John Hood shines the light on the Left’s war on empirical evidence — a war in which the Left continues to push policy views that have been discredited by empirical evidence, and a war in which those who discuss the evidence are cast as mean-spirited.
Despite all the talk of a “war on science” being waged by political conservatives and Republican politicians — to match their supposed wars on women, men, the young, and the old, no doubt — North Carolina now features a shrill and relentless rhetorical war on social science by political liberals and Democratic politicians. In editorials, sound bites, social media, and floor debate, the Left continues to insist that state and local tax burdens have no effect on economic growth, that higher state spending on Medicaid and unemployment insurance creates jobs, that teacher assistants boosts student achievement, and that offers teachers bonuses to obtain graduate degrees makes them more effective in the classroom. None of these claims has empirical support. For decades now, social scientists have examined each and found them wanting. I’m not referring to the work of scholars at think tanks such as the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, or the John Locke Foundation, although I obviously think their contributions are valuable. I’m referring to professors of various disciplines and personal views who publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals.
You will see and hear this war on empirical evidence today as the Democrats — led by their staunch allies, the N.C. NAACP — continue their anti-reform, anti-empirical evidence, pro-big government chanting at the legislature.
