Backgrounder posted September 1, 2010 by James Sherk
The New Face of the Union Movement: Government Employees
Abstract: Unions have been a familiar part of American working life for more than 70 years. Less familiar is the state of the union movement today: More union members now work for the government than for private employers. The above-market salaries and benefits that government employees receive are paid for by taxpayers. So, the union movement that began as a campaign to…
Backgrounder posted May 14, 2008 by Dan Lips, Evan Feinberg
Improving Education in the Nation's Capital: Expanding School Choice
The District of Columbia is home to one of the nation's most troubled public school systems. The District spends $14,400 for every child in public school—well above the national average and more than any of the 50 states.[1] The 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported that Washington, D.C.'s fourth and eighth graders scored lower than any other…
Backgrounder posted August 3, 1990 by Michael J. McLaughlin
High School Dropouts: How Much of a Crisis?
Introduction
In his first State of the Union Address, George Bush this
January set six goals to strengthen American education. One of them
is to reduce the national high school dropout rate to 10 percent by
the end of the decade. Currently, according to Bush, the rate is 25
percent. This high rate, it is said, saddles the United States with
an undereducated…