News Miner 17
Notes on wine in grocery stores, parents as educators, Denver food trucks, and more.
Let Grocers Sell Wine
Complete Colorado published my recent column, “Let grocery stores sell wine; the case for Prop 125.” I write:
People have a right to associate by consent, free from political force. Producers of wine have a right to sell their products directly or through whatever retailers will carry them. (We can talk about Colorado’s absurd distribution laws another day.) Consumers have a right to trade with the sellers of their choice. And grocers have a right to stock their shelves with whatever other producers wish to sell them. . . .
What we see instead of serious arguments against wine in grocery stores are naked appeals to protectionism—the use of government force to harm competitors. It’s a lot easier to stay in business if you can send out swarms of officers to harass your competitors if they dare sell those products that you have special government permission to sell.
Parents Are Most Important in Education
Complete Colorado published my recent column, “It’s parents who are most important for a child’s education.” I write:
Since my family made the conscious decision to homeschool in the Fall of 2019—coincidentally, just before the pandemic—we have learned that our child can excel academically without the help of a school-based teacher. Children can do without school teachers, especially at younger ages, and often do better. To succeed academically and more broadly, generally they cannot do without involved parents (and I mean the term broadly to encompass guardians), a child’s most important teachers.
I discuss why some families are not able to homeschool and how “home” schooling families often seek outside help.
I also briefly discuss some recent test results:
Even before the pandemic, test scores showed that Colorado’s public schools failed many children. Whether we look at the 2019 or the 2022 results for English and math from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), for not a single grade did most students “meet or exceed expectations.” In other words, scores mostly went from bad to worse—and at extraordinary expense to taxpayers. Results vary widely by school, and some schools did quite well, as you can see if you pull up the state’s huge detailed spreadsheet.
Institute for Justice Defends Denver Food Trucks
Justin Pearson of the Institute for Justice wrote an op-ed for the Colorado Sun defending food trucks in Denver, which authorities recently had restricted in the name of public safety. He notes that the restrictions came after police shot into a crowd while attempting to apprehend a suspect, injuring several people.
Did the police take any responsibility for their actions?
No. Instead, they banned food trucks from operating in LoDo on weekends, even though it is undisputed that food trucks had nothing to do with the incident. In no way were food truck operators responsible for the fact that innocent people were caught in police crossfire.
Worse, removing food trucks will make LoDo less safe. Research suggests that food trucks reduce crime. This is because they are run by law-abiding citizens who can serve as “eyes and ears” on the street. . . .
This ban is simply a case of a politically powerful group using that power to scapegoat a less politically powerful group, and avoid taking accountability for their own mistakes. . . . The least the government could do is apologize and fully repeal the ban now.
Quick Takes
Denver Basic Income: Kyle Clark notes that a partly-tax-funded Denver program to provide a “basic income” has roots partly in conservative-libertarian thought such as that by Milton Friedman. Clark says the program provides money to “homeless families with children, women, and transgender people.” In general, I’m coming to think that direct cash subsidies based strictly on need are a lot better than more-convoluted, bureaucratic, and wasteful welfare programs. I do think government money should be handed out (if it is) strictly on the basis of need, not on the basis of gender, race, or any other such characteristic.
Halfway Houses: The Denver Post reports, “Of every 100 people in a halfway house [in Colorado], only two will be reincarcerated for a new crime, while 26 will fail and likely end up behind bars for technical violations and 14 for running away from a facility.” Elisabeth Epps, an attorney and soon to be a legislator, wrote, “I watched a revocation hearing recently where the person was accused of ‘introducing contraband’ into the halfway house. The contraband? A slice of pizza plus the plastic bag the pizza was in. You can’t reform such nonsense.” I don’t see why such rules can’t be reformed! I worry that the “abolitionist” Epps, by assuming the criminal justice system cannot be reformed, may miss real opportunities to help reform it.
Abortion: Congressional candidate Yadira Caraveo came out swinging hard against her anti-abortion opponent, Barb Kirkmeyer.
YIMBY: Economist Bryan Caplan came to Denver to pitch his book and cause, “Build Baby Build.”
Police Losses: The hits just keep coming. Recently a drunk driver struck and killed Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexis Hein-Nutz. The suspect fled but eventually was taken into custody. This follows the murder of Arvada police officer Dillon Vakoff. Brutally sad.