Moms for Liberty held an event in New York City on Thursday night to discuss and diagnose the woeful state of education in the Big Apple. Residents and local representatives were invited to take part in the education organization’s town hall on the Upper East Side and the follow-up discussion. Moms for Liberty has been treated with hostility by left-wing groups in the city‚ so it was a full house for the event—not just inside the building‚ but outside‚ too. A gaggle of protesters showed up to crowd the front of the building and chant slogans. The New York Police Department kept watch at the entrance and helpfully guided me to the door. The protesters held up a large sign “Keep NYC Fascist-Free!” as they blockaded the door and yelled at the people going inside. As is its reflexive habit‚ the Left brands anyone who opposes their agenda as “fascist‚” in this case Moms for Liberty. (Photo: Jarrett Stepman/The Daily Signal) One of the speakers at the outside protest‚ who was invited to speak at the event inside‚ was Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.  “This group is anti-LGBTQ‚ supports book bans‚ harasses teachers &; school librarians‚ and has been labeled by [the Southern Poverty Law Center] a ‘far-right extremist organization‚’” Levine wrote in a statement before the event took place. #NOW Manhattan president @MarkLevineNYC joins protest against 'Moms for Liberty' townhall on the UES in NYC – "Exhibit A right here of what we are up against" he addressed the crowd outside. "Get Out of here!" an attendee of the event shouts in response. pic.twitter.com/pUCQYYx2KJ— Oliya Scootercaster ? (@ScooterCasterNY) January 19‚ 2024 As I left the event‚ one of the demonstrators—in a pink unicorn costume—followed me down the street. I was able to snap a picture of this person when I stopped and she/he/they/them—or whatever it was—said‚ “We don’t like you. You smell.” Needless to say‚ this was not the beginning of a Socratic dialogue. As I left the @Moms4Liberty townhall I was approached by this furry‚ whose comment was “we don’t like you‚ you smell.” Some high minded rhetoric right there. The picture is very close up because she was right in my face https://t.co/o7hDdqtJC6 pic.twitter.com/ogVn9GeGyR— Jarrett Stepman (@JarrettStepman) January 19‚ 2024 I live in New York‚ so I’ve definitely been followed by much worse‚ but all I could think was: “That’s the best line you could come up with?” For what it’s worth‚ the person in the pink unicorn costume was apparently not a “furry‚” according to internet trolls. My apologies for not knowing the difference. As for the actual event‚ the following are some of my takeaways from a panel discussion about the problems with New York City schools. Poor Return on Education Investment Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice led a panel discussion about how New York City schools have failed children and parents alike. “A third of the kids in the United States are reading on grade level. That’s atrocious‚ but here in New York City‚ where you spend about $40‚000 a year on each child’s education‚ only a quarter of the children are reading on grade level‚” she said in opening remarks. Justice said that in New York‚ black and Hispanic students are particularly struggling‚ as only 13 in 100 are proficient in reading. That’s despite the New York City school district spending the most money per student compared with any other district in the nation. Justice contrasted New York City’s record against that of Miami‚ which spends $11‚000 per student‚ yet “40 out of 100 fourth graders are reading and math proficient.” She said that’s nothing to brag about‚ “but for heaven’s sake‚ right?” The Moms for Liberty co-founder said that the results in New York City schools were declining even before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns‚ but there was a complete collapse during and afterward. Misguided Focus on Identity Over Merit Wai Wah Chin of the Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance of Greater New York spoke about how a focus on “equity” has moved the school system away from evaluating the individual skills and talents of students. “Our schools should be providing the best education for the children as they are‚ and that means you cannot dispel and get rid of merit‚” she said. “Merit must exist‚ because if you do not have merit‚ you do not have good education.” Chin explained that she was referring specifically to academic merit—“reading‚ writing and arithmetic.” “If you can’t do that‚ you’ve failed as a school‚” she said. Teaching students to be activists first before teaching students to think—Chin cited the people protesting outside—is a failure of education‚ she added. “If you do not respect facts‚ and you do not respect logic‚ you are not capable of making the decisions that are important for yourself in life and in the world‚” she continued. “And that’s what our schools must do: Provide that kind of environment so that you have facts and not ideology.” Paul Rossi‚ a New York City teacher‚ followed up on Chin’s comments about ideology in the school system. He spoke about his previous teaching experience at Grace Church School‚ an elite New York private school. He said that the school pushes ideas such as “anti-racism‚ critical race theory‚ gender