In case you missed it…
Transparency
The Nevada Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in NPRI’s lawsuit against the Nevada Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). The core of the case concerns the repeated and ongoing attempts by PERS to conceal its pension payout amounts from public scrutiny. A recent case in New York shows why transparency is critical if government insiders are to be held accountable: Turns out a sanitation worker there was pocketing an annual pension approaching $300 grand — more than twice the amount of his former salary. (Read more)
Fiscal and taxes
Thursday, President Trump announced new punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as the centerpiece of his protectionist trade policies. In addition to potentially damaging the beer industry (no, seriously…) the tariffs are expected to greatly increase the costs consumers will pay for goods made with aluminum and steel. Ostensibly, the 25 percent tariff on steel is supposed to increase domestic production of steel — by increasing the cost of imports — and so create domestic steel-working jobs. That outcome, however, is unlikely: Not only will higher prices cost jobs in other sectors of the economy, but most employment losses in the U.S. steel industry reflect its modernization through improved efficiency and technological advancements — not foreign imports. (Read more)
Labor unions
Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. AFSCME — a case that could restore First Amendment rights for millions of state and local government workers across America. Mark Janus, a child-support specialist for the State of Illinois, is suing the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in an effort to end a practice that requires workers to pay money to a union as a condition of employment. Mark Janus explained his position in a USA Today opinion piece, stating simply “AFSCME uses my monthly fees to promote an agenda I don’t support.” (Read more)
Individual responsibility
Curling isn’t exactly the most exciting Olympic sport, but it is unique in one important regard: Its rules are almost entirely enforced not by judges or referees, but by the players themselves. There are no referees blowing whistles, no instant replays, no slow-motion analysis and no forced penalties by any “neutral” authority. Instead, players accept personal responsibility and voluntarily hold each other accountable for a fair game. In other words, as Eric Boehm at Reason.com put it, “curling is a sport that, more so than almost any other, is played in a state of anarchy.” No doubt the late Murray Rothbard would love it — and point out the lessons in there for the rest of us. (Read more)
Continuing series on special education
Don’t miss the latest installment of Fixing Special Ed, NPRI Senior VP Steve Miller’s in-depth series documenting the abuse, law-breaking and deception that for decades has too frequently characterized public school districts’ administration of special education. If you’ve ever doubted that special-needs families face grudging resistance and outright lawbreaking in America’s school districts, the LA school district’s court-appoint monitor, David Rostetter, can quickly destroy any illusions you may have. Rostetter has acknowledged what many parents of special-needs children have long believed — that systemic flouting of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is conscious school-district policy in many locales across the U.S. (Read the series here)