Week in Review: Respect Americans’ Freedom to Work

Labor Day is a holiday to celebrate the dignity of workers—but respecting the dignity of workers demands that we respect the choices they make regarding their careers. But too often, government stands in the way of those choices, tying workers up in unnecessary red tape that prevents them from doing the work they want to do. In fact, around one in four Americans is required to obtain a license in order to be able to do their job—a government permission slip to work in a certain career.

This is especially burdensome for members of the military and their families, who move every two to three years while on active duty. When they move to a new state, they have to go through the costly government licensing process all over again.  The Goldwater Institute’s Breaking Down Barriers to Work law cuts through that red tape and makes it easier for Americans to work in the career of their choice.

Since Arizona passed Goldwater’s law back in 2019, several states have followed suit. To date, 16 additional states have passed our reform, and you can look for additional states to take up this law in their next legislative session. In the states where Breaking Down Barriers is on the books, it’s having real results. So far, nearly 4,000 workers have already benefited from the law in Arizona alone.

This Labor Day, let’s keep the dignity of American workers in mind—and in particular, how we can ensure that Americans are free to make a living in the careers they want and need. You can read more about our Breaking Down Barriers to Work law here.

Checking Predictions on How COVID Would Change K-12 Education

As students head back to school, Goldwater Institute Senior Fellow Jonathan Butcher is checking some predictions made last year about how COVID would change K-12 classrooms in a new article for reimaginED.

Among the forecasts: teachers unions predicted that schools would close in large numbers without additional federal spending; Public, private, and homeschool operations won’t return to normal anytime soon; and lastly, that learning pods are here to stay. Butcher digs into what actually happened to schools over the last year, and he has a new prediction for 2021-2022: Parents will not wait to make choices about their child’s learning. You can read more about it here.

How We Can Save America’s Classrooms from Radicalism

Parents across America are rising up in alarm over radical curriculum that is being taught in the classroom. New programs like the California-based “Equitable Math” call for “critical approaches to dismantling white supremacy in math classrooms,” while de-emphasizing the importance of actual arithmetic literacy.

Incredibly, the media and other Critical Race Theory (CRT) apologists have rather shamelessly tried to tell parents that CRT is not taught in their schools, forcing families to identify, expose, and navigate this radical content on their own.

In a new op-ed for the Orange County Register, Goldwater Institute Education Policy Director Matt Beienburg looks at the racist dogma that is being taught in California schools—and nationwide—and how the Goldwater Institute’s Academic Transparency legislation can help put a stop to it. Read Beienburg’s op-ed here.