ideology‚ these progressive beliefs‚ which have really come through the universities and dominated education‚ because most of the people who go through the [education] schools and teachers are inculcated in these ideas.” Rossi said that he teaches math‚ but that the ideology that dominates in schools denies that objectivity exists and calls objectivity an element of white supremacy. He said that he has seen a shift away from building character to a focus on group identity. ‘Fund Students‚ Not Systems’ Corey DeAngelis‚ the executive director of the Education Freedom Institute‚ spoke about policy solutions that could improve education in New York City. He explained that New York has a cap on the largely successful charter schools because “the Democratic Party is owned by the teachers unions. It’s that simple.” Almost all the political campaign contributions from teachers unions go to Democrats‚ DeAngelis said‚ and that constitutes a “nonstop money-laundering operation.” He said that while New York is dominated by this political dynamic‚ there’s been a sea change in other states because teachers unions have overplayed their hand and “awakened a sleeping giant” of parents. That has led to parents pulling money out of failing public schools and creating school choice programs‚ he explained. “We should fund students‚ not systems‚” he said. The education scholar spoke about how states such as Arizona have created Education Savings Accounts and other programs that have allowed parents to directly pay for the education they want for their child‚ whether that be a public school‚ a private school‚ a charter school‚ or a home-based education. “The money follows the child‚” he explained. It’s Worse Than You Think Nicholas Giordano‚ a professor of political science at Suffolk County Community College‚ spoke about how the education system has been transformed and how “it’s 10 times worse” than what most people think. He said that in his two decades of teaching‚ he’s noticed a pattern that students increasingly don’t have the knowledge they need when they enter higher education. He said that he began instituting a citizenship exam on basic civics and history questions when students took his classes. He said that very few pass it. “Students aren’t learning. They are simply being cycled through the system‚” he said. Giordano said that‚ according to national assessments‚ only 13% of students are proficient in history and just 23% are proficient in civics. He said that this failure has been the product of two main problems. The first is that parents became less involved in their children’s education. In many cases‚ both parents are working or the child comes from a single-parent household. He said that began to change during the COVID-19 lockdowns when the “veil” was lifted‚ and parents saw what was being taught in classrooms as a result of the switch to online instruction. Many people saw for the first time the “anti-Americanism” that has crept into K-12 instruction‚ he said. That’s a huge problem‚ Giordano said‚ because as the Founding Fathers insisted‚ our “small-r” republican institutions must be nourished by an education grounded in furthering those institutions. “Our education system should be linking us together. Instead‚ it divides us‚” he said. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Moms for Liberty Hosted a Town Hall in NYC About Its Failing Schools. Here’s What I Saw. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

This week‚ Congress took a step toward passing a carbon tax—an inflationary‚ regressive tax on all products that would lower economic growth; make all Americans worse off; and disproportionately harm poor people‚ farmers‚ and small businesses. Politicians have rightly rejected carbon taxes in the past and should continue to do so. On Jan. 18‚ the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to send a proposed law to the full Senate that would require the federal government to conduct a study calculating the carbon emissions of a broad range of different products made in America and other countries. These include construction materials‚ plastics‚ and fertilizers—all vital to small businesses and corporations that power the economy. This study is the first step to imposing a carbon tax on these products. The bill‚ sponsored by Sens. Kevin Cramer‚ R-N.D.‚ and Chris Coons‚ D-Del.‚ is titled the Providing Reliable‚ Objective‚ Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act. The bill’s proponents say they are responding to carbon taxes in Europe‚ which will be implemented in 2024. The European Union‚ which has 21 countries with a carbon tax‚ is preparing laws to tax imports based on greenhouse gases emitted in their production. This border tax proposal is meant to prevent companies from shifting production outside the EU to avoid carbon taxes. The complexity of this proposed European legislation‚ and the pushback from emerging economies‚ is one reason that it is unwise for America to follow. Europe’s current carbon taxes do not cover carbon emissions from all products. On average‚ the carbon tax covers 38% of total national carbon emissions‚ ranging from a high of 81% in Liechtenstein with a rate of $131 per ton to a low of 2% in Spain with a rate of $16 per ton. In taxing carbon dioxide‚ Congress would