Yearly Archives: 2022

(The Center Square) – Three out of four Americans say defunding police departments has contributed to the rise in violent crime across the country, according to a new poll.

A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that 75% of surveyed Americans say that “the defunding of police departments” is “a reason that violent crime is increasing in the United States.” The survey reports that 49% said defunding police was a “major reason” for the rise in violent crime while 26% said it was a “minor reason.” Only 25% said it was “not a reason” for the spike in violent crime.

Experts have echoed the point that the defund movement leads to more violent crime, saying police officers fear a lack of support from their departments if they are involved in a fatal shooting. This leads to them avoiding more dangerous neighborhoods altogether.

The poll also found that two thirds of those surveyed believe increasing funding police would reduce crime, a key data point as lawmakers and local officials grapple with the rising violent crime rates alongside calls to “defund the police.”

The poll asked respondents whether increasing funding for police departments ​​”would decrease the rate of violent crime in the United States.” Only 22% of those surveyed said it would not while the majority said it would. The poll found 36% said it would decrease crime “a lot” while 33% said more police funding would decrease crime “some.”

President Joe Biden has distanced himself from calls to defund police, a movement that took off in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. Biden called for hiring more police officers in June of last year to help address the rising violent crime wave, which has hit new highs in cities around the country.

Biden reiterated that commitment during a visit to New York City last week, where two law enforcement officers were recently killed in Harlem.

“The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said.

That sentiment, though, has not been echoed by all of Biden’s party. U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., rebuffed Biden’s comments.

“My colleagues keep telling us to wait,” Bush said after Biden’s comments. “They keep telling us defunding the police and investing in communities won’t work. Well, their policies keep ending up with police murdering Black people. Enough patronizing. Listen to the movements that are telling you how to save lives.”

Bush told Axios Tuesday she would not back down from the defund police message.

"I always tell [fellow Democrats], 'If you all had fixed this before I got here, I wouldn’t have to say these things,'" she said.

Republicans have blasted Democrats for the defund message, pointing to the crime wave and advocating for bolstering police departments to address it.

“The Biden Administration is trying to blame rising crime on everything except the true causes,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., who pointed to the defunding push, immigration policy, and other issues. “[Democratic] policies that are enabling criminals and hurting police."

(The Center Square) – Reports of a new Biden administration grant program has drawn widespread criticism for its efforts to reduce the spread of disease by providing crack pipes at taxpayer expense.

The application window for the $30 million “harm reduction” program grant closed Monday. The three-year grant program was funded through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill pushed through by Democrats in March of last year. It specifically outlines syringes and “safe smoking kits/supplies” as an approved use of federal funds.

“The purpose of the program is to support community-based overdose prevention programs, syringe services programs, and other harm reduction services,” the grant said. “Funding will be used to enhance overdose and other types of prevention activities to help control the spread of infectious diseases and the consequences of such diseases for individuals with, or at risk of developing substance use disorders (SUD)...”

A spokesman from the Department of Health and Human Services told the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the story, that the kits in question will include smoking “any illicit substance” such as crystal methamphetamine or crack cocaine.

Some cities have experimented with distributing smoking kits, but federal distribution of the illicit smoking devices are a new, and controversial, step.

The program is designed to prevent the spread of certain diseases when users share crack pipes, especially when those pipes are cracked are broken.

“Smoking crack can lead to open sores, burns or cuts on the lips, which can transfer blood to a crack pipe,” said the North Carolina Hard Reduction Coalition. “If the pipe is shared, even a speck of infected blood can transmit hepatitis C. People who smoke crack, like everyone else, like to have sex. When you smoke crack it often decreases your inhibitions, and deceases condom negotiation skills, which can increase exposure to HIV, STIs and Hepatitis.”

The grant also says its work aligns with “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

Republicans pushed back hard on the program, calling it a misuse of taxpayer funds.

“Biden is sending free meth and crack pipes to minority communities in the name of ‘racial equity,’” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. “There is no end in sight for this lunacy.”

Other critics argued it flew in the face of Biden’s recent pledge to be more strict on the rise of crime nationwide.

“Last week, Biden talked about being tough on crime,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. “This week, the Biden Admin announced funds for crack pipe distribution to ‘advance racial equity.’”

The grant also allows federal funds to be use to purchase “safe sex kits, including PrEP resources and condoms.”

The plan was mocked online.

“I never in my life thought I would have to say this, but the proper role of government is not to fund the distribution of crack pipes,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., wrote on Twitter.

(The Center Square) – A county government in southeast Michigan is moving forward with plans to build a sports complex with federal COVID-19 relief money that could cost up to $80 million. Some residents are pushing back.

