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Week of October 19, 2020
“I was mugged by reality.” Emmy Award Winning Investigative reporter, John Stossel, on why he political views shifted to the Right.
“Freedom of thought and freedom of economic initiative are the lynchpins of a prosperous society.” - Jack Kemp
“Freedom of thought and freedom of economic initiative are the lynchpins of a prosperous society.” - Jack Kemp
Week of October 12, 2020
“The question remains, though, whether there are still enough Americans who put their faith in the individual, and in liberty, to ensure that our nation resists the siren call of “free stuff” that socialism offers.” — The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
“In modern societies, freedom and democracy rely on economic liberty. A free economy is nothing more than a system of communication. It simply cannot function without individual rights or a profit motive, which give people an incentive to go to work, an incentive to produce. And it certainly cannot function without the rule of law, without fair and enforceable contracts, without laws that protect property rights and punish fraud.” - President George H. W. Bush
“In modern societies, freedom and democracy rely on economic liberty. A free economy is nothing more than a system of communication. It simply cannot function without individual rights or a profit motive, which give people an incentive to go to work, an incentive to produce. And it certainly cannot function without the rule of law, without fair and enforceable contracts, without laws that protect property rights and punish fraud.” - President George H. W. Bush
Week of October 5, 2020
“[ T] he Utopian attempt to realize an ideal state, using a blueprint of society as a whole, is one which demands a strong centralized rule of the few, and which therefore is likely to lead to a dictatorship. . . .” - Karl Popper, Austrian-born British philosopher
“We’re living through post modern era in which the grand narratives of religion and political ideology have collapsed. In their place have emerged a crusading desire to right perceived wrongs and a weaponization of identity both accelerated by the new forms of social and news media. Narrow sets of interest now dominate the agenda as society becomes more and more tribal.” - Douglas Murray, author
“We’re living through post modern era in which the grand narratives of religion and political ideology have collapsed. In their place have emerged a crusading desire to right perceived wrongs and a weaponization of identity both accelerated by the new forms of social and news media. Narrow sets of interest now dominate the agenda as society becomes more and more tribal.” - Douglas Murray, author
Week of September 27, 2020
“Their (the collectivistic, statist Left’s) minimal goal is just “to make trouble”—to undercut, to confuse, to demoralize, to destroy. Their ultimate goal is to take over.” — The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution by Ayn Rand
“In the view of the founders, it was only men with sinister motives who hoped to link their fortunes to authority.” - Allen C. Guelzo, Professor Gettysburg College
“In the view of the founders, it was only men with sinister motives who hoped to link their fortunes to authority.” - Allen C. Guelzo, Professor Gettysburg College
Week of September 21, 2020
“At the bottom of all totalitarian doctrines lies the belief that the rulers are wiser and loftier than their subjects and that they therefore know better what benefits those ruled than they know themselves.” - Ludwig Von Mises, Austrian Economist & Historian
“Medicare for All would make it harder, not easier, to meet the challenges of this (Covid-19) pandemic. It would leave us tragically unprepared for future public health crises. It would impose crippling costs on our government and the economy. And it would make the pain and indignities suffered by Canadians an everyday occurrence (in the United States).” - Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute
“Medicare for All would make it harder, not easier, to meet the challenges of this (Covid-19) pandemic. It would leave us tragically unprepared for future public health crises. It would impose crippling costs on our government and the economy. And it would make the pain and indignities suffered by Canadians an everyday occurrence (in the United States).” - Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute
Week of September 14, 2020
“Utopian visions are naive because they require a perfect society with perfect leaders. Utopias are dangerous because humankind is not perfect. Indeed, utopias require leaders willing to wield absolute power to conquer man’s true nature, to take and redistribute his property.” — The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
“Medicare for All would make it harder, not easier, to meet the challenges of this (Covid-19) pandemic. It would leave us tragically unprepared for future public health crises. It would impose crippling costs on our government and the economy. And it would make the pain and indignities suffered by Canadians an everyday occurrence (in the United States).” - Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute
“Medicare for All would make it harder, not easier, to meet the challenges of this (Covid-19) pandemic. It would leave us tragically unprepared for future public health crises. It would impose crippling costs on our government and the economy. And it would make the pain and indignities suffered by Canadians an everyday occurrence (in the United States).” - Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute
Week of September 7, 2020
“Posterity. who are to reap the blessings (of liberty), will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors.” - Abigail Adams, 18th Century American Intellectual & 2nd First Lady of America as wife of President John Adams, speaking on the extreme hardships suffered by American Patriots during the latter half of 1776 during the War for Independence.
