Archives March 2020

COVID-19 continues to dominate the conversation as Norm Leahy, columnist for The Washington Post, joins J.R. to discuss Virginia impacts. Topics include closing schools for the remainder of the year, Liberty University reopening, the mixed messages between state and federal government, herd immunity v. quarantine, the potential for “shelter in place” rule in Virginia, and boldly spending to prop up the economy.

For the interview, J.R. is joined by Shaun Flanagan – Director, Center for Metrics for the Legatum Institute. In the show, Flanagan explains why statistics matter, the purpose of the Legatum Institute, why a think-tank in England is looking at global and U.S. prosperity, what constitutes their prosperity index – especially their “Pillars of Prosperity”, the regional differences between the states, and the performance of Virginia.

Virginia, home of the “Virginia Declaration of Rights”, today ranks 30^th among the states in personal freedom. And, even though CNBC ranks the state 1^st for business, Legatum found that we are 30^th in economic quality. Flanagan helps us understand what exactly these scores mean.

We also explore recent legislation passed by the General Assembly, especially the budget that increases state spending by 20%, more mandates, a higher minimum wage, and higher taxes. In general, he helps un understand the effect of such policies on the pillars of prosperity.

We also look at the potential impact of COVID-19 on scores both at the Global and U.S. level.

Links of note:

• Shaun Flanagan, Director, Centre of Metrics, Legatum Institute
• U.S Prosperity Index
• Liberty University welcomes students back to campus despite coronavirus outbreak (Washington Post)
• Life in Virginia probably won’t return to normal for 2 or 3 months, Northam says (Virginian-Pilot)
• Northam orders sweeping new restrictions on life in Virginia, says the state is at ‘war’ with coronavirus (Virginian-Pilot)
• Truckers working overtime, pleading with public to stop stockpiling (WVEC-13)
• GOP candidate sues Virginia election officials, says coronavirus thwarted efforts to get ballot signatures (Virginia Mercury)
• Anyone can vote by mail in May city elections because of coronavirus outbreak, state says (Virginian-Pilot)

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Skip to 20:30 in the player for the interview with Shaun Flanagan

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In Episode 73, Norm Leahy, local columnist for The Washington Post, and J.R. discuss the local impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), as well as a call for a special session of the General Assembly by State Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment. From the Norment press release calling for the session:

Norment is requesting that a revenue reforecast be provided to the General Assembly. Additionally, Norment calls for consideration of legislation limiting the liability of employers with employees who have been exposed to the Coronavirus and continue to work without the employers’ knowledge of that exposure. Finally, Norment is calling for the exactment of legislation granting local governments and regional commissions greater latitude to conduct necessary business during the continuing state of emergency.

For the interview, J.R. interviews the Communications Director for House of Delegates Minority Leader Todd Gilbert. Shipley effectively works as the lead communicator for the House Republican Caucus. For the interview, we discuss:

• How journalism prepared him for his job;
• His daily routine during and out of session;
• Evaluating the message;
• Surprises from this General Assembly session – including gun laws, the repeal of commonsense abortion limits, redistricting (and some true profiles in courage for some Democratic members), criminal justice changes, and transportation (spoiler alert: we still have a Car Tax and an increase in the gas tax);
• His view on legislation impacting Virginia’s pro-business environment (including minimum wage, right to work, tax increases); and
• the new state budget.

“We’re working very hard to make [dealing with Coronavirus] somewhat better,” Shipley said. “Republicans and Democrats alike, across the General Assembly, are working with the administration, talking amongst ourselves, trying to get the best plan to move forward as quickly as we can to help those folks who are hurting right now.”

Links of note:

• House Republican Caucus
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (COVID-19 Advice)
• Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus (COVID-19) Global Cases (Official)
• Warning on Malware (ReasonSecurity – How hackers are using the Johns Hopkins map)
• Norment Letter to Governor Northam

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Skip to 15:45 in the player for the interview with Garren Shipley

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Episode 72 of The J.R. Hoeft show has Norm Leahy, local columnist for The Washington Post, discussing unintended consequences to higher education due to the Corona Virus and the aftermath of the General Assembly. The consequential gathering of the worthies included progressive legislation on firearms, abortion, marijuana, redistricting, and more, but was it as apocalyptic as some conservatives are making it seem? Norm and J.R. also dig into the numbers of Super Tuesday’s results in Virginia’s Democratic Primary for President and share what it means for the November General Election.

In the main interview, J.R. is joined by Michael Petrilli, co-editor of HOW TO EDUCATE AN AMERICAN: The Conservative Vision for Tomorrow’s Schools (Templeton Press), which is a series of essays by noted conservative writers on education reform, including Michael Barone, Bill Bennett, Arthur Brooks, Jonah Goldberg, Yuval Levin, Heather Mac Donald, and many others. Pitrelli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, offers personal insights on his interest in education reform, as well as recounting his journey to become one of the leading voices in the movement. Additionally, we explore the topics of charter schools and school choice, the importance of knowing our nation’s history, individual character, accountability in learning (including the Standards of Learning/testing), the cost of higher education, and the value of learning a trade.

Links of note:

• Review of the book from Psychology Today
• Is School Choice Enough? (Petrilli in National Affairs)
• CDC Funding by State
• Virginia Registration and Turnout Statistics (1976-Present)
• Results of 2020 March Democratic Presidential Primary

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