A rural county in Utah spent $321,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money to get snow to the Buckskin Hills Ski and Snow Tubing Hill. An auditor's report later flagged some of the spending.

In Tennessee, Shelby County Schools spent $25 million on air purifiers from Global Plasma Solutions, but a lawsuit maintains the purifiers are ineffective.

These are just a few of the examples of how local governments spent billions of dollars in federal taxpayer money provided by Congress to stem the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of government watchdog OpenTheBooks.com, said the amount of federal money has municipalities struggling to spend it.

"When Congress throws so much money at the cities that they don't even know how to spend it, we have a problem," Andrzejewski told The Center Square.

Local governments across the country that are flush with federal tax dollars in the wake of pandemic relief are considering a wide range of projects, some of which could saddle taxpayers with operational costs for years to come and others that have raised concerns about community priorities.

Lenawee County in southeast Michigan is moving forward with plans to build a sports complex that could cost up to $80 million. Dubbed Project Phoenix, local leaders hope the project will help bring in out-of-town travel sports teams and boost the local economy with money and jobs. But a consultant's report lists a number of challenges for the Lenawee County project, including the possibility that the facility will operate at a financial loss each year if it doesn't secure enough commercial tenants. The report also noted the proposed facility could face "strong competition" from existing sports facilities in the region and benefits could be capped by the limited number of hotels in the area. The report further noted that "several peer facilities operate at a deficit" and "facilities of this type are often built for the economic impacts they can generate to the surrounding area."

Lenawee County officials estimate the facility will create 200 jobs and generate $15.2 million in total economic activity in the area, based on the report from Crossroads Consulting. Crossroads Consulting noted the report "does not account for potential short- or long-term implications resulting from COVID-19." The pandemic has hit the travel and tourism industries especially hard.

Kevon Martis, the zoning administrator in Deerfield Township who spoke about the project as a county resident, raised concerns about the project and its location.

"My No. 1 concern was how did this make it to the top of the county's priority list?" he said. "It's not in the middle of the county and the cost is twice the annual budget for the county government."

Lenawee County Administrator Martin Marshall didn't respond to multiple requests from The Center Square to discuss the project. Deputy Administrator Kim Murphy also didn't respond to a request for an interview. Lenawee County Board Chairman David Stimpson also did not respond to a request for comment.

Other projects across the country got funding in the race to meet federal spending deadlines.

Uintah County, in Utah, spent $321,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money to get snow to the Buckskin Hills Ski and Snow Tubing Hill. An auditor's report later flagged some of the spending. The report found the county bought six snow guns and associated parts for the Buckskin Hills Ski & Snow Tubing Hill, totaling $146,862, including $3,000 in shipping costs. Each individual snow gun cost $19,999, just below the county's $20,000 threshold for a sealed bidding process. While all five snow guns were purchased at once, the county split the invoice up to stay below the bidding threshold.

"The County circumvented established purchasing policy by splitting an invoice, ignoring open bid requirements, awarding contracts outside public meetings, and later retroactively modifying its purchasing policy," according to the independent audit. "At the time, the County purchasing policy required that purchases exceeding $20,000 go through a sealed bidding process and be awarded in a public meeting."

In Tennessee, Shelby County Schools spent $25 million on air purifiers from Global Plasma Solutions. A lawsuit has been filed over the effectiveness of the purifiers, but Shelby County spent $1 million on installation even after the Maryland and Delaware lawsuits.

In some cases, questions about local COVID-19 spending have led to federal criminal charges.

U.S. prosecutors charged Michael DiMassa, 30, of West Haven, Connecticut, with defrauding the city of West Haven of more than $600,000. Prosecutors said DiMassa, a city employee and state lawmaker at the time, created a company called Compass Investment Group that fraudulently billed the city of West Haven and its “COVID-19 Grant Department” for consulting services purportedly that were not performed. Prosecutors allege DiMassa made cash withdrawals from the Compass Investment Group LLC bank account. Some of those withdrawls were made shortly before or after he was recorded buying chips at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Others have left some taxpayers and officials scratching their heads.

In Flint, Michigan, Flint Public School officials authorized a $22,500 COVID-19 bonus for staff members using federal money intended “to safely reopen” schools just before the district in January shifted to online learning indefinitely citing COVID-19 concerns. The move put more than 3,500 students back into virtual learning, despite poor past results from remote learning and at least $99 million of federal money the U.S. Department of Education expressly designated “to reopen K-12 schools safely.”