“(W)e should never forget that the killing fields of Cambodia will stand forever as a grotesque monument to egalitarianism.”— The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
“(W)e should never forget that the killing fields of Cambodia will stand forever as a grotesque monument to egalitarianism.”— The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
Week of August 31, 2020
“True compassion is helping others out of a genuine sense of caring and brotherhood. It is not asking your legislator or congressman to do it for you.” - Lawrence W. Reed
"I still get buzzed when I recall that a majority of Californians looked at what Gavin Newsom allowed while mayor of San Francisco — rampant homelessness, transportation gridlock, failed public projects, a widening income gap, sidewalk needles and human waste — and decided they wanted that for the whole state. They elected him governor in 2018, and now complain California is going to hell.” - Will Swaim, President of the California Policy Center
"I still get buzzed when I recall that a majority of Californians looked at what Gavin Newsom allowed while mayor of San Francisco — rampant homelessness, transportation gridlock, failed public projects, a widening income gap, sidewalk needles and human waste — and decided they wanted that for the whole state. They elected him governor in 2018, and now complain California is going to hell.” - Will Swaim, President of the California Policy Center
Current Events:
-California’s Radical Indoctrination: A bill would establish a K-12 curriculum in the ‘four I’s of oppression.’
-The Failed Experiment of Covid Lockdowns: New data suggest that social distancing and reopening haven’t determined the spread.
-Pelosi Asks Salon Owner to Apologize for ‘Set Up,’ Pleads Ignorance on California Lockdown Law
-California’s Radical Indoctrination: A bill would establish a K-12 curriculum in the ‘four I’s of oppression.’
-The Failed Experiment of Covid Lockdowns: New data suggest that social distancing and reopening haven’t determined the spread.
-Pelosi Asks Salon Owner to Apologize for ‘Set Up,’ Pleads Ignorance on California Lockdown Law
Week of August 24, 2020
Quotes:
If concern with poverty and human suffering were the collectivists’ motive, they would have become champions of capitalism long ago; they would have discovered that it is the only political system capable of producing abundance. But they evaded the evidence as long as they could. When the issue became overwhelmingly clear to the whole world, the collectivists were faced with a choice: either turn to the right, in the name of humanity — or to the left, in the name of dictatorial power. They turned to the left.
If concern with poverty and human suffering were the collectivists’ motive, they would have become champions of capitalism long ago; they would have discovered that it is the only political system capable of producing abundance. But they evaded the evidence as long as they could. When the issue became overwhelmingly clear to the whole world, the collectivists were faced with a choice: either turn to the right, in the name of humanity — or to the left, in the name of dictatorial power. They turned to the left.
“(V)iolence is not an aberration but a necessary tool if you want a society made “equal” by redistribution of wealth and property.” — The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
Current Events:
-Kansas Democrats’ Covid Chart Masks the Truth-The state’s health secretary fudged the data to make the governor’s mask mandate look successful.
-‘Critical’ Ethnic Studies Returns to California-The state’s new curriculum prefers victimization to minority achievement, and Marxism to liberal values.
-Kansas Democrats’ Covid Chart Masks the Truth-The state’s health secretary fudged the data to make the governor’s mask mandate look successful.
-‘Critical’ Ethnic Studies Returns to California-The state’s new curriculum prefers victimization to minority achievement, and Marxism to liberal values.
