Across the democratic world, elections focus sharply on quality-of-life issues. Voters’ concerns over persistently high youth unemployment rates contributed to an unexpectedly poor showing for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)1. In France, President Emmanuel Macron will likely struggle to govern the country for the remainder of his term, as unyielding populist opposition blames him for ills ranging from the war in Ukraine to social discord2. American President Joe Biden faces a challenging contest in November, dominated by concerns over inflation and perceived economic weakness. National electorates may find heavy-handed economic interventions appealing. Rather than turning to more government, however, leaders should revitalize the spirit of market competition to produce broad prosperity. This piece explores the benefits of a sensible, limited government philosophy on two influential sectors of the U.S. economy: Renewable Energy and Education. The spirit of thoughtfully challenging over-governed institutions is applicable globally.
Climate Policy & Deregulation
Climate advocates are not wrong to be worried. 2023 was the hottest year on record since the beginning of data collection in 1880, according to NASA3. This year will likely break that record4. Though the challenge is immense, making government immense is the wrong response: Big government burdens sensible renewable energy projects.
Like other major infrastructure projects, renewable energy installations are subject to planning and zoning requirements. Approval must come from multiple levels: Local, State, Independent System Operators (interstate energy grid operators), and Federal5.
Local resistance is understandable and should be dealt with fairly: Project investors should ensure that communities share the economic benefits of green investment.
State policies pose a formidable threat to project timelines, but practical concerns will likely encourage moderation. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) governs permitting and environmental impact assessments in the state5. The law, enacted in 1970, has prompted calls for reform: Individuals often abuse its provisions to block socially desirable projects for reasons unrelated to environmental concerns6. Conversations about reducing the law’s burdens for climate-friendly projects will inevitably arise as part of any CEQA reform program.
The dizzying complexity of federal regulations outdoes even the most burdensome state laws. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 mandates that projects receiving federal permits comply with the provisions of other federal environmental legislation, like the Clean Air Act of 19705. NEPA provides categorical exemptions, but such exemptions are rarely applicable to renewable energy projects5. If a local community supports a nearby offshore wind installation, why shouldn’t contractors be eligible for a Clean Water Act Section 404 general permit21, exempting them from a costly review?
The federal government has taken steps to address the regulatory confusion surrounding infrastructure projects. Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act increases the transparency of the interagency permitting process7. Nonetheless, woeful gaps remain. In September 2023, six East Coast governors requested the Biden Administration’s assistance for “expedit[ing] clean energy permitting,” which threatened the region’s burgeoning offshore wind industry and thousands of jobs8.
The Independent System Operators bear significant responsibility in the deployment and integration of utility-scale renewable energy projects. The amount of untapped capacity awaiting interconnection in the ISO request queues is staggering: One estimate suggests 700 GW of solar and 200 GW of wind20. Constructing interstate transmission lines often devolves into ugly politics, according to Bhaskar Ray of engineering contractor Qcells20. Admittedly, greater federal authority over transmission line planning is wise. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should exert authority to adjudicate interstate disagreements and coordinate revenue sharing mechanisms for states that house transmission lines but profit little from the produced energy. Expanding FERC’s mandate must accompany NEPA reform.
The measures presented here may in their own be insufficient to achieve ambitious climate targets. Dangling carrots is preferable to using sticks, however, and reducing the burden of onerous federal regulations will draw support from moderates of both major parties.
Education Policy & Competition
Societal progress is dependent on revitalizing the American idea of equality of opportunity. Most Americans agree that broad access to educational opportunity is key to shaping virtuous, prosperous citizens. Unfortunately, American public schools vary markedly in quality, putting historically disadvantaged groups further behind their privileged peers. COVID-19 has made these inequities worse: Dr. Bridget Long, the Dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, notes that “low-income students, students with special needs, and school systems that are under-resourced” suffered most greatly during the pandemic9.
Well-intentioned researchers have suggested more funding for school districts’ pre-K and health programs to narrow achievement disparities10. Distinguished Chicago economist Milton Friedman, however, attributes public schools’ malaise to a more systemic issue: The inherent lack of competition within public ownership. In an interview with MSNBC, published on the website of his foundation EdChoice, Friedman explains that American higher education is the envy of the world because students choose among competing universities; on the other hand, American public schools deliver vastly different levels of instruction quality because the schools choose the student based on arbitrary district assignments11. In other words, the difference in quality between higher education and secondary education in the United States can be attributed to the reversed roles of the student and the school.
Friedman’s assertions shape the debate surrounding school choice. School choice advocates propose issuing vouchers to families that can choose between competing schools.
School choice inspires heated debate. In April 2024, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed The Promise Scholarship Act, offering a $6,500 voucher to families living in the state’s lowest-performing school districts12. The Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) claimed that the law would cover the “private school tuition and other expenses for a small select few” at the expense of the state’s public school students12. Such criticism is misguided. Georgia, like most Southern states, uses a combination of state funds and local property taxes to fund public schools: This process, in place since 1985, allows the state to provide additional support to poorer districts (“equalization grants”), while mandating wealthier districts to shoulder a greater share of their education costs13. According to the Georgia Budget Policy Institute, total funding for equalization grants increased by $267 million in the FY25 education budget14. Even accounting for the