Credential inflation refers to an increase in the education credentials required for a job—for example, a job that used to be done by high school graduates but now requires new hires to have a college degree. Credential inflation has been going on for decades. One of the earliest mentions of it is in professor Randall...
The 2020 Louisiana Regular Session convened with a freshman class of 46 representatives and 18 senators, with Republicans holding a majority in both chambers. A conservative, pro-business legislature brought a refreshed interest in criminal justice reforms focused on making Louisiana reentry ready. These reforms included the removal of barriers for the formerly incarcerated through expanded...
In the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) led a movement to purge communists from positions of power. Many government employees, academics, writers, labor union leaders, and entertainers were inappropriately fired or blacklisted for the “crime” of having (or being suspected of having) a different ideology than Sen. McCarthy. Later generations use the...
It’s time for some hard truths about education. Our current system is failing too many Texas students, especially low-income and minority children. This has been the case for a long time, but the current coronavirus situation has shined a much-needed spotlight on the problem. Unfortunately, Texas isn’t prepared for the fall semester because no matter...
The media loves to portray Americans as stubborn—refusing to abide by the measures that could help address the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the data show that Americans were already doing their part, long before measures became mandates. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has a measure of social mobility. Based on anonymous cell phone data...
As the beginning of the school year approaches, Texas parents want two things — clarity and choice. We want to know what schools will be offering in the fall, and we want a say in what our children will be doing. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s new legal guidance on school reopening is helping provide...
One of President Trump’s most important accomplishments in office has been the energy revolution that has led to sharply increased oil and natural gas production and job creation in the U.S. But our days of energy insecurity and dependence on other nations in unstable areas of the world to meet our energy needs will return...
As if Texans don’t have enough to worry about with the current pandemic and labor market woes, some cities are threatening to make things worse with massive tax increases. On July 14, the Pflugerville City Council passed a resolution directing the Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector “to calculate the voter-approval tax rate of the City of...
First, local officials were rumored to be considering raising taxes by 8% in the next fiscal year, using the statewide disaster declaration as its excuse. And now, in the same year as a global pandemic and resulting economic turmoil, the Austin City Council wants to increase property taxes by hundreds of dollars a year to pay for light...
The U.S. is exceptional in many positive ways, from its Founding ideals to the dynamism of its free market economy and technological innovations. It is also distinguished by having less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but 20 percent of those behind bars. The U.S. has 8.5 times the incarceration rate of Germany. Of course, there are many...
Comparing the Texas Rangers to the Washington Redskins is nonsense—and not just because one is baseball and the other is football. Even before the Washington Redskins elected to change their name, the Texas Rangers baseball team had come under increasing scrutiny. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune referred to the Rangers moniker, which refers to the storied law...
As of Friday, Texas reported more than 3.2 million tests for the active COVID-19 virus had been completed. These tests are vital on several levels: for individuals, for those treating the sick, for first responders, for the health care system and for policymakers. But this unprecedented testing effort hasn’t been quickly reported and analyzed, leaving our state...