Blue States are the Death States
One of the smartest guys around in studying what is going on with coronavirus is investment maestro Rob Arnott. Rob recently released this chart showing more clearly that Democratic control of a state is highly associated with higher death rates. He defines a political “trifecta” as any state that has one party controlling both houses of the legislature and the governorship. The bottom line: states, where the Democrats have the trifecta, have death rates from COVID that are well more than double the death rates in states where Republicans have the trifecta. So if you are worried about getting sick or dying from the virus, our first bit of advice is to get out of blue states.
One of the smartest guys around in studying what is going on with coronavirus is investment maestro Rob Arnott. Rob recently released this chart showing more clearly that Democratic control of a state is highly associated with higher death rates. He defines a political “trifecta” as any state that has one party controlling both houses of the legislature and the governorship. The bottom line: states, where the Democrats have the trifecta, have death rates from COVID that are well more than double the death rates in states where Republicans have the trifecta. So if you are worried about getting sick or dying from the virus, our first bit of advice is to get out of blue states.
‘Pupils pose no risk of spreading COVID’
That's the slightly hyperbolic headline in the Times of London yesterday, reporting on a very large new UK study showing the virus is very unlikely to be spread in schools. The article reports:
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of the government advisory group Sage, said: “A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools.
Viner, 57, says a full reopening of schools is “imperative”. He warns that children have lost friendships, missed months of lessons and will suffer long-term social, mental and academic problems if schools stay closed. For teenagers, in particular, being cut off from their peers is bad for their development.
“It is absolutely essential for schools to reopen in September. The risks to children from COVID are very low and the risks of school closures we know are very serious,” he said.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pupils-pose-no-risk-of-spreading-covid-27q6zfd9l
That's the slightly hyperbolic headline in the Times of London yesterday, reporting on a very large new UK study showing the virus is very unlikely to be spread in schools. The article reports:
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of the government advisory group Sage, said: “A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools.
Viner, 57, says a full reopening of schools is “imperative”. He warns that children have lost friendships, missed months of lessons and will suffer long-term social, mental and academic problems if schools stay closed. For teenagers, in particular, being cut off from their peers is bad for their development.
“It is absolutely essential for schools to reopen in September. The risks to children from COVID are very low and the risks of school closures we know are very serious,” he said.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pupils-pose-no-risk-of-spreading-covid-27q6zfd9l
The Media's Fear Factory Keeps Real Factories Shut
A Gallup poll taken for the Franklin Templeton Fund has some shocking findings on just how badly people are misinformed about the coronavirus. Media coverage has failed to convey basic facts to the public and social media appears to have amplified rather than curbed virus fallacies.
On average, Americans believe that people aged 55 and older account for just over half of total COVID-19 deaths; the actual figure is 92 percent.
Americans believe that people aged 44 and younger account for about 30% of total deaths; the actual figure is 2.7%.
Americans overestimate the risk of death from COVID-19 for people aged 24 and younger by a factor of FIFTY, and they think the risk for people aged 65 and older is half of what it actually is (40 percent vs 80 percent). Why? Because the media refuses to tell Americans the truth about the virus.
Gallup concludes “these results are nothing short of stunning” and translate “into a degree of fear for one’s health that for most people vastly exceeds the actual risk.” The poll firm identifies “two major culprits: the quality of information and the extreme politicization of the COVID-19 debate.”
Excessive fear can be found across all demographic groups. But political affiliation is as powerful as age in predicting who would be likely to eat at a restaurant indoors; Democrats have roughly the same willingness to eat in a restaurant at 25% capacity as Republicans do in a restaurant at full capacity.
So long as the media and reckless politicians are able to stoke false fears about the effects of opening up the economy, the more prolonged any economic slump all be.
A Gallup poll taken for the Franklin Templeton Fund has some shocking findings on just how badly people are misinformed about the coronavirus. Media coverage has failed to convey basic facts to the public and social media appears to have amplified rather than curbed virus fallacies.
On average, Americans believe that people aged 55 and older account for just over half of total COVID-19 deaths; the actual figure is 92 percent.
Americans believe that people aged 44 and younger account for about 30% of total deaths; the actual figure is 2.7%.