end up reducing energy use while‚ according to carbon tax proponents‚ raising revenue that might permit a reduction of income tax rates to compensate. The U.S. Treasury estimated in 2017 that a carbon tax of $49 per ton‚ rising at 2% a year‚ would raise $2.2 trillion over 10 years. Such a carbon tax would raise taxes on gasoline by 44 cents per gallon‚ on natural gas by about $2.60 per thousand cubic feet‚ on oil by $21.50 per barrel‚ and on coal by $62 to $126 per ton‚ depending on its carbon content. The carbon tax is a favorite of individual economists across the political spectrum for restructuring the tax system. Proponents include Tuft University’s Gilbert Metcalf‚ American Enterprise Institute scholar Alex Brill‚ and Donald Marron and Eric Toder of the Tax Policy Center. The Climate Leadership Council‚ which cleverly refers to the carbon tax as “carbon dividends‚” has as its founding members former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke‚ Harvard professors Larry Summers and Greg Mankiw‚ and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (listed on the website as inactive due to her current position). But a carbon tax has four major disadvantages—it is inflationary and regressive‚ it causes regional disparities‚ it is complex‚ and it drives production offshore. America is stronger without it. Inflationary and Regressive. One major problem with the carbon tax is that it would raise prices‚ because all products contain carbon.  Inflation is running at almost 4% and has reduced Americans’ real incomes. Since low-income people spend more on energy as a percent of their income than high-income people‚ a switch to a carbon tax would have to be accompanied by income transfers to low-income groups—i.e.‚ some type of subsidy paid for by taxpayers. Proponents suggest that offsets‚ paid for by carbon tax revenues‚ can be returned to taxpayers through lower income taxes‚ perhaps with the proceeds going chiefly to poor people who are disproportionately hurt by what is in essence an energy consumption tax. However‚ Congress rarely cuts one tax by as much as it raises another tax‚ so Americans will end up paying more in taxes. Further‚ many poor people are not required to file tax returns‚ and they would have to do so in order to be identified and compensated. That means extra work for them and for the Internal Revenue Service. Regional Disparities. Another problem is that carbon-intensive sectors‚ such as coal‚ heavy manufacturing‚ and agriculture‚ would be the biggest losers under the new tax. This means higher prices for food and gasoline for everyone‚ especially in rural areas‚ as well as companies announcing that they are moving offshore. Farmers in Germany‚ France‚ the Netherlands‚ and Belgium are rioting against the new climate provisions. Complexity. A carbon tax is complex to set up‚ as can be seen from the PROVE IT Act. The bill selects which products are analyzed and then open to be taxed. Practically all products have some carbon in the content or in the manufacturing process or both‚ even food and clothing. That is why European carbon taxes range from 2%  to 81% of carbon emissions. Proponents of the tax suggest putting tariffs on imports in proportion to their carbon content so that American companies will not be at a disadvantage. But the precise quantities are complex to calculate‚ and tariffs might be illegal under World Trade Organization regulations. Greater Offshore Production Increases Global Emissions. Carbon taxes raise the prices of domestic energy-intensive goods compared to imports from countries without carbon taxes. If American goods were taxed‚ Americans would prefer to buy cheaper‚ untaxed imports‚ and American firms would relocate abroad to avoid the tax or lose business to foreign companies.  This potential relocation reduces the goal of the tax‚ namely to lower global emissions and global temperatures. It also potentially sends millions of jobs overseas. With production going abroad to countries with less stringent environmental regulations‚ global emissions might well rise rather than decline. Without a carbon tax‚ U.S. carbon emissions declined by 1‚000 million metric tons over the past 16 years due to the substitution of natural gas for coal. Other countries do not have America’s inexpensive natural gas and rely more on coal. Therefore‚ companies relocating overseas would rely on dirtier‚ coal-produced energy. A carbon tax would hurt the poor and raise domestic prices relative to the prices of many imports. It would be another add-on levy‚ with exemptions for political friends and punishments for enemies. The PROVE IT Act is a first step toward the tax‚ and Congress would be wise to reject the bill. