Parents Empowering Themselves
What to Know: A new study shows that the more restrictive public schools were about COVID-19, the more students they lost as frustrated parents sought other alternatives.
The TPPF Take: Parents across the country pleaded for school to open back up but were ignored by the unions. It’s time to empower parents in the system so they can make the best decisions for their kids.
“TPPF has an aggressive agenda to ensure parents are the primary decision makers in their kids’ education,” says TPPF’s Mandy Drogin. “It starts with knowing what’s going on in the classrooms, giving parents a real voice in evaluating the quality of the material, and granting them the right to choose which educational environment works best for their kids.”
For more on parent empowerment, click here.
Student Loans
What to Know: President Biden has announced he’ll “forgive” up to $10,000 of student loans for borrowers who make under $125,000. As much as $20,000 in loans could be canceled for some Pell Grant recipients.
The TPPF Take: This is welfare for the wealthy.
“Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, outside of being incredibly expensive and likely to lead to more inflation, will only exacerbate the student loan debt problem. An estimate using the Penn Wharton Budget Model finds that the poorest 20% will receive less than 12% of all benefits from the Biden plan, rendering this plan mostly welfare for the wealthiest Americans,” says TPPF’s Andrew Gillen.
For more on student loans, click here.
Women and Water
What to Know: It’s World Water Week, and so it’s time to showcase the importance of clean water.
The TPPF Take: The bigger picture is that access to water and energy is the key to human flourishing.
“The lesson here is that water—and the energy to draw it, clean it and transport it—are bare necessities of life and key ingredients in human flourishing,” says TPPF’s Syd Lucas. “Without electricity, life expectancies are fully 20 years shorter than in countries that have access. Without electricity, girls cannot spend as much time in school.”
For more on energy poverty, click here.