Understanding Banning Books in Schools and Public Libraries
Introduction Book banning occurs when an entity like a school, library, or government takes action to remove, censor, or block access to a book due to objections to its content. Throughout history, in the United States, book banning has been employed by such institutions as a means to prevent the spread of information that contradicts […]
Understanding the Critical Race Theory Debate
Critical race theory began as a legal concept that explained how policies can be used to enforce a system that benefits white individuals while ignoring minorities and people placed at an economic disadvantage, focusing on systemic effects of racism. In public K-12 education, critical race theory can be defined as a method of teaching that […]
Pros and Cons of Subsidizing Electric Vehicles
Introduction At both the federal and state level, governments in the United States are using policy to increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs) over gas-powered cars. Some of these policies are subsidies in the form of tax credits for those who purchase EVs, while others take the form of mandates without an economic incentive. […]
Pros and Cons of Right-to-work Laws
Introduction Right-to-work laws are a set of regulations at the state level in the United States that allow workers to choose whether or not they want to pay labor dues as a condition of employment if their workplace is unionized. These laws protect workers’ rights from being obligated to pay dues to a labor union […]
Pros and Cons of Biden’s National Cybersecurity Strategy
Background Cyber attacks during the Biden-Harris administration pushed cybersecurity to the forefront of domestic policy. In 2021, Colonial Pipeline, a large oil pipeline that transports almost half of all fuel used on the East Coast, suffered a ransomware incident from the hacking group Darkside. After stealing 100 gigabytes of data and threatening to release it, […]
Food Security and Local Food Production
Background Generally, local food production refers to systems in which food is produced, distributed, and consumed within the same area. However, there is debate within the local food movement about this definition. For example, some call for local food systems to expand distribution—to sell food outside of the boundaries of the local community—while others fear […]
Pros and Cons of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates the collection, distribution, and use of consumer credit information. The FCRA defines the rights and obligations related to consumer reporting data, aiming to create a dependable and precise exchange of information that benefits lenders, landlords, and employers. It achieves this by setting up […]
Understanding the ACA in Chronic Care Debate
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act or “ACA” for short, is a healthcare reform law that was unveiled in March 2010. The primary objective of the ACA is to increase access to health insurance for a larger number of U.S. citizens. Because of this, the ACA mandates […]
Understanding the TikTok Personal Device Ban Debate
The TikTok ban debate revolves around the popular video-sharing application’s owner ByteDance. While TikTok gained popularity among U.S. users, the government banned the application on federal devices, as well as government-issued devices in some states, and a nationwide TikTok ban for non-government users is potentially imminent. What is TikTok? TikTok is a social media platform […]
Understanding the School Voucher Debate
One component of the school choice movement is the implementation of school vouchers, which allow for the use of education tax dollars for tuition at private schools. Policies including K-12 tuition tax credits and educational savings accounts (ESAs) are examples of school vouchers. School voucher programs have varied across states, and several states have added, […]