A promising performance-pay program is under attack in the Boston public school system, which is trying out some new and innovative school reforms. The plan was to allow Advanced Placement teachers to receive $100 bonuses for each student who passes an AP exam, and teachers could be rewarded up to $3,000. But the Boston Herald reports that the Boston Teachers Union is trying to put an end to the innovative plan: Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston’s best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics …
As President Obama pondered anew his strategy for winning the war on terror in Afghanistan, the antiwar crowd unleashed an odd new tactic to force a retreat: a tax. Not a new tax on the terrorists which, while obviously uncollectible, would at least be properly targeted. And, thankfully not a new tax on the men and women leading the fight. The far left, as explained by Senator Levin in a November 20 interview on Bloomberg Television, is targeting Americans making more than $250,000 with a new surtax. As with most …
Last week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force issued new guidelines recommending that women in their 40s no longer have annual mammograms and that women ages 50 to 74 have them only every other year, instead of annually. The recommendations were highly controversial, and by week’s end most health insurers and the federal Medicare program said they would ignore the panel’s recommendation and continue covering annual mammograms. This is as it should be: the federal government collects information and makes recommendations, and Americans are then free to consult their …
This past Sunday marked an important anniversary for the American economy. On November 22, 2006, the United States and Colombia signed the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. This agreement would immediately eliminate tariffs on U.S. exports to this important trading partner – creating billions in revenue for U.S. businesses and new jobs here in America. Unfortunately, it is an anniversary marked by missed opportunities. Instead of implementing this agreement when it was sent to Congress more than 18 months ago, Speaker Pelosi opted to block its consideration indefinitely. Passage of this …
1,000 emails and more than 3,000 other documents from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University in the United Kingdom publicly revealed by a hacker, or allegedly an inside whistleblower, are rekindling the flame to the global warming debate just weeks before the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference where the United States will propose an emissions reduction target. A sample of what the emails exposed, which date back 13 years, includes: “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a …
From the Washington Post editorial board this Sunday: OPTIMISM THAT the District’s federally funded school voucher program will be allowed to flourish is fading. Leading Democrats say that they are open to letting new students enter the program, but efforts to make that a reality seem to have stalled. Indeed, it appears that some Democrats’ idea of saving the program is simply to let it slowly wither away. The future of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which gives low-income parents up to $7,500 so their children can attend private school, …
The Associated Press reports: Employers already are squeezed by tight credit, rising health care costs, wary consumers and a higher minimum wage. Now, the surging jobless rate is imposing another cost. It’s forcing higher state taxes on companies to pay for unemployment insurance claims. Some employers say the extra costs make them less likely to hire. That could be a worrisome sign for the economic recovery, because small businesses create about 60 percent of new jobs. … Sam Schlosser, owner of Plymouth Foundry Inc. in Plymouth, Ind., said his unemployment …
After noting that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spending totaled $1.3 trillion, 43 percent of federal spending and more than twice military spending, in 2008, the Washington Post‘s Robert Samuelson turns to Obamacare: Now comes the House-passed health-care “reform” bill that, amazingly, would extract more subsidies from the young. It mandates that health insurance premiums for older Americans be no more than twice the level of that for younger Americans. That’s much less than the actual health spending gap between young and old. Spending for those age 60 to 64 …
Tired of having to drive safe, affordable vehicles? Can’t make a decision at the car lot and want the government to narrow down the decisions for you? Well then you’re in luck. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a great new regulation in store for you. The agency is intending to use the Clean Air Act to improve the fuel efficiency to 35.5 miles per gallon fleetwide by 2016 – four years ahead of schedule when President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Speaking at Georgetown University on April 14th, President Barack Obama promised: “We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity — a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest.” Nice words. But the Obama administration actions have produced all sand and no rock. From the Wall Street Bailout, to Cash for Clunkers, to Obama’s failed stimulus, this administration …
