by David Safier The Goldwater Institute loves to place Arizona's per pupil expenditures at around $9,000, thousands higher than the number cited in most national comparisons. That's to prove that we lavish a ridiculous amount of money on our students here in Arizona. Then it uses an apples-and-oranges comparison of its high figure with the … Read more

by David Safier From Nicholas Kristof this morning: So maybe I was wrong. I used to consider health care our greatest national shame, considering that we spend twice as much on medical care as many European nations, yet American children are twice as likely to die before the age of 5 as Czech children — and American … Read more

by David Safier Lincoln and Darwin both turned 200 a few days ago. Amazing coincidence. These two images from a post on Daily Kos were too good to pass up.                         

by David Safier Note to 2010 Democratic candidates and strategists. The election will be about schools and the children who attend them. It won't be about budgets or budget cuts. It'll be about budget cuts to schools that deprive children of the opportunity to learn. It won't be about taxes. It'll be about finding the … Read more

by David Safier A Republic article suggests that Gov. Jan might hold a special election in spring to see if people like the idea of a tax hike. The article needs a whole lot of deconstruction to decide whether the Gov really wants a tax hike to pass. If the voters get a distasteful tax … Read more

by David Safier Last year I wrote a series of posts half seriously, half facetiously suggesting we should cut all competitive sports from high schools so we can put more money in the classroom. Now I'm absolutely serious. Every superintendent and school board should have the courage to say, "We'll cut everywhere else before we … Read more