 Truly Progressive Education Reform
Does Sweden Have an Answer?
By Brandon Bosworth
Curiously, the idea of using government money to help send children to private schools is considered a very right-wing, conservative notion. Granted, in the U.S. it is mostly Republicans who support the concept, with Democrats against. Thus we have the odd situation of liberals opposing a government hand-out that has the potential to mostly benefit the poor and minorities. Not very progressive of them.
Perhaps they could take a lesson from their intellectual cousins in Europe, particularly Sweden. While the Swedes don't exactly have a reputation of being conservative in the American tradition, one thing they have in common is their embrace of choice in education.
(To read more, click here.)
GRASSROOT PERSPECTIVE
Getting Less for More?
Grassroot Institute Releases New Brief on Education in Hawaii
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has released a new policy brief outlining how the Hawaii taxpayer keeps feeding the education system with more dollars for diminishing returns. "Getting Less for More–Feeding the Government Education System in Hawaii" examines how Hawaii spends almost $14,000 per student annually yet consistently ranks near the bottom on test scores and scholastic achievement rankings. The brief was written by Policy Intern Kenny Lee, a student at Hawaii Pacific University majoring in Finance.
(To read more, click here.)
State Forced Land Sales
The Power of Eminent Domain to Redistribute Land Ownership
By J. Arthur Rath
The recent news has been filled with the term 'redistribution of wealth', but in Hawaii and elsewhere the power of the state to confiscate private property under the guise of economic development has never been more popular. The recent Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London in 2005 involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development is one example. In a 5-4 decision the Court held the state using eminent domain to redistribute property for redevelopment was permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment because the community derived "economic benefits".
Disrespecting private property rights has a history in Hawaii, and many people who live along Oahu's proposed rail system corridor are about to experience that firsthand.
(To read more, click here.)
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii created the Fresh Perspective column exclusively to publish the work of high school and college students. In addition to work appearing on GRIH’s website, their work is also submitted to Hawaii Reporter. Submissions are welcome from any interested young adult, and we will publish work that is clearly written and grammatically sound. For earlier Fresh Perspectives please click here. Please contact tom@grassrootinstitute.org for more info.
GRASSROOT REVIEWS
Have you read a good book or viewed a good DVD on liberty or a free market subject recently? Let your follow GRIH members know and share your views with 'Grassroot Reviews'. Please send your book or movie review
to tom@grassrootinstitute.org.
Leave Us Alone
ATR's Norquist Examines Coalitions in America Today
By Tracy Ryan
Grover Norquist's recent book, Leave Us Alone, should be put on your reading list. It is packed with useful information presented with unusual clarity. It is such an easy read I went through it over a weekend.
This is a book about politics in America. Norquist—the President of Americans for Tax Reform—argues there are two great coalitions struggling for control of government. They are the "Takings Coalition" and the "Leave Us Alone Coalition". After defining these coalitions, he weaves a lucid outline of the American political scene, including history, policy, tactics, demographic trends, and possible outcomes.
(To read more, click here.)
GRASSROOT TV
Grassroot TV at YouTube.com features videos relating to public issues in Hawaii and beyond, as well as statements from the Institute on various concerns facing our communities. We've loaded the library at the online TV station with new videos from The Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Americans for Tax Reform and more.
Please visit 'Grassroot TV' at http://www.youtube.com/user/GrassrootHawaii.
-GIR-
'GRASSROOT INSIGHT' PODCASTS
In our "Grassroot Insight" podcast series, GRIH Director of Communications Tom McAuliffe interviews VIPs, community leaders and special guests from the liberty and freedom movement. The audio interviews are available for download to your iPod or for listening via the Internet. This issue features an interview with Robert Enlow, President of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, as well as an interview with the Beacon Hill Institute's Director of Research, Paul Bachman, and Director of Operations, Sarah Glassman, who discuss a new study about the effects of the Akaka Bill on Hawaii.
Click here to listen to the interview with Robert Enlow.
Click here to listen to the interview with Paul Bachman & Sarah Glassman.
Please check out our other recent podcasts with:
• Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh from www.michiganvotes.org
• Jennifer Butler, Vice President of the State Policy Network
• Hawaii State Senator Sam Slom
-GIR-
GRASSROOT EVENTS
Information on the Institute’s upcoming events, research publication dates and speaking engagements are always available and updated via our website. The Grassroot Institute has regular 'Members and Invited Guests only' meetings as well as public meetings on Oahu, Maui, The Big Island, and Kauai. Please contact our office for more details.
GRIH Brain Gain Movie Nights
Please join us for our next video presentation, "Call of the Entrepreneur," on Thursday, Jan. 15th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Trinity Christian Church and School, 875 Auloa Road in Kailua. Call Lora Burbage at 772-0787 for more information.
-GIR-
LIBERTY NEWS
New Brain Gain Nights!
