Schools are not factories, teachers are not line workers, and students are not widgets. The factory model of labor relations-with its legalized compulsion funded by forced dues-has failed Michigan's teachers as well as its students.
In addition to lowering your current taxes, cutting the tax rate would also reduce the penalty on earning additional income. Lansing would now take only 3.9 percent of it.
Mayor Archer has blamed his troubles on the fact that he "inherited a dysfunctional city." But after six years at the helm, he can no longer avoid either the tough decisions that must be made or the responsibility for not making them.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, the minimum wage harms the very workers whom we want to help-unskilled, inexperienced teenage workers and disadvantaged minorities.
Do not call your Congressman and ask him to make the world safer; call your airline instead and book a flight. These days, on an airplane is probably the safest place you can be.
"Before privatization," said one zoo worker, "we were just basically trying to keep the animals alive. Now we can really care for them."
A recent Detroit Free Press poll showed that 77 percent of Detroit parents support amending the constitution to allow for tax credits for tuition at nonpublic schools. Parents seem to be saying they would rather pick their children's school than pick the politicians who run the schools.
Congress advised General Washington to feed his troops by having them steal food from farmers. Instead, he promised to hang any soldier caught stealing food. Such theft might have solved a short-term problem, but it failed Washington's character test.
Second only to parental involvement, teacher quality dramatically affects student academic success. By relaxing certification requirements, Michigan can actually increase the quality and energy of teachers in the profession
One important lesson from the many reforms in Wisconsin, Michigan, and elsewhere is that those programs that emphasize work placement over training have better results.
Sojourner Truth criticized those blacks who were living "off the govern-ment." "Get off the government and take care of [your]selves" she urged them.
The International Monetary Fund 's efforts to bail out failing foreign economies with American tax dollars harm not only those economies but also Michigan workers whose jobs depend on exported goods.
Irregular school board and bond election dates confuse voters, decrease turnout, and enable narrow special interests to unduly influence school governance. Consolidating all school elections on the Novermber ballot would alleviate these problems.
The International Monetary Fund 's efforts to bail out failing foreign economies with American tax dollars harm not only thoseeconomies but also Michigan workers whose jobs depend on exported goods.
The UAW and other unions routinely urge Michiganians to "buy American," but the growth of the global economy has forever blurred the lines between "foreign made" autos and those "made in the USA."
A law known as "paycheck protection" would shield Michigan employees' union dues from unauthorized expenditures and allow the state's nearly one million union workers to keep more of what they earn.
Charter schools offer parents greater choices, but they shouldn't be the only available choice. Tuition tax credits would help offset the unfair competitive advantage that tax-funded charter schools enjoy over tuition-charging nongovernment schools.
One hundred years ago, former Detroit lumber baron and U. S. Secretary of War Russell Alger signed the treaty ending the Spanish-American War. Historians agree that Alger made a much better businessman than bureaucrat.
Global warming alarmists want to impose burdensome energy restrictions on U. S. citizens, but scientists disagree over the role human use of fossil fuels plays in the earth's climatic changes.
Michigan school districts that want to pass bond issues for needed building projects often face skeptical voters. Adoption of sound guidelines for debt issuance would help assure voters that their money would be wisely spent.