Americans overestimate the risk of death from COVID-19 for people aged 24 and younger by a factor of FIFTY, and they think the risk for people aged 65 and older is half of what it actually is (40 percent vs 80 percent). Why? Because the media refuses to tell Americans the truth about the virus.
Gallup concludes “these results are nothing short of stunning” and translate “into a degree of fear for one’s health that for most people vastly exceeds the actual risk.” The poll firm identifies “two major culprits: the quality of information and the extreme politicization of the COVID-19 debate.”
Excessive fear can be found across all demographic groups. But political affiliation is as powerful as age in predicting who would be likely to eat at a restaurant indoors; Democrats have roughly the same willingness to eat in a restaurant at 25% capacity as Republicans do in a restaurant at full capacity.
So long as the media and reckless politicians are able to stoke false fears about the effects of opening up the economy, the more prolonged any economic slump all be.
The Myth that Payroll Tax Cut Doesn’t Help People Who Aren’t Working
As we note in the piece below, some 140 million American workers would directly benefit from the payroll tax cut. We estimate about $1,000 for the average middle class worker.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2020/08/18/how_payroll_tax_suspension_helps_140_million_workers_574472.html
But the Democrats say we should help those without jobs, not those with jobs. (Not sure why those who are working don’t deserve a pay raise, but those who aren’t working do!)
But new evidence from our colleague Casey Mulligan from University of Chicago finds that even this criticism of the payroll tax cut rings hollow. Why? Because most unemployed people live in a household with someone who IS working. Here is how Casey puts it:
“As of June 2020 the number of people living with those workers (including the workers themselves) is 257 million. Of the remaining 71 million Americans, 62 million of them are elderly and I assume on social security and or pensions.”
This means about 80% of Americans live in a household that benefit from a payroll tax cut. Most of the rest of these households are retired folks who are not “unemployed.”
The payroll tax cut is the best way to provide stimulus money because almost all other programs give federal money to people they didn’t earn it. The payroll tax cut allows people to keep the money they DID earn.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin must implement the president's executive order.
As we note in the piece below, some 140 million American workers would directly benefit from the payroll tax cut. We estimate about $1,000 for the average middle class worker.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2020/08/18/how_payroll_tax_suspension_helps_140_million_workers_574472.html
But the Democrats say we should help those without jobs, not those with jobs. (Not sure why those who are working don’t deserve a pay raise, but those who aren’t working do!)
But new evidence from our colleague Casey Mulligan from University of Chicago finds that even this criticism of the payroll tax cut rings hollow. Why? Because most unemployed people live in a household with someone who IS working. Here is how Casey puts it:
“As of June 2020 the number of people living with those workers (including the workers themselves) is 257 million. Of the remaining 71 million Americans, 62 million of them are elderly and I assume on social security and or pensions.”
This means about 80% of Americans live in a household that benefit from a payroll tax cut. Most of the rest of these households are retired folks who are not “unemployed.”
The payroll tax cut is the best way to provide stimulus money because almost all other programs give federal money to people they didn’t earn it. The payroll tax cut allows people to keep the money they DID earn.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin must implement the president's executive order.
Biden Sides with Teachers Unions Over Kids
Two liberal education reformers have taken Joe Biden to task for caving into teacher union demands in the Democratic platform. “What kind of president does Joe Biden want to be?” ask Chad Aldeman and Alex Spurrier of Bellwether Education Partners. “Will he fight for the underdogs or the teacher unions?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/17/why-joe-biden-shouldnt-give-up-public-charter-schools-or-standardized-testing/
The Dem party’s policy document reverses the support it used to give towards standardized testing and charter schools. The authors report the Democratic party platform “steers Biden away from the coalition of Black and low-income voters who brought him the nomination. Maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise — given that two of the eight members of the task force are the heads of the two major teachers unions.”
On charter schools, the task force cited a 2009 study in claiming “on average, charters are no better or worse than traditional public schools.” Even if that were true, why not give parents choices about where their kids go to school?
But it isn’t true. More recent studies have “found that public charter schools significantly boost outcomes for students in urban areas and especially for Black, Hispanic and low-income students.”
