If Only Politicians Were More Like Good Parents

By Neal McCluskey

Sometimes I wish politicians were more like good parents. I know that doesn’t sound very libertarian — the last thing we want is for politicians to become humanity’s moms and dads — but there’s at least one thing good parents do that most politicians constantly avoid: saying “no.” When kids want their food pyramids to have a base of candy, center [...]

If Only Politicians Were More Like Good Parents is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Cato Scholar Defends Teachers Unions … from Democrats

By Andrew J. Coulson

Since man bites dog stories are all the rage lately, I thought it might be a good time for me to point out that the rising Democratic attacks on teachers unions are largely misdirected. Cato Scholar Defends Teachers Unions … from Democrats is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Cato Scholar Defends Teachers Unions … from Democrats is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

College Scholars, Mindless Borrowers?

By Neal McCluskey

A few days ago Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House higher education subcommittee, had the audacity to say in a radio interview that she didn’t have a lot of sympathy for students who racked up $80,000 to $200,000 in college debt. Opportunists have leapt at the chance to attack her, branding her as either mean, [...]

College Scholars, Mindless Borrowers? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

My Advice? Don’t Blame State Taxpayers

By Neal McCluskey

I don’t have any great advice to offer those going through the college acceptance wringer, other than to make sure that going to college—and doing college-level work—is really what you want to do. If it’s not, don’t waste your time and money; like so many who’ve gone before you, you’ll likely end up with no [...]

My Advice? Don’t Blame State Taxpayers is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Pretty Sure It’s Already Divisive

By Neal McCluskey

When you’ve been fighting over the same thing for well-nigh 90 years, there’s a good chance some new policy won’t suddenly make it divisive. Nonetheless, that’s what an L.A. Times article, citing critics, suggests about a new law in Tennessee allowing in-class discussions critical of evolutionary theory and other scientific topics: The measure will allow classroom debates over evolution, permitting discussions of [...]

Pretty Sure It’s Already Divisive is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

TED Goes to School

By Andrew J. Coulson

In this new TEDx video, University of Newcastle (England) lecturer Pauline Dixon takes viewers on a tour of schools serving some of the poorest people on Earth. Private schools … that charge fees … that are paid for by the poor parents themselves … and that outperform local government schools spending far more per pupil. [...]

TED Goes to School is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Bush or Obama: Can We Tell Who Shuffles the Edu-Chairs Better?

By Neal McCluskey

I’m a Paul Peterson fan, and I sure don’t think President Obama’s education grade should be very high, but I’m afraid Peterson is offering some pretty weak stuff in this op-ed hoisting President George W. Bush above the current POTUS in education policy. The main problem is that Peterson is using broad National Assessment of Educational Progress [...]

Bush or Obama: Can We Tell Who Shuffles the Edu-Chairs Better? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

How to Make ‘Bless’ and ‘Love’ Fighting Words

By Andrew J. Coulson

I’m no theologian, but when a religious group asks God to bless something, I’m pretty sure that’s a sign they like it. So if some other folks show up and say they love that same thing, we’ve got a clear case of mutual agreement. They’re not going to fight over whether the thing in question [...]

How to Make ‘Bless’ and ‘Love’ Fighting Words is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

‘A Confident Person with Shiny Teeth’

By Andrew J. Coulson

“Sometimes people just want to hear a confident person with shiny teeth tell them appealing stories about the secrets to success.” So writes Jay Greene in his debunking of Marc Tucker’s education reform book Surpassing Shanghai. Jay’s whole review is worth reading, but the basic point is simple: you can’t learn much about the systemic [...]

‘A Confident Person with Shiny Teeth’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

On School Choice, Jews Can Have Their Lekach and Eat it, Too

By Andrew J. Coulson

In a recent WSJ op-ed, Peter Beinart calls on American Jews to ease up on their concerns about freedom of conscience and freedom of religion and embrace school vouchers. Beinart notes that, Outside the Orthodox community, American Jewish organizations have for decades opposed government funding for religious schools. The most common objection is that by [...]

On School Choice, Jews Can Have Their Lekach and Eat it, Too is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog