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Archives: Education / Articles (page 10)
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New Mexico State of the State: Governor Applauds Economic Diversification and Pushes for Comprehensive Tax Reform
The governor’s proposals for comprehensive tax reform, economic diversification, infrastructure spending prioritization, and education reform can generate longer-term opportunities. However, additional changes are needed. The state’s tort system and worker’s compensation costs remain economic drags. The relative lack of tax and expenditure limits and 8th highest number of state employees per capita contribute to a bloated state government.
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Kansas State of the State: Gov. Brownback Resists Tax Hikes, Calls for Constitutional Amendment on Ed Financing
The governor’s rejection of a tax increase is welcomed news for taxpayers. Just last year, legislators overrode his veto in order to enact an enormous tax increase of $1.2 billion over the next two years alone. This tax hike on individuals and businesses wiped out much of the tax reductions from the 2012 reforms. Avoiding a new tax increase, pushing for a voter-approved constitutional amendment on school financing, and demanding educational reforms will help avoid compounding the damage from last year’s tax hikes.
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Arizona State of the State: Confidence and Conviction, Promise and Possibility
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey delivered a sunny State of the State address, highlighting the “capacity of our state, and its people, to always be ahead of the…
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Alabama’s State of the State Address
Nine months into her unexpected tenure, Governor Kay Ivey delivered her first State of the State address on January 9. Gov. Ivey said her goal at the…
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Give Military Families School Choice
On Monday, November 13, I moderated a discussion at The Heritage Foundation about how Americans can provide education choice to the families of military men and women, and what those…
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Newt Gingrich Addresses ALEC Fiscal Responsibility in Higher Education Academy
Newt Gingrich addressed state legislators who gathered from across the country last week at the ALEC Fiscal Responsibility in Higher Education Academy at the George Mason Antonin Scalia School of…
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A Conversation on Higher Education with Mitch Daniels and Richard Vedder
Last week, state legislators from around the country came together to attend the ALEC Fiscal Responsibility in Higher Education Academy at the George Mason Antonin Scalia School of Law. Purdue…
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Education Spending and Outcomes
In 2016, the Connecticut Superior Court held that the state failed to uphold its constitutional duty to provide adequate education to children in certain school districts.[i]…
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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Addresses ALEC 44th Annual Meeting
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos talks educational choice at the 44th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
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ALEC Applauds Michigan’s MPSPERS Pension Reform Efforts
This reform package preserves retirement security for existing and future employees while putting in place a more fiscally sustainable benefit for new workers. Both teachers and taxpayers win.
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SCOTUS Decision in Trinity Lutheran Sets the Stage for Expanded School Choice
Trinity Lutheran has the potential to set the stage for an even brighter future for education reform in the United States.
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North Carolina Accelerates Broad-Based Tax Relief
By further lowering economically destructive taxes on productivity, North Carolina lawmakers are giving the state’s economy yet another long-term boost, further magnetizing its draw for individuals and businesses alike.
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“Choice Counts”: Education Director Documents Success of Charter Schools, Education Savings Accounts
Director of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force Inez Feltscher joins Buck Sexton to discuss the merits of school choice and education savings accounts.
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State of the State: New Hampshire
Despite the Granite State’s strengths and Sununu’s proposals, there remains work to be done. For example, the top marginal tax rate for corporations is a steep 8.2%; and although New Hampshire doesn’t have a personal income tax or sales tax, it does have the highest property tax burden in the nation. New Hampshire also ranks a lackluster 37th in the nation in terms of burdensome regulations according to the Pacific Research Institute. Furthermore, the recently released ALEC report Unaccountable and Unaffordable 2016 ranks the state’s pension funding level at 43rd nationally. Using a risk-free rate of return of 2.344 percent, New Hampshire’s state pensions are unfunded in excess of $13,000 per capita with a funded ratio of just 28 percent.
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State of the Commonwealth: Massachusetts
Overall, however, the state’s steps towards economic competitiveness are yielding results. Governor Baker rightfully recognized this achievement, “We built a bipartisan team, worked in partnership with the legislature and looked for common ground.” Shrinking the state’s budget gap by over $1 billion without tax or fee increases is just one example.
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State of the State: Vermont
With Vermont’s economic outlook continuing to languish at 49th (according to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Rich States, Poor States publication), legislators may be ready to take the governor’s charge to heart: “We must act now, and begin our ascent.”
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President Trump Signs Executive Order Directing Department of Education to Review Regulation and Return Control to States
On Wednesday, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Education to review all of its programs and regulations relating to the three major federal education laws for compliance with principles of federalism and local control over education.
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Arizona Leaps into Innovative Educational Future with Universal ESAs
This past Thursday, Arizona leapt ahead into the future of American education by passing a universal expansion of its Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program. The program, which was first passed in…
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State of the State: Kentucky
On a very bright note, Bevin signed legislation into law earlier this year that officially made Kentucky a right-to-work state, an important step in attracting business and expanding freedom of choice for workers on the decision regarding unionization. A continuation of this spirit of reform bodes well for the state’s future.
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State of the State: New Jersey
The governor praised legislators for reducing the state sales tax and increasing the exclusions for the state’s estate tax; but he failed to mention the tax cut savings are almost entirely offset by the enormous 23-cent per gallon increase in the gas tax. This year’s sales tax reduction of 0.125 percent will save consumers a whopping $1.25 on a $1,000 purchase; meanwhile, the gas tax hike will cost twice this much on a single 11 gallon fill-up.