There has been much talk lately in Washington and in Jackson about raising the minimum wage for hourly employees. It's one thing for governments to require a minimum wage for government employees. But it's quite another for governments to tell private businesses how much they can pay their own, private employees. (more…)

This fiscal year, the state of Mississippi will spend about 14.3 billion dollars. That's about $19,000 per family of four. The number you'll hear about most is $4 billion, but that's only what's known as the General Fund. There's another $4 billion that comes from gasoline taxes, fees, and other funds collected in the state. Then there's about $6 billion that will come from the federal government for state programs, not counting the billions spent on hurricane recovery and rebuilding. (more…)

State Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds' plan to restructure public schools includes taxpayer-funded pre-Kindergarten, improving the quantity and quality of teachers and administrators, and increasing the rigor of the curriculum. (more…)

As you consider the death penalty, it's important to make a distinction between the role of an individual and the role of government. If someone murdered your child, should you forgive them or should you fight to have them prosecuted? The answer is: both. The Bible commands us as individuals to forgive those who harm us. But as members of society, we're called to uphold standards and to protect others from harm to the extent we can. This is the first role of government, and government is given certain authority that individuals don't have.

For instance, when someone commits a crime, we as individuals do not have the authority to lock them up for a long period of time, or condemn them to death; in fact, it would be a crime for us to do so. But if we were members of a jury, we would not only have the authority but the responsibility to send them to prison - or to death, if that's what the law calls for. So, it's entirely consistent to forgive one who harms you and at the same time work to see that they are punished by the government.

If we want a just society, we must understand the distinctions in the roles we are called to fill.

A new organization is being created to inform people of Mississippi whether their legislators are voting to quote "fully fund education." In announcing this group, its founders implied that the only measure of whether a legislator supports education is if they vote to fund the current system of public schools, regardless of how the money is actually spent. They seem to be for more spending, even if it doesn't produce better results. (more…)

Did you know that you are paying for the Spanish-American War? That's right, every month on your phone bill, you are paying a tax that was specifically created to pay for the war that began and ended in 1898. That year, Congress imposed a so-called "temporary" tax of one cent per telephone call to help pay for our expenses in the war. By 1990, that once cent per call had increased to three percent of your phone bill. (more…)

Public school spending in Mississippi increased by more than a billion dollars from 1996 to 2005. But test scores just released by the U.S. Department of Education show that science scores over that same period of time have not changed at all in Mississippi. (more…)

Competition is the essential element in improving the price and quality of goods and services. It's a curious thing to me how many business leaders believe this principle until the topic turns to education. For some reason, they treat education as if it were immune to the benefits of competition. They defend the current system rather than embracing an approach that would allow parents to choose schools that best meet their children's needs. (more…)

In the past 15 years, the number of charter schools in the United States has grown from fewer than ten to more than 3,600, and the number of students attending these schools has gone from hundreds to more than a million. (more…)