Weekly Policy Round-Up

Our new Weekly Policy Round-Up will feature the best policy analysis, studies, talking points, and proposals that we find each week at the Spooner Institute. For the first week of 2012:

• A Guide to the Presidential Candidates' Proposals to Cut Spending
  Ted DeHaven and Chris Edwards, Cato Institute
  
  
• The Case for Cuts
  Chris Edwards, Cato Institute
  
  
• Digital Textbooks Offer Students, Schools Significant Savings
  Abigail Wood, Heartland Institute

On the issue of digital textbooks, it should be noted that many states have restrictions on education spending, so that textbooks are funded from a specific pool of money. Educators in Indiana, for example, have to fight for their district or the state department of education to approve purchases that they feel to fall within the textbook category. If the material is not a traditional textbook from one of the big textbook publishers, it is either difficult to get funding or the proposal goes unfunded. Many teachers are creating their own materials, saving the taxpayers money, while they receive no extra compensation for their work. The availability of digital materials and the prospect of saving money by paying teachers to create original materials makes a new education talking point that should be pushed by libertarians running for school boards and state government offices.