‘Arizona’s conservatives brought this political nightmare on themselves’
Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post
Republicans are “inflicting untold political damage” on their party by “leaving abortion rights in the hands of state supreme courts,” says Ruth Marcus. After having “carefully remolded” many of these courts into conservative juggernauts, their success is backfiring with out-of-touch rulings. A prime example is this week’s Arizona Supreme Court decision reinstating an 1864 abortion law outlawing abortion except to save the mother’s life — a law passed before Arizona was a state, and before women could vote.
‘Why we should make school-board elections more political’
Eric Bledsoe at National Review
Making school board elections political will help reverse public schools’ decline, says Eric Bledsoe. The tradition of making these votes nonpartisan and holding them in low-turnout “off-cycle” elections “favors the most organized groups,” like teacher unions that are “notorious for supporting lower standards for students,” higher staff pay and looser moral policies. It might seem counterintuitive, but incorporating schools into the “political process will help depoliticize — and ultimately improve — the education that most students receive.”
‘When should I retire? It may be much later in life than you think.’
Will Johnson in USA Today
“Suddenly, 65 no longer seems like the end point for work,” says Will Johnson. Vanishing pensions and lengthening life spans are changing Americans’ views on retirement. Most people still envision a “clean break” in their “twilight years.” But an increasing number want to keep going, part time or full time. That’s good for their companies. “Older workers take a wealth of experience with them when they walk out the door, so retaining them is a plus.”
‘Affordable housing is the solution to homelessness, not criminalization’
Margot Kushel and Gregg Colburn in The Hill
Policy makers too often choose the most immediate response to homelessness, which is to criminalize it, say Margot Kushel and Gregg Colburn. The U.S. Supreme Court this month hears arguments on “whether a local government can make it a crime to live outside when adequate shelter is not available.” But cracking down on people with nowhere to go doesn’t help. “Homelessness is solvable” if we focus on the “obvious” strategy of “providing subsidized housing with services to people experiencing homelessness.”