“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” — Nelson Mandela Child protection agencies confirm about 2.5 million cases of child abuse or neglect each year. Social workers intervene to help parents develop better habits and parenting skills in the hope of creating a safe, nurturing environment for their children. Although most child service workers and researchers agree that remaining with their biological parents during this time is usually best for a child’s development, some environments are too damaging, and the children need to be removed. Less than a third of children removed from their biological parents are able to stay with a family member, leaving the rest to institutional care or non-relatives — foster families. With roughly 270,000 to 300,000 children entering the foster care system every year, it is difficult to overstate children’s need for hospitable homes. Some analysts anticipate this need will grow fur
A recent study published by the Cato Institute suggests the new GOP tax reform will add pressure to state governments with high taxes. Among the numerous reforms in the recent Republican-backed tax law is a $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Before the tax reforms, there was no limit to the amount of state and local taxes people could deduct from their federal taxes. The study suggests that since the SALT deduction cap went into effect, states with higher tax rates have experienced higher out-migration rates. Understanding why this out-migration exists and what it means for state and local tax policy first requires an understanding of some public finance theory. Unlike goods and services produced by private business, though, determining the “price” for government services is not straightforward. A restaurant can look at a balance sheet and find when a price is too high for its burgers or when it can charge more for fries. A state cannot so easily isolate when