Federalism Works

On Thursday, Just the News posted an article about Arizona’s efforts to secure its border.

The article reports:

Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey reportedly will not comply with a Biden administration request to remove rail containers put along its southern border to fill gaps in the U.S.-Mexico wall and stop the flow of illegal migration.

The Interior Department in a letter last week asked that the double-stacked containers be removed and that no new ones be added. It also stated some are on the edge of an American Indian reservation and that the federal government either has a contract to fill the gaps or plans to do so, and that the containers are in the way of those projects.

“The unauthorized placement of those containers constitutes a violation of federal law and is a trespass against the United States,” reads the letter from the agency’s Bureau of Reclamation. “That trespass is harming federal lands and resources and impeding Reclamation’s ability to perform its mission.”

In response, Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Wednesday: “They want us to take down shipping containers and leave gaps open for who knows how long so they can put up what sounds like a chain link fence.”

The article concludes:

“Arizona has had enough,” Ducey said at the time, amid calls for the administration to stop the flow of illegal border crossings. “We can’t wait any longer.

“For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border,” the statement continued. “Time and time again we’ve stepped in to clean up their mess. Arizonans can’t wait any longer for the federal government to deliver on their delayed promises.”

It is quite possible that considering the people presently in control in Washington, states may have to take action individually to avoid the crisis of illegal immigration that has come to our southern border. The federal government is supposed to secure our borders, but when they fail, the states have no choice but to take action.

Defunding Public Schools

On Wednesday, The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey celebrated the law providing universal school vouchers passed by the Arizona legislature in June. Needless to say, the teachers’ union and parents who are unaware of what our schools are teaching are up in arms.

The article reports:

Ducey touted the signature bill he signed in July that gives all Arizona parents the ability to take state money that would go to their local public school and instead use it for private school tuition or other education costs. The governor had a ceremonial signing at a central Phoenix Christian school that already gets large benefits from the state’s tax credit donation programs and existing school voucher program. But he celebrated the new universal voucher expansion, which has been a key goal during his eight years in office. A similar law with enrollment caps that passed in 2017 was rejected by 2/3 of the state’s voters the following year, but Ducey did not stop his voucher expansion plans.

Keep in mind the political leanings of the source I am using.

The article concludes:

Lewis (Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools Arizona) and other public school advocates say vouchers take money from an already underfunded public school system, while proponents herald the program as letting parents choose the best education for their children. Lewis contends the new voucher law could take away more than the new school funding lawmakers added this year, which neared $1 billion in ongoing and one-time cash. Under the new law, an estimated 60,000 private students and about 38,000 being homeschooled would immediately be eligible to take up to $7,000 per year. Some of this currently get vouchers and many already get money from groups like School Tuition Organizations that funnel tax credits to students. All 1.1 million students who attend traditional district and charter schools would also qualify to leave their public schools and get money to go to private schools. About a third already qualify, but only about 12,000 students statewide now use the system.

There is no reason the public schools shouldn’t compete on an even playing field. For too long they have been top heavy and inefficient–not to mention the garbage they are teaching our children. Academic achievement has declined in recent years in America, and I believe that healthy competition will bring it back. If the public schools start actually teaching our children reading, writing, and arithmetic, the students may return. Until that happens, parents should not be forced to put their children in failing schools. Make public schools earn their students.