College loan forgiveness, costlier cookouts, exploding debt Celebrating 35 years of advancing freedom in Wisconsin Viewpoint: Religious liberty in education reduces, not produces, strife Milwaukee’s school choice program shows that letting parents choose a moral ecology is how differing beliefs can coexist By Patrick McIlheran Remember the recent Lutherans-vs.-Catholics riots in Milwaukee? Mobs of men with clubs, smashed windows, people not daring to cross into the other tribe’s territory? The shelling and rockets? Of course you don’t, because it never happened. Yet something like it seemed to haunt a dissenting U. S. Supreme Court justice last week. Stephen Breyer suggested, on the losing side of a school choice case, that we should trade away religious liberty to avoid religious strife.  Breyer was dissenting in Carson v. Makin, in which a 6-3 majority ruled in favor of parents’ power to choose a school for their children. Maine guarantees an education for all, but in towns that can’t afford a high school, it lets parents take state aid to a private school of their choice. For decades, however, it has barred parents from choosing religious schools. The state said it cannot accept that some parents might use the money for an education that mentions God. Chief Justice John Roberts reminded Maine that the Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that states need not give a particular public benefit, but when they do, they can’t exclude religious institutions. “There is nothing neutral about Maine’s program,” he wrote. “The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion.” Read more. Podcast: Forgiving Student Loan Debt: Who wins and who loses? Student debt forgiveness schemes are both inefficient and unfair policies for helping low-income families. Concordia University Wisconsin economics professor Scott Niederjohn discusses his latest analysis of who wins and who loses if President Biden erases some or all of these college loan obligations. Listen to the podcast. Weekly Survey: Does state funding of religious schools contribute to religious strife? Answer below! Yes No Last Week's Results Indepdendence Day “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” – The Declaration of Independence === “The freedom of thought and action we Americans enjoy today seems as natural as the air we breathe. But there is a danger we may take this freedom for granted. We must never forget it was bought for us at a great price. The brave and resourceful Americans whose sacrifices gained our Independence and preserved it for more than 200 years against formidable foes have set an example of unflinching loyalty to the ideal of liberty and justice for all.” – Ronald Reagan Inflation is no Picnic Source: American Farm Bureau Federation And Wisconsinites are feeling the pinch. The latest Marquette University Law School Poll found that Inflation is the issue voters say they are most concerned about. A full 75% of respondents listed it as their top concern. We should note that in the Spring 2021 issue of Diggings, the Badger Institute talked to economists who predicted that inflation would result from the federal spending spree and monetary policies at the time. Dale Knapp, director of Forward Analytics, told us over a year ago: “I am definitely worried about the long-term consequences of the various stimulus bills. Inflation is one of them but also the debt this is passing on to our children.” Economist Mark Schug agreed, saying that federal spending paired with low-interest monetary policies were an explosive combination that would “add even more fuel to the inflationary fire.” On the Air WISN’s Jay Weber discusses Badger Institute President Mike Nichols’ recent Viewpoint on the role of Act 10 in the demise of the teachers’ union cash cow WEA Trust. Listen here. (Segment begins around 1:14:00) At a Glance From March 2020 to June 2022, a span of just 27 months, the federal government added $7 trillion to the national debt as a result of a massive spending spree. What We're Reading Pelican Institute: Louisiana Occupational Licensing Reforms Signed Into Law Institute for Family Studies: ‘Life Without Father’: Less College, Less Work, and More Prison for Young Men Growing Up Without Their Biological Father Ian Rowe: A Symbolic, Feel-Good 'Racial Reckoning' Has Replaced Actually Helping Black Kids Commentary: Reining in the Bureaucrats David Mastio: USA Today demoted me for a tweet — because its woke newsrooms are out of touch with readers Invest in the Badger Institute For 35 years, the Badger Institute, formerly known as the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI), has been at the forefront of the fight for school choice, right to work, welfare reform, tax restructuring, limited government, civil society and so much more. If you appreciate the Institute’s legacy and want to support free markets, opportunity and prosperity, please consider donating $35, $350 or $3,500 today. 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