A Misguided Ruling on School Choice

Last month, a Utah trial judge invalidated Utah Fits All, an education-savings-account program that gives students money for educational expenses, including private school tuition.

The decision is outrageous, Nicole Stelle Garnett and Tim Rosenberger argue. For one thing, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state “Blaine Amendments,” which ban public funding for “sectarian schools,” are unenforceable. And initiatives like Utah Fits All are offered in addition to public schools, which remain open to all students.

“For too long, public schools enjoyed a virtual monopoly over K-12 education in the United States. Only parents with the financial means could choose their children’s schools, either by moving to high-performing districts or paying private tuition,” they write.

Read more about the decision, and why Garnett and Rosenberger say it’s misguided, here.

Medicare Advantage was supposed to reduce Medicare costs by incentivizing better care through private insurers. Instead, as Chris Pope shows, it has evolved into a trillion-dollar boondoggle that funds non-medical perks like ski passes and pet supplies.

While there’s bipartisan backing to rein in the overpayments, Democrats in the past have sought to redirect the potential cost savings into new welfare programs. Republicans who want to make a dent in the deficit and reduce the burden on taxpayers should act first.

Efforts to address declining birthrates in America have unearthed divisions between pro-life conservatives and the tech Right. Each side proposes their own, sometimes conflicting, solutions. As Robert VerBruggen notes, a religious conservative might back subsidies for married couples to have children naturally, while a tech-bro might favor subsidies for IVF and daycare, viewing marriage as largely irrelevant. Read his take here.

In our spring issue, Rob Henderson writes that older adults have grown reluctant to exert authority or share their wisdom with younger generations, instead craving validation from those who still have much to learn. But, as Henderson points out, wisdom “isn’t about being stuck in the past; it’s about offering something steady and timeless in a world that feels increasingly unmoored.”

Charles Fain Lehman, Jesse Arm, John Ketcham, and Rob Henderson discuss New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s latest proposal, an HHS review of medical interventions for children with gender dysphoria, and why taking advice from younger generations is never a good idea.

“Murderers are also a marginalized group. Both groups should continue to be marginalized.”

Photo credits: George Frey / Stringer / Getty Images News via Getty Images