Author Archives: matt ohern

Energy Facts & Figures for Dummies Part X

(This is part X of this series on energy. We hope it helps the reader better understand the issues facing our country and our state as we endeavor to tackle the problem of providing our citizens and our businesses with … Continue reading

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Cigarette Taxes Do Not Usually Produce Projected Income

Taxes are a funny thing.  They can’t be relied on to produce the amount of money governments hope to collect from those who pay.  Over and over again, it has become reality that in most cases the more government taxes … Continue reading

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Workforce training that focuses on unfilled jobs

The Martinsville area, a manufacturinging powerhouse as recently as the 1980s, has become the poster child for Virginia’s rust belt. Unemployment hit 20% during the bottom of the last recession, and still lingers at 6.8%. Ironically, the Martinsville-Henry County area simultaneously … Continue reading

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Virginia shouldn’t waste its unique opportunity to overhaul its school accountability system

By Michael J. Petrilli and Brandon L. Wright Virginia needs to improve its accountability system for K–12 education. A relic of the No Child Left Behind era, it has a critical flaw: It encourages schools to narrowly focus on the … Continue reading

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Now is the time for immigration deal

With the election over and Republicans keeping control of Congress while also securing the White House, our nation has an opportunity to finally fix our broken immigration system, secure our borders, and deal with those living in the United States … Continue reading

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