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Senate Opens Door to Massive Carbon Tax Despite Critical Economic Concerns appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The post-Joe McCarthy era and the candidacy of Barry Goldwater once prompted liberal political scientist Richard Hofstadter to chronicle a supposedly long-standing right-wing “paranoid style” of conspiracy-fed extremism. But far more common‚ especially in the 21st century‚ has been a left-wing‚ hysterical style of inventing scandals and manipulating perceived tensions for political advantage. Or‚ in the immortal words of former President Barack Obama‘s chief of staff‚ Rahm Emanuel‚ “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” The 2008 economic emergency crested on Sept. 7‚ with the near collapse of the home mortgage industry. Obama took office on Jan. 20‚ 2009‚ more than four months after the meltdown. In that interim‚ the officials had finally restored financial confidence and plotted a course of economic recovery. No matter. The Obama administration never stopped hyping the financial meltdown as if it had just occurred. That way‚ it rammed through Obamacare‚ massive deficit spending‚ and the vast expansion of the federal government. All that stymied economic growth and recovery for years. In 2016‚ then-President Donald Trump was declared Hitler-like and an existential threat to democracy. Amid this derangement syndrome‚ any means necessary to stop him were justified: the Russian collusion hoax‚ impeachment over a phone call‚ or the Hunter Biden laptop “disinformation” farce. Eventually‚ the Left sought to normalize the once-unthinkable: Removing the leading presidential candidate from state ballots and indicting him in state and local courts. Nothing was off-limits—not forging a federal court document‚ calling for a military coup‚ rioting on Inauguration Day‚ or radically changing the way Americans voted in presidential elections. In October 2017‚ allegations surfaced about serial sexual predation by liberal cinema icon Harvey Weinstein. The #MeToo furor immediately followed. At first‚ accusers properly outed dozens of mostly liberal celebrities‚ actors‚ authors‚ and CEOs for their prior and mostly covered-up sexual harassment and often assault. But soon‚ the once-legitimate movement had morphed into general hysteria. Thousands of men (and women) were persecuted for alleged offenses‚ often sexual banter or rude repartee‚ committed decades prior. #MeToo jumped the shark with the left-wing effort to take down conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Would-be accusers surfaced from his high school days‚ 35 years earlier‚ but without any supporting evidence or witnesses for their wild‚ lurid charges. #MeToo hysteria ended when too many liberal grandees were endangered. Most dramatically‚ former Joe Biden senatorial aide Tara Reade came forward during the 2020 campaign cycle with charges that front-runner Biden had once sexually assaulted her—and was trashed by the liberal media. The outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States during the winter of 2020 prompted an even greater hysteria. Without scientific evidence‚ federal health czars Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins were able to persuade the Trump administration to shut down the economy in the country’s first national quarantine. Suddenly‚ it became a thought crime to question the wisdom of six-foot social distancing‚ of mandatory mask-wearing‚ of the Wuhan virology lab’s origin of the COVID-19 virus or of off-label use of prescription drugs. Left-wing politicians and celebrities‚ from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gavin Newsom to Jane Fonda‚ all blurted out the political advantages that the lockdowns offered—from recalibrating capitalism and health care to ensuring the 2020 defeat of Trump. The COVID-19 hysteria magically ended when Biden won the 2020 election. Suddenly‚ the explanations about the bat or pangolin origins of the virus faded. The damage from the quarantines could no longer be repressed. And herd immunity gradually mitigated the epidemic. The lockdown caused untold economic chaos‚ suicides‚ and health crises. One result was the 120 days of looting‚ arson‚ death‚ destruction and violence spawned by Antifa and Black Lives Matter in the aftermath of the tragic death of George Floyd while in police custody in May 2020. Suddenly‚ a hysterical lie took hold: American police were waging war against black males. The details around Floyd’s sudden death—he was in the act of committing a felony‚ resisting arrest‚ suffering from coronary artery disease and the after-effects of COVID-19‚ and being high on dangerous drugs—were off limits. The riot toll reached $2 billion in property damage‚ more than 35 deaths and 1‚500 injured law enforcement officers. A federal courthouse‚ a police precinct‚ and a historic church were torched. Police forces were defunded. Emboldened left-wing prosecutors nullified existing laws. Diversity‚ equity and inclusion commissars spread throughout American higher education as meritocracy came under assault. Racial essentialism triumphed. Racially segregated dorms‚ campus spaces‚ and graduations were normalized. Everything from destroying the southern border to dropping SAT requirements for college admission followed. Sometimes real‚ sometimes hyped crises led to these contrived left-wing hysterias—like the Jan. 6 violent “armed insurrection” or the “fascist‚” “ultra-MAGA” threat. Otherwise‚ the progressive movement cannot enact its unpopular agendas. So‚ it must scare the people silly and gin up chaos to destroy its perceived enemies—any crisis it can. The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post The Hysterical Style in American Politics appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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