Featured Article
The Difficulty of School Reform
By David W. KirkpatrickFew things are as difficult as reforming the public schools. Since the early beginnings of the public school system, with the enactment of the Common School Act in Pennsylvania in 1834 and Horace Mann as Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts a few years later, the schools have remained relatively unchanged in their fundamentals. Changes have essentially been of solidifying the system rather than of what could be or should be.
Buckeye Voices
A state appeals court recently struck down a portion of the Ohio's Commercial Activity Tax that applied to retail grocers and food wholesales. Buckeye Institute academic advisor and Auburn University economics professor Dr. Robert Lawson provided the court with an analysis of the tax on behalf of the plaintiffs. He joins David Hansen on BuckeyeVoices.
A Real Economic Development Plan
The
Cleveland Plain Dealer reports,
"With businesses scrambling to fight against mandatory paid sick days
and fretting about possible changes in state wage rules, Gov. Ted
Strickland gave them some good news Wednesday: a plan to bolster
business and create better-paying jobs."
In
Phasing Out Ohio's
Income Tax, Buckeye
Institute scholar Eric N. Fisher
writes, "Ohio's economy is anemic, ranking near the bottom of most
lists on job creation, new investment and business climate. The state,
not surprisingly, is also ranked among the most heavily taxed. It's
time for Ohio policymakers to consider dramatic steps to reverse its
long-term decline by creating an investment friendly business climate.
Abolishing the state income tax, while politically bold, should be near
the top of their agenda."
Kasich Understand Ohio's Economy
"[Former Representative John Kasich] received applause as he called for an end to what's left of Ohio's estate tax and a standing ovation when he called for the gradual elimination of the state income tax," according to the Toledo Blade.
In Estate Tax Hurts Ohio Economy, Buckeye Institute scholar Robert Lawson writes, "The estate tax hurts Ohio's competitiveness and punishes many of Ohio's most productive citizens. The estate tax, along with Ohio's punitive income tax, has significantly contributed to creating an environment that causes people with significant assets to leave the state and discourages entrepreneurs from relocating to, and investing in, Ohio. For those who stay in Ohio, the estate tax's complexity imposes significant costs for compliance and estate planning."
Obama and the Facts on Equal Pay
The Toledo Blade reports, "Sharpening his pitch to women, [Barack Obama] vowed to enact a bill that would mandate equal pay for men and women doing the same work, targeting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination last night. 'I disagree with John McCain and Governor Palin on this. They think the reason women aren't getting paid the same is different educational attainment. That's not true. The facts are not on their side,' he said."
In
Comparable Worth:
Comparable to What?,
Buckeye Institute scholars Rebecca A. Thacker and Joshua C. Hall write,
"A comparison of wage rates between men and women is a dubious measure
of discrimination anyway, and should not be used to make public policy.
The oft-cited statistic that women make just 75 percent of what men
make is based on the wages of the median man and woman. The median is
an aggregate, a measure of central tendency. As such,
important variables that impact wages such as age, years of education,
type of education, years in the workforce, etc., are not controlled.
When these factors are taken into account a completely different
picture of today's workforce and the need for heavy-handed government
intervention emerges."
Buckeye
Institute in the News
The Akron Beacon Journal quoted Mike Maurer, Director of the Buckeye Institute Center of Transparent and Accountable Government, on questionable spending by Summit County Board of MRDD Superintendent Thomas Armstrong.