Michigan state Rep. and House Education Committee Chair Pamela Hornberger, R-Chesterfield Township, called on Flint schools to offer in-person school, noting that proximate private and public schools are open in-person.

“If you got a $20,000 bonus, why wouldn’t you return to the classroom?” Hornberger said.

The Flint schools remained closed for about three weeks before reopening on Monday.

"While people of good will can debate how the money was spent, but the fact is that all of it was borrowed against our national debt – which is now $30 trillion and growing," Andrzejewski said.

(The Center Square) – The plan to require high school students in Wisconsin learn about money and how to manage it in order to graduate from high school is running into opposition from the state’s education leaders.

The Department of Public Instruction is opposition to AB 899, which would require all high schools in the state to teach financial literacy.

“We need to find a way to bring our education into the 21st Century, and teach our students stuff they need to learn to be successful in our economy,” Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake, explained to The Center Square on Tuesday.

DPI is open to teaching financial literacy, but has concerns about making it a graduation requirement.

Dallman said he is not really surprised that DPI and other education bureaucrats are opposed to his plan.

“School districts often complain about the money they don’t have, or how funding has decreased,” Dallman said. “But right now with all of the federal funds they have, they are sitting on piles and piles of cash.”

Dallman said there are also outside groups that will partner with local schools. He said Next Gen Personal Finance is already working with Milwaukee Public Schools to teach financial literacy. Next Gen pays for the curriculum and training for MPS teachers to take the class.

Many schools in Wisconsin already teach personal finance. Dallman wants to make it a required class worth one class credit.

Wisconsin requires 15 class credits for high schoolers to graduate. That includes four English or language arts credits, three math, three science, and three social studies credits, plus one-and-half physical education credits, and a half-credit in health.

“We want to listen to the rising pressure from parents who say we need to be teaching our kids some actual life lessons, and teaching them to be able to take responsibility over what they are doing so they don’t have to depend on the government when they grow-up.”

The Assembly Committee on Education held a hearing on Dallman’s plan on Tuesday. He’s not sure when it could come-up for a vote in the full Assembly.

(The Center Square) – It’s the latest snapshot of just how many parents in Wisconsin want to explore educational options for their kids.

Tuesday was the first day for parents to enroll in the state’s Private School Choice Program. By midday, the state’s website crashed because of a flood of applications.

“Due to high volume, the system is temporarily unavailable,” read a note at the Department of Public Instruction’s website.

Jim Bender with School Choice Wisconsin is not surprised.

“We know from talking to schools that interest in the program is very high. Many new parents are seeking options,” Bender said.

Bender said it won't be known just how many more parents will opt their kids out of traditional public schools until the fall.

But the trend is that more parents will make a choice.

Enrollment figures from last year showed more students enrolled in Wisconsin’s four school choice programs.

While Tuesday brought a flood of parents to Wisconsin’s private school enrollment, next week could see even more parents apply for the state’s Public School Open Enrollment, which begins next week.

Bender said parents shouldn’t have to wait, either for enrollment periods or overwhelmed websites, to improve their child’s education.

“Open enrollment periods for both public and private schools are an outdated method for connecting parents with schools. Over the last two years, parents have looked for education solutions – but in real time,” Bender explained. “Having to wait to apply, and then even longer to enroll, doesn’t work anymore.”

The interest in school choice comes after another year when public schools in the state saw mixed reactions to the coronavirus, and saw a slide in test scores.

The enrollment periods come after former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson told a crowd at a school choice event in Green Bay last week that school choice in the state needs to be expanded.

“Why should there be restrictions on people having choice?” Thompson asked. “Why should we not have everybody have choice?”

(The Center Square) – The cost of living is skyrocketing in certain “migration destination” cities where those fleeing mostly blue states are landing, according to a newly released report.

Redfin released the analysis, which shows that cities like Atlanta, Phoenix and Tampa have seen higher rates of inflation than the country overall. According to the report, those increases are “double the inflation rates in San Francisco and New York, places people are moving away from.”

“Migration into those places is one reason for rapidly rising prices of consumer goods and services,” Redfin said. “Because of high inflation, including rising home prices, the financial advantage of living in what are now relatively affordable places is likely to diminish.”

Americans have moved in droves, particularly from states like Illinois, New York and California, to other states. Many of those migrants are settling in the same cities and drastically affecting the economies there.

“Atlanta, the 10th most popular migration destination in the fourth quarter, saw prices of goods and services increase by 8.9% year over year during the same period, the highest inflation rate of all the metros included in this analysis,” Redfin reports.

Another city, Phoenix, saw an 8.4% price increase in the fourth quarter of 2021, the second highest inflation increase and the second highest number of new arrivals from other states, according to the report.

