2019 | Arc Digital
"But Section 230 is far more crucial to Americans’ everyday internet experiences than these political leaders realize. It is what allows spontaneity and user-driven content, which has transformed our economy and our entertainment. Messing with it could have catastrophic consequences, kill careers, disconnect friends, and increase the censorship its opponents want to stop."
July 24, 2019 | The American Conservative
"It’s only over the past few years that Democrats have really dug in their heels on a high national minimum wage. Back in 2015, when the #FightFor15 movement first emerged, even the Obama administration recognized that such a high wage floor could do damage. If the goal was indeed a “living wage” that lifts workers out of poverty, as Obama’s labor secretary noted, then wage policy had to account for cost of living differences among the various parts of the United States."
April 24, 2019 | The American Conservative
"The rule will also not apply if a declaration of war is in effect, or if the United States 'is engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security....' America’s approach to foreign intervention would make the wartime exception the rule. The United States has been involved in a significant military conflict for roughly 225 years out of its 242-year history, including every year since 2001."
March 6, 2019 | Townhall
"But if these Democrats dive a little deeper into the polls, they’ll find most Americans don’t want Rep. Jayapal’s healthcare plan. The system Americans want more closely resembles the really successful European healthcare systems, which still heavily rely on private healthcare providers."
February 22, 2019
"While some disagreements between MMT economists and orthodox economists are relatively semantic, MMT really just has far too many problems in practice."
February 18, 2019 | The American Conservative
"One preliminary analysis calculated the Green New Deal’s cost at $6.6 trillion per year, and that’s ignoring some of the FAQ’s promises. That’s equivalent to a third of our GDP, and presuming no other programs are cut, three quarters of the U.S. economy would then be spent by government, the highest rate among developed countries."
January 16, 2019 | Real Clear Policy
"In the first two months of this fiscal year federal spending was 18 percent higher than it was over the same period last year, even though income was only three percent higher. Adjusting for some timing differences, the deficit inflated nearly 14 percent."
December 17, 2018 | Arc Digital
"Despite the joy countless internet users receive from transformative content, the European Union’s proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market — more specifically Article 13 — threatens to ruin that experience. Despite rhetoric from some copyright holder alliances, especially within the music and film industries, Article 13 is a poorly written regulation prone to abuse. If it passes the EU’s trilogue with its current language, the internet will never be the same."
December 12, 2018 | Real Clear Policy
"On November 15, a senior Pentagon official publicly admitted that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) failed its first-ever comprehensive audit. More than 1000 auditors took nearly a year to review the $2.7 trillion organization’s finances. The result: DOD officials say it may take years for the Pentagon to properly account for all its assets and bring recordkeeping practices into line. Until it does, lawmakers should not blindly expand the military’s budget."
October 12, 2018 | The Daily Caller
"Despite constant cries for change, the United States continues to have some of the most progressive taxes among developed nations––over five times more so than Scandinavia. So, there is really no weight to the idea of further shifting the tax burden to the high-earners. If anything, other developed countries demonstrate that if the U.S. wants to increase its revenues, it will have to rely on more contributions from all taxpayers."
June 21, 2018 | Real Clear Policy
"Every year, more stories emerge revealing how local governments shut down children’s lemonade stands by slapping them with regulations and permit requirements. Just this May, Denver police shut down a lemonade stand run by two young boys who wanted to raise money for Charity International, but hadn’t paid for a permit. In theory, the permit process is supposed to prevent health issues, but the police only got involved after fielding a complaint from another vendor at the nearby Denver Arts Festival. The other vendor sold lemonade for seven dollars a cup, while the boys charged only 75 cents."
May 18, 2018 | Real Clear Policy
"If competitiveness and pro-consumer interests are the goals of the FCC and DOJ, they should approach the T-Mobile and Sprint deal as more than two big companies merging. Instead, regulators could adopt a long-term perspective and consider the “new T-Mobile” an expansion from two wireless titans to three."
May 18, 2018 | Townhall
"DACA affects undocumented immigrants who crossed the border as children, almost always were brought by their parents. Although they may have been born in another country, DACA recipients grew up, went to school, and worked in the United States. Their 'native' nation is often more foreign to them in the United States. Subjecting former recipients to deportation is not simply a matter of making them return home; it forces them to abandon the life they built and start anew in a land of strangers."
January 5, 2018 | Rare
"These fears ignore what the unregulated, pre-2015 internet provided. First, we have no credible evidence that ISPs have offered various service speeds at different prices. Second, the story of AOL demonstrates the free market’s tendency to overcome walled gardens."
November 10, 2017
"When the perceived cost of a service is zero, basic economics––and common sense––dictate that the desire for that service will increase. People prefer more of something when it is free to them. This may take the form of more frequent visits and treatments, but if a treatment is equally available to everyone, the system does not account for the degree to which patients need or desire the treatment. Opportunities for treatment will sometimes be taken by those who need the procedure less than others. For example, because an ACL injury mainly affects lateral movement, an athlete may desire a surgery to repair a torn ACL more than a sedentary person."
July 27, 2017 | Illinois Policy Institute
"When 'sin' taxes, such as those on cigarettes, bring in less revenue than anticipated it means consumers have responded more significantly than policymakers predicted. The state did not fully understand just how responsive residents would be to higher cigarette prices."
