Michael Hartney

Faculty @BostonCollege; Fellow @HooverInst, @ManhattanInst, @fsuigc. Author: "How Policies Make Interest Groups" (@UChicagoPress). Loyal @VanderbiltU alum.

[Bruce Lou @RealBruceLou]

Tom Steyer just won the most expensive bronze medal in history.

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

@tedcruz Menlo Park, CA!

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

The problem with solidarity is eventually you run out of other people’s union dues.

[Austin Berg @Austin__Berg]

BREAKING: Chicago Teachers Union members just rejected Stacy Davis Gates' push to hike union dues by $8.5 million. With 80% of votes counted, roughly 60% of members have voted no on the dues hike, according to the union.

This is a stunning defeat for the political leadership that put Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson into office and has huge implications for Chicago Public Schools board races in November.

Union leadership cited funding candidates in those school board races as the No. 1 reason for hiking dues, as well as covering legal fees associated with investigations from the Department of Labor and the IRS.

Here is the official announcement on the vote from Gates and VP Jackson Potter.

[Dan Roche @RochieWBZ]

So wonderful that Welles Crowther has been honored posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

To understand why - simply watch this story that Tom Rinaldi did on Welles, a true American hero!

#ForWelles #RedBandana @wbz

[Vladimir Kogan @vkoganpolisci]

Must-read by @MichaelTHartney! In all of the debate about whether Dems have vs. have not lost their advantage on education, no one has noticed how much Dem voters have come to love teachers' unions.

https://t.co/Y3B17SRNCt

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

That makes a reform reset difficult. Core dilemma facing @DFER_News Dems seeking a return to accountability and focus on outcomes:

Teachers unions are no longer just allied with the Democratic Party. For many voters, they are the party. Full piece here:
https://t.co/jEhGCGInVb

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

1/5

New polling data show one of the biggest opinion shifts in modern Democratic politics:

Democratic support for teachers unions exploded from roughly +15 net favorable in 2015 to more than +60 by 2023.

Republican views barely changed.

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

4/5

Among Dems most engaged in education politics (those voting in school board elections) support for teachers unions is now overwhelming. By 2023–24, roughly 4-in-5 held favorable views of teachers unions.

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

@mattyglesias Similar dynamics on school choice. Fewer than 1/3 white Democrats favor school vouchers whereas 2/3rd of Black Americans do! Source: 2024 YouGov CES. Also worth noting, more Black respondents supported vouchers than affirmative action in same survey.

[Reihan Salam @reihan]

It’s the year 2047. There are only 17 toddlers left in NYC, each of whom is lovingly cared for by 100,000 unionized caregivers.

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

A real banger from @ManhattanInst senior fellow Roland Fryer in @WSJopinion https://t.co/AYtx6ywf4D

[Hater Report @HaterReport]

Chet Holmgren whenever he plays Wemby

[Dale Chu @Dale_Chu]

Interesting to see a California Democrat lean this explicitly into K–12 accountability and outcomes. That’s not the modal position.

[Michael Isikoff @Isikoff]

If you’re the scion of a wealthy Maine family, get sent to fancy private schools, your Dad finances your home, pays for you and your wife to fly to Norway and picks up the tab for your fertility treatments AND your Mom is the main customer of your oyster farm, it does undermine the idea you are uniquely attuned to the experiences of the working class.

[Michael Hartney @MichaelTHartney]

Strange flex. French Laundry budgets, Taco Bell outcomes. Bon appétit!

[Governor Newsom Press Office @GovPressOffice]

Student funding in California is now a RECORD HIGH! Since Governor Newsom took office, it’s increased 66%— reaching $28,282 per student as the state makes historic investments in public education.

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

The societal trend I’m most worried about these days is also one receiving very little attention from policymakers, most of whom would rather talk about anything other than schools.

graphic via @nytimes

[Reihan Salam @reihan]

As parents with school-age children continue to shrink as a share of municipal electorates, it's not crazy to expect the politics of public education to drift even further towards interest-group capture and "joyful" symbolism.

This brings to mind land-use debates: if NIMBYism necessitates (some) state preemption, we might think of state-level charter authorizers and scholarship tax credits as a way to route around dysfunctional districts.

(Alas, not relevant to D.C.!)

[David Wakelyn @DavidWakelyn]

D-o-o economics

https://t.co/kiWzeFOhhI