Everyone knows the ancient joke about the two exhausted kids walking through a sun-blasted and waterless land. Sunburned and still miles from their destination, they come upon an immense pile of animal manure blocking their path. The boys stop for a moment to consider the obstacle mounded before them – feculent, still (in my telling)...
While California faces a significant decline in educational outcomes, student enrollment, and a fiscal crisis, progressives in the state legislature are more concerned with targeting parents than improving schools. Assembly Bill 1955, introduced by Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego), aims to ban parental notification policies passed by a growing number of California school districts over...
An illuminating study comparing education in America’s progressive and conservative cities opens a major can of worms. A stunning report that came out in January of this year received little attention at first, and was then completely buried due to the avalanche of coronavirus-related stories. “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their...
Public sector unions should be illegal. They have very little in common with private sector unions, which, properly regulated, play a vital role in society. The differences between public sector and private sector unions are significant. For example: 1 – Private sector unions cannot be unreasonable in the demands they bring to negotiations with management,...
With a SCOTUS decision imminent in the Janus case, California’s teachers unions are showing no signs of becoming more politically balanced. In last week’s post, I suggested that if the Janus case was successful in the Supreme Court, the political fallout, generally speaking, would be “somewhat to considerable.” The case, which would make union dues-paying...
Teacher union political gifting continues to be almost exclusively leftward bound, but teachers don’t have to finance it. Courtesy of campaign-finance tracker Open Secrets, we have a reminder of how lopsided teacher union political spending is. Education Week’s Lauren Camera posted a report Friday which spells out some of the nasty details. In House of...
California Government Revenue and Debt Study How Much State and Local Governments Collect and What They Owe By Marc Joffe Visiting Fellow, California Policy Center December 10, 2025