Biden also wants to defund the one federal school choice program in Washington, DC, which helps thousands of low-income black families send their kids to the kinds of private schools that the Obamas did when they lived in Washington.
Two observations here:
First, what kind of a president would Joe Biden be if he rolls over for every special interest group even when their demands collide with the good of the country?
Second, what a stark contrast between Biden and Trump – a contrast that every parent in America should be made aware of. Trump has advocated that education dollars follow students and has even proposed a voucher for any family living in a county where the schools are closed.
Time to have this debate played out in front of the American people BEFORE the election. We have advised that ED Secretary DeVos identify any existing federal program funds that could be lawfully used to provide scholarships under existing authorities. Let the Biden Democrats block it and explain why they don’t want kids to get a decent education.
Look who runs the Democratic party.
Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO,
Two liberal education reformers have taken Joe Biden to task for caving into teacher union demands in the Democratic platform. “What kind of president does Joe Biden want to be?” ask Chad Aldeman and Alex Spurrier of Bellwether Education Partners. “Will he fight for the underdogs or the teacher unions?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/17/why-joe-biden-shouldnt-give-up-public-charter-schools-or-standardized-testing/
The Dem party’s policy document reverses the support it used to give towards standardized testing and charter schools. The authors report the Democratic party platform “steers Biden away from the coalition of Black and low-income voters who brought him the nomination. Maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise — given that two of the eight members of the task force are the heads of the two major teachers unions.”
On charter schools, the task force cited a 2009 study in claiming “on average, charters are no better or worse than traditional public schools.” Even if that were true, why not give parents choices about where their kids go to school?
But it isn’t true. More recent studies have “found that public charter schools significantly boost outcomes for students in urban areas and especially for Black, Hispanic and low-income students.”
Biden also wants to defund the one federal school choice program in Washington, DC, which helps thousands of low-income black families send their kids to the kinds of private schools that the Obamas did when they lived in Washington.
Two observations here:
First, what kind of a president would Joe Biden be if he rolls over for every special interest group even when their demands collide with the good of the country?
Second, what a stark contrast between Biden and Trump – a contrast that every parent in America should be made aware of. Trump has advocated that education dollars follow students and has even proposed a voucher for any family living in a county where the schools are closed.
Time to have this debate played out in front of the American people BEFORE the election. We have advised that ED Secretary DeVos identify any existing federal program funds that could be lawfully used to provide scholarships under existing authorities. Let the Biden Democrats block it and explain why they don’t want kids to get a decent education.
Look who runs the Democratic party.
Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO,
Week of August 17, 2020
“Is there a more devastating example of a utopian plan gone horribly wrong than the Great Leap Forward in 1958? Here was a vision of communist paradise that paved the way to the systematic stripping of every freedom—the freedom of trade, of movement, of association, of speech, of religion—and ultimately the mass killing of tens of millions of ordinary people.” Frank Dikotter, Dutch Historian
“(T)here are more true believers of Marxism at the University of California Berkeley than we had in all of communist Czechoslovakia.” -Vaclav Klaus. First president of the Czech Republic
“(T)here are more true believers of Marxism at the University of California Berkeley than we had in all of communist Czechoslovakia.” -Vaclav Klaus. First president of the Czech Republic
Current Events:
-Mich - Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed a Republican-led bill which "bans nursing homes from admitting or retaining an individual starting Sept. 1 who tests positive for COVID-19 unless the person had recovered or unless a nursing home could provide care in a separate building".
-Dems use coronavirus to push ‘Medicare-for-all,’ but their ploy is based on bad information.
-California Blackouts a Warning for States Ramping Up Green Power: State has struggled to keep lights on during heat wave that has exposed its difficulties matching power demand with supply.
-Nevada’s election theft becomes center of national political universe: Democrats’ ‘Election reform’ bill opens the door to massive voter fraud … and draws a much-deserved lawsuit.
