The School of Arts and Sciences took third graders to Trader Joe's this year, and many students and parents were surprised at how engaging and interesting this simple, inexpensive field trip was. It allowed exploration of nutrition, business management, advertisement and budgeting. Creative field trips like these are affordable and expand kids' practical understanding of work and their cities.
Frequent demands that the government should do something (about so many things!) are too often based on wishful thinking—the thought that if government is given the power to act, it will do what the critics want. But giving the government power to do something too often means giving the elite more power to use the system for their benefit. I don’t claim that my book has all the answers; but problems cannot be effectively addressed without understanding their causes. My book explains why cronyism and favoritism toward special interests has become increasingly common.
The Tax Foundation ranks Florida 34th lowest in overall state and local tax burden. Florida is ranked number one in the country for state fiscal health by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Florida’s prospects for continuing this track record of economic growth are good as long as state and local policymakers stay the course and remain fiscally responsible.
My time in the Tallahassee Mayoral Fellowship Program, has exposed me to the influence that local governments have in their communities, as well as the challenges that they face every day. I look forward to having more valuable experiences in local government through the Fellowship Program, in which I will be able to grow and learn.
In general, the desire to make money would prevent businesses such as marijuana dispensaries from locating near schools or in residential neighborhoods, and this would occur even without zoning. So while it’s understandable that many Massachusetts residents are concerned, they’re spending time and energy trying to prevent something that’s unlikely to occur in the first place.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity Social Science Scholars afforded me, and the chance to work with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission this past summer. I was given opportunities to do work that I truly loved, and was given public recognition for it. I found a new passion—Malaysian religious freedom—and am on the cusp of being a major player in the international religious freedom industry.
If the CRA isn’t supposed to pick winners and losers, its decline of Proof’s funding request was the right decision. For the sake of consistency, the CRA should stop giving grants to any business for any purpose. Instead, it should focus on investments that provide widespread benefits. And if it can’t do that, then perhaps it’s not needed at all.
For many Tallahassee citizens, the current plan seems well-intentioned but vague. Putting proverbial “meat on the bones” on the current sketch would go a long way toward assuring that the Children’s Services Council is not just another way to raises taxes to fund more inefficient and ineffective government programs.
I was in Brazil for just over two months, and spent most of the time visiting different quilombos in the region. Whenever Dr. Rocha was not sending me out into the field, I was shut away in her home library for hours on end, reading and unlearning much of what I had thought about race in Brazil prior. Apart from my mini-ethnography, there were many takeaways from my time in Brazil, and I must offer my sincerest thanks to Social Science Scholars and my supervisors, who guided me along the way.
Proof provides a great product and it has been a good member of the Tallahassee community, but that doesn’t mean it deserves special treatment. Tallahassee should resist the urge to give Proof, or any other business, taxpayer money.
