Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

What to Know: As more parents choose to homeschool, public school bureaucrats try to stem the tide, a new report in the Washington Examiner says.

The TPPF Take: Parents are the first educators of their children, and they have the primary responsibility for this.

“The COVID-19 crisis has revealed how many school districts are putting their employees before the needs of children,” says TPPF’s Erin Davis Valdez. “Now more than ever, parents are becoming directly involved in educating their children. Many are in need of material assistance to do so, but instead of providing resources, some states are actually intervening to prevent parents from giving their own children an education.”

Ballot Fraud

What to Know: Witnesses allege that local officials have been orchestrating a ballot harvesting scheme in concert with a national campaign, according to reports. 

The TPPF Take: New TPPF research examines weaknesses in Texas’ mail-in balloting systems and offers recommendations for improvements.

“To preserve faith in our elections, mail-in ballots should be treated with the same level of protection as in-person ballots,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Due to the vulnerability at the county level, the Texas Secretary of State should have a greater role in ensuring the fairness and consistency of the mail-in ballot process and penalties for mail-in ballot fraud should be strengthened.”

Killing Businesses

What to Know: COVID-19 lockdowns have killed more than 28,000 businesses in California and Texas, a new report finds.

The TPPF Take: The RESTART Act (S. 3814) could help U.S. businesses to get back on track.

“In our analysis of the RESTART Act, we found that while it is a step in the right direction to helping Americans recover from the effects of COVID-19 and government lockdowns, the addition of a rehire provision to the legislation would go a long way towards helping to keep business operating and workers working while bringing unemployed people back to the dignity of work,” says TPPF’s Vance Ginn. “The cost of this Act could be funded by reallocating unspent CARES Act dollars which prevents adding more to the national debt.”