How Smartphones Hurt Our Children
What to know: Smartphones “broke children’s brains,” studies show, and have resulted in a mental health crisis among adolescents.
The TPPF take: Texas can limit the harm done to children by Big Tech.
“The sad reality of the digital age is that moms and dads have been left on their own to fend off a tech-induced health crisis, contending against the allure of products engineered by the most powerful corporations in history to be maximally addictive to kids,” says TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “That’s why Texas came up with a solution: the App Store Accountability Act, which enlists the app store providers, like Google and Apple, to help parents nip these issues in the bud.”
For more on Big Tech, click here.
School Choice is Popular
What to know: Empowering parents with school choice could be before the powerful House Public Education Committee on Thursday.
The TPPF take: TPPF’s Mandy Drogin, writing in the Austin American-Statesman on Sunday, says it’s time to empower Texas parents.
“One of the premier polling institutions in Texas, the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, did an in-depth survey of every demographic in Texas and found that an overwhelming majority of Texans, 65%, support school choice, no matter what you call it,” says Mandy. “And it’s not just a partisan issue. A majority of Democrats, 55%, support school choice as well. Why? Texan parents feel that they do not have enough control over education.”
For more on school choice, click here.
Oil and Gas Work
What to know: Oil and gas exploration can turn poor countries into economic miracles.
The TPPF take: The push for green energy by Western elites raises critical questions about its applicability for developing countries.
“The transition to renewable energy sources requires significant investment in technology, infrastructure, and capacity building,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “While developed countries may have the resources to invest in these areas, developing nations often find themselves at a disadvantage, lacking the capital, technology, and infrastructure to make a seamless transition. Moreover, they need affordable, reliable, and abundant energy now—not a few token green energy projects, designed more to assuage Western environmental consciousnesses than to address urgent requirements.”
For more on energy and developing nations, click here.