The new GRIH program called 'Family Brain Gain Nights' got off to a roaring start earlier this month. Meeting once a month on a weekday evening, the Brain Gain night shows the latest in liberty and free market related films. Created by GRIH founder Dick Rowland and EducationYearRound.com's Lora Burbage and held at a local church, the first gathering saw over 60 people turn out to watch a new film from The Acton Institute, "The Birth of Freedom." It was the first time the film was shown in Hawaii and it was very well received by the audience. GIR sat down with Burbage to discuss the new program.
(To read more, click here.)
Ten Myths of Health Care
The Pacific Research Institute has released "The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen's Guide" by PRI President and CEO Sally Pipes. This 182-page book takes on 10 popular myths about health care in America. Among the 10 myths are: government health care is more efficient; 46 million Americans can't get health care; universal coverage can be achieved by forcing everyone to buy insurance; government prevention programs reduce health care costs; and government-run systems in other countries are better and cheaper than America's.
(To read more, click here.)
ALEC 2008 Summit
The American Legislative Exchange Council will be holding its 2008 States & Nation Policy Summit on December 4-6, 2008 in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This year's Summit will feature a number of exciting speakers, including Congressman Tom Price (GA), Congresswoman Mary Fallin (OK), Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Bloomberg News columnist Amity Shlaes. Some of the subjects covered include economic development, education,
telecommunications technology, tax policy and criminal justice.
For more than 30 years, ALEC has been the ideal means of creating and delivering public policy ideas aimed at protecting and expanding our free society. For more information please visit www.alec.org.
-GIR-
Pointing the Way to Better Schools
A Parent's Guide to Education Reform
One of every four children in America's public schools isn't going to graduate high school. And in many large cities, the graduation rate is twice as bad: Two of every four kids will fail to graduate. Staying in school doesn't guarantee a good education, either. Fewer than a third of 12th-graders can identify why the Puritans sailed to these shores. Only four in 10 know the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
These and other eye-popping facts make for compelling reading in "A Parent's Guide to Education Reform", a new, 35-page booklet from The Heritage Foundation. Taxpayers, it makes clear, aren't getting much of a return on the roughly $9,300 a year they spend on each child in public schools.
(To read more, click here.)
Grassroot Media Hits
GRIH Board member and Treasurer Cliff Slater was recently featured in a full-page Q&A interview in The Honolulu Weekly. The interview, entitled "It's Never Over", discussed Oahu's proposed rail system and the recent election.
"They just threw everything at us. The city had spent a lot of money before we even started Stop Rail Now in April, but in April, they really geared up. Taxpayer money was used to promote rail–$2.6 million just through June, and then there were four more months after that. We don’t know the total number, but it would not surprise me if it was another million or so. They stopped two weeks short of election day. They kept protesting that the money was used for voter education, because it’s illegal for them to spend money influencing the vote."
GRIH Chairman of the Board Jeff Crawford was recently published at Hawaii Reporter with his article "High Tech Tax Credits Important for Hawaii's Business Community".
"Unfortunately, there are many other state programs that warrant review before questioning the value of a tax credit program that is designed to keep investment capital in the private sector and create long-term positive changes in our economy. For example, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii recently pointed out that the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts spent as much as $500,000 for a single piece of artwork."
GRIH has been published in all neighbor island newspapers over the past month or two, including a Letter to the Editor from Communications Director Tom McAuliffe which recently appeared in The Garden Isle News on Kauai.
"Just about everybody in the state, who is not a schoolteacher and does not work for the Department of Education, thinks that centralized control of the school system is responsible for our state's dismal performance across the educational spectrum. They also think that leaving the DOE in control of the school system will virtually ensure that nothing will be done – ever. The school board has shown that it is powerless and inept, and the legislature has proven over the decades that it does not have the political will to make the necessary changes."
Hawaii Reporter recently published several other news releases and letters from GRIH and its membership.
Please visit their site at www.hawaiireporter.com.
Townhall.com
The nationally recognized and popular site http://www.townhall.com has recently picked up for national distribution many of the articles you read in Grassroot in Review.
-GIR-
TRY THE GRASSROOT BLOGS
Join the conversation and express your views! Use these links to access our member blogs.
Dash of Calabash
http://dashofcalabash.grassrootinstitute.org/
The Mystery of Hawaiian History
http://historymystery.grassrootinstitute.org/
Read what others have written and add your own thoughts. See you there!
-GIR-
NEED A GOOD SPEAKER?
From taxation to education and health care to transportation, the Institute’s staff is excited to address your group regarding the important policy issues facing all citizens of Hawaii. Call (808) 591-9193 to check availability and make arrangements, or e-mail us at tom@grassrootinstitute.org.
-GIR-
SUPPORT GOOD PUBLIC POLICY IN HAWAII!
Please help us continue to provide independent research on issues important to Hawaii! The Grassroot Institute operates only through the generous donations of friends and benefactors from around Hawaii and the United States, and even the smallest of donations can be used to accomplish great things for the future of our beloved state.
Will you please consider becoming a supporter today? Donations are tax deductible and it's quick, easy and secure. Click here!
-GIR-
Grassroot Institute is a proud member of the State Policy Network, Townhall.com,
Americans for Tax Reform, The Sam Adams Alliance and more.
|