“In Tampa – the fifth most popular destination – prices rose 8% year over year, the third highest inflation rate,” Redfin reports. “On the flip side, San Francisco, the number-one place Americans moved away from during the fourth quarter, had the lowest inflation rate (4%). New York, which had the second-lowest inflation rate (4.6%), ranked number three on the list of places people are leaving, and Los Angeles – number two on the list of places people are leaving – had the seventh-lowest inflation rate (6%).”

Inflation has become a major concern for Americans after a steady stream of data showing prices of consumer goods and services are rising at the highest level in decades. These factors have only added to Americans’ pessimism on inflation.

Gallup released a poll this month showing that 79% of surveyed Americans “predict inflation will go up." The poll also found that 50% of respondents expect inflation will go up "a lot." According to Gallup, those are the most pessimistic figures on inflation ever recorded by the pollster.

“In the past, Americans have always been more likely to say inflation will increase rather than decrease, but the current expectation is higher than usual – in fact, it is the highest Gallup has measured in its trend,” Gallup said. “The prior high was 76% in September 2005. In recent years, from 2007 through 2020, roughly six in 10 Americans have expected inflation to increase.”

Redfin compiled its report by looking at metro areas where inflation data is available along with migration data.

Home prices have been a major source of inflation in those cities, due in part to the large difference between home prices in the cities where migrants are leaving, compared to the substantially lower prices in the cities where migrants are settling.

“For instance, Atlanta home prices were up 22.8% year over year in December, compared with a 10.3% increase in San Francisco,” Redfin said.

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden’s commitment to only nominate a a new Supreme Court justice who is a Black female does not have broad support, a newly released poll suggests.

The ABC/Ipsos poll found that 76% of surveyed Americans say Biden should consider "all possible nominees" to fill Breyer’s seat while 23% say Biden should “consider only nominees who are Black women, as he has pledged to do.”

Biden promised several times during the campaign to nominate a Black female justice, saying he is “looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court.”

“Number one, I am committed that if I'm elected president and have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I'll appoint the first Black woman to the courts,” Biden said in March 2020. "It's required that they have representation now. It's long overdue."

Analysts have circulated several names as potential replacements for Breyer, including D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and South Carolina District Judge J. Michelle Childs.

Republicans have called on Biden to nominate a centrist judge. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, echoed the sentiments of the ABC poll and blasted Biden for narrowing his choice to only a Black woman.

“Black women are, what, 6% of the U.S. population?” Cruz said on “The Verdict,” his podcast.

A recent Rasmussen poll also found the majority of Americans oppose choosing justices by race and gender, though most Americans think Biden will do so anyway.

“A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 59% of Likely U.S. voters expect Biden to keep his promise by nominating a black woman to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer,” Rasmussen said. “Only 19% think Biden will break his campaign promise, while 21% are not sure.”

(The Center Square) – The latest school choice plan in Wisconsin would break up Milwaukee’s public schools.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, on Friday introduced the plan.

“Wisconsin was the first state to give parents more say in their children’s education and future. We have an opportunity to build on our reputation and reclaim our status as a national model for reforming K-12 education,” Darling said in a statement.

Her proposal would split Milwaukee Public Schools into four to eight smaller districts. Parents would then have a choice as to which school they want their kids to attend.

Darling’s plan also includes an expansion for school vouchers and other choice programs in the state.

“I’m proud of how School Choice empowers parents and gives kids a chance to succeed no matter where they live,” Darling added.

School leaders in Milwaukee say the idea is a non-starter.

Milwaukee School Board President Bob Peterson told the Journal Sentinel that says Republicans have proposed doing away with Milwaukee schools before.

“It’s reminiscent of the previous failed attempts to take over the Milwaukee Public Schools and it’s destined to be a losing proposition,” Peterson said.

State Superintendent Jill Underly said the plan from Republicans is "divisive."

But CJ Szafir, president of the Institute for Reforming Government, said Darling’s idea is worth debating.

“Wisconsin's K-12 education system is broken. Taxpayers spend billions every year on a public school system that gives more power to bureaucrats than to parents. It is no surprise that roughly two out of every three fourth graders in Wisconsin are not proficient in reading, and Wisconsin ranks last in the country for reading proficiency for black students,” Szafir said Friday.

“The visionary K-12 education reform package would help transform Wisconsin education so that all students have the opportunity for a brighter future. By expanding school choice options, holding school districts accountable for unnecessarily closing schools over the pandemic, and finally breaking up the failed Milwaukee Public School district, these lawmakers are putting children and parents ahead of bureaucracy.”