-Los Angeles Mayor Says City May Shut Off Water, Power At Houses Hosting Large Parties
-Mich - Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed a Republican-led bill which "bans nursing homes from admitting or retaining an individual starting Sept. 1 who tests positive for COVID-19 unless the person had recovered or unless a nursing home could provide care in a separate building".
-Dems use coronavirus to push ‘Medicare-for-all,’ but their ploy is based on bad information.
-California Blackouts a Warning for States Ramping Up Green Power: State has struggled to keep lights on during heat wave that has exposed its difficulties matching power demand with supply.
-Nevada’s election theft becomes center of national political universe: Democrats’ ‘Election reform’ bill opens the door to massive voter fraud … and draws a much-deserved lawsuit.
-Los Angeles Mayor Says City May Shut Off Water, Power At Houses Hosting Large Parties
Happy Friday,
Almost 33,000 New Yorkers are dead, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hawking a new book about how amazing his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was. Yes, seriously.
I’m sorry to darken your weekend spirits with such a bleak reflection, but we simply can’t ignore the masterclass in dysfunction we’re witnessing in New York right now.
The Empire State has the most deaths of any state in the country, in part because Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients, even if it meant putting their entire community at risk.
Yet, Cuomo is taking a “victory lap,” as CNN described it, touting his supposedly masterful virus response and selling promotional posters and a new book.
As I explain in a new piece today for FEE.org, sadly, none of this is surprising. An old insight from Friedrich A. Hayek predicted this kind of behavior from officials in bloated, big governments.
Read my story explaining Cuomo’s malpractice and Hayek’s theory here, and check out more great content from FEE.org below.
Best,
Brad Polumbo
Eugene S. Thorpe Writing Fellow, FEE.org
Almost 33,000 New Yorkers are dead, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hawking a new book about how amazing his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was. Yes, seriously.
I’m sorry to darken your weekend spirits with such a bleak reflection, but we simply can’t ignore the masterclass in dysfunction we’re witnessing in New York right now.
The Empire State has the most deaths of any state in the country, in part because Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients, even if it meant putting their entire community at risk.
Yet, Cuomo is taking a “victory lap,” as CNN described it, touting his supposedly masterful virus response and selling promotional posters and a new book.
As I explain in a new piece today for FEE.org, sadly, none of this is surprising. An old insight from Friedrich A. Hayek predicted this kind of behavior from officials in bloated, big governments.
Read my story explaining Cuomo’s malpractice and Hayek’s theory here, and check out more great content from FEE.org below.
Best,
Brad Polumbo
Eugene S. Thorpe Writing Fellow, FEE.org
A Note from: Dan Sanchez
Editor-in-Chief, FEE.org
To reopen schools or not to reopen schools…
That is the question being fiercely debated, largely along partisan lines, as we head into “back-to-school” season.
As a father who was already homeschooling long before the lockdowns, I’m more interested in a much more neglected question: when are we going to reopen the school of life?
As teacher unions dig in their heels against restarting in-person school instruction, many parents are reclaiming responsibility for their children’s education by developing private learning solutions. For example, as FEE’s Kerry McDonald has reported, a growing movement of parents and teachers are joining forces to establish home-based “learning pods.”
But this kind of innovation is severely hampered by the lockdowns, which make it extremely difficult to have larger gatherings of kids, especially in public places.
That is a problem, because, as FEE’s Jon Miltimore explains in today’s featured article, social interaction with other kids is crucial for child development and emotional health. The harm that isolation is inflicting right now on an entire generation of children will have grievous long-term consequences.
And all that harm may be for naught. As Jon reports, “The best scientific evidence we have shows that children have the least to fear from COVID-19.”
As FEE’s founder Leonard Read taught, a central planner cannot even make a pencil, much less run a whole economy. As we’ve seen, neither can central planners competently balance the trade-offs involved in coping with a pandemic. Only individuals (parents, children, teachers, doctors, etc), freely cooperating and coordinating with each other to plan their own lives, can navigate that.
But that will only happen when individuals stop waiting for orders and start taking the helm.
Editor-in-Chief, FEE.org
To reopen schools or not to reopen schools…
That is the question being fiercely debated, largely along partisan lines, as we head into “back-to-school” season.
