Posts Tagged ‘Education’
School Vouchers are the Wrong Choice
Many in the conservative movement advocate for “school choice”: aka educational reform in the way of school vouchers, but there are waves and waves of research that suggest private school vouchers harm students who receive them. But first: What are school vouchers? The concept originated with Milton Friedman, and is essentially a strategy to privatize…
Read MoreMid-Week Reads: Economics and Early Ed
Every week, North Star will take some time out of our schedules to bring you our favorite reads from the past week. Jeff Van Wychen The Third Way: Share-the-Gains Capitalism Economist and for U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich outlines three economic systems in America: (1) “no-lose socialism” for the uber-rich, in which they get lavish…
Read MoreDespite Recent Increases, School Aid Remains Well Below FY 2003 Level
Despite increases in recent years, real per pupil state operating aid to Minnesota school districts is still ten percent less than it was in fiscal year (FY) 2003. Over the same period, school property taxes have soared, although these property tax increases have not provided a net increase in real per pupil school district revenue,…
Read MoreExecutive Summary: Minnesota's Budget Surplus
The conservative effort to use the entire budget surplus to reduce state taxes—often referred to as the “give it back” campaign—is based on the premise that state revenues and expenditures have increased dramatically and thus all legitimate state expenditure needs should already be sated. However, a closer look at total state general fund revenue and…
Read MoreMinnesota's Budget Surplus: Balancing Tax Cuts and Investments
I. Introduction Last March, a group of legislators gathered at the State Capitol with a simple message: “Give it back!” The “it” refers to the state budget surplus, then projected to be nearly two billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 biennium. These legislators urged Governor Dayton and their House and Senate colleagues…
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