Mark ‘Jay’ Williams Economics Fellow While educators have been working to bring about technology in the classroom through the use of devices such as smart boards and interactive learning, the assessment of all that learning is often put into the same paper-based grade-books that were used when most...

by Jerry Cantrell President Every year, New Jerseyans get to vote directly on one and only one spending plan — their local school budget. Research developed by the Common Sense Institute of New Jersey details how voters are confused, promised too much and outright misled before they walk into the voting...

by Jerry Cantrell President The return of 45,000 unionized workers to Verizon is welcome news to the customers, company and families of the striking employees. However, this reprieve, with or without a bargaining agreement, leaves all parties where they were before: trapped in a system better suited...

Paul V. Tyahla Executive Director Summer is the peak moving season in the United States, and families across the nation are spending this month cleaning up, packing up, and setting up in their new homes. People move for reasons as varied as job opportunities, housing availability, love interests and...

Paul V. Tyahla Executive Director New Jersey has an unfortunate tradition of failing to address long-term public policy issues before they become full blown crises. Our public employee pension and benefit obligations and property taxes are prime examples. Federal health care reform will provide another...

by Mark ‘Jay’ Williams When the Star-Ledger reported that MTV party girl Snooki was paid $32,000 to speak at Rutgers University, many students and their parents were outraged that their hard-earned money would end up funding the “Jersey Shore” star’s spray tans. Regrettably, the mainstream...

This year’s Academy Awards drew of 37.6 million viewers. Whether or not Americans came away feeling their favorite movie won, or that their favorite celebrity looked fabulous, it is doubtful anyone turned off their television and thought, “New Jersey’s workers should help pay these people’s tax...