As a father who was already homeschooling long before the lockdowns, I’m more interested in a much more neglected question: when are we going to reopen the school of life?
As teacher unions dig in their heels against restarting in-person school instruction, many parents are reclaiming responsibility for their children’s education by developing private learning solutions. For example, as FEE’s Kerry McDonald has reported, a growing movement of parents and teachers are joining forces to establish home-based “learning pods.”
But this kind of innovation is severely hampered by the lockdowns, which make it extremely difficult to have larger gatherings of kids, especially in public places.
That is a problem, because, as FEE’s Jon Miltimore explains in today’s featured article, social interaction with other kids is crucial for child development and emotional health. The harm that isolation is inflicting right now on an entire generation of children will have grievous long-term consequences.
And all that harm may be for naught. As Jon reports, “The best scientific evidence we have shows that children have the least to fear from COVID-19.”
As FEE’s founder Leonard Read taught, a central planner cannot even make a pencil, much less run a whole economy. As we’ve seen, neither can central planners competently balance the trade-offs involved in coping with a pandemic. Only individuals (parents, children, teachers, doctors, etc), freely cooperating and coordinating with each other to plan their own lives, can navigate that.
But that will only happen when individuals stop waiting for orders and start taking the helm.
Week of August 10, 2020
“An economy with ‘everything being directed from a single center’ requires totalitarianism as its political system.” — The Case Against Socialism by Rand Paul
“When a group of citizens has the power to vote itself other people’s money, that society will certainly fall.” -Past Patriot
“When a group of citizens has the power to vote itself other people’s money, that society will certainly fall.” -Past Patriot
Current Events:
-Teachers unions are using Covid-19 as a political weapon.
-Obama’s Progressive Pivot Is Meant to Push Biden Leftward
-How Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, blocked a hospital rescue to help the SEIU.
-Teachers unions are using Covid-19 as a political weapon.
-Obama’s Progressive Pivot Is Meant to Push Biden Leftward
-How Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, blocked a hospital rescue to help the SEIU.
Andrew Cuomo Is Worried Wealthy New Yorkers Won't Come Back. He Should Be | Jon Miltimore
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is begging wealthy New Yorkers to return, admitting the top one percent pays half of the state's taxes. "I talk to them literally every day. I say. 'When are you coming back? I'll buy you a drink. I'll cook."
Week of August 2, 2020
“T)he central idea of collectivism, that the individual is less important than the whole, is entirely consistent with allowing the state to eliminate individuals that are a burden to society." ― from "The Case Against Socialism
“California continues to move from being a civil society to a political society, in which government coercion is the organizing principle.” -Kerry Jackson
“California continues to move from being a civil society to a political society, in which government coercion is the organizing principle.” -Kerry Jackson
Current Events:
- The Lockdown's Destruction: Incredibly, some in the media want to repeat the second quarter’s 32.9% plunge in GDP.
-"Read Joe Biden Lips: New Taxes"
- The Lockdown's Destruction: Incredibly, some in the media want to repeat the second quarter’s 32.9% plunge in GDP.
-"Read Joe Biden Lips: New Taxes"
Week of July 26, 2020
“(T)he powers embodied in America’s twenty-first-century democratic government are those that eighteenth-century Americans revolted against to escape”. -Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History by Randall Holcombe
“Wherever the real power of a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression.” - James Madison, Founding Father
“Wherever the real power of a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression.” - James Madison, Founding Father
Week of July 20, 2020
“The role of government as [America’s founders] saw it, was to protect the rights of individuals, and the biggest threat to individual liberty was the government itself. So they designed a government with constitutionally limited powers, constrained to carry out only those activities specifically allowed by the Constitution”. -Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History by Randall Holcombe
“Once you abandon strict adherence to what science tells us, once you start arranging the truth in a press conference, then anything is possible.” - Michael Crichton, Author
“Once you abandon strict adherence to what science tells us, once you start arranging the truth in a press conference, then anything is possible.” - Michael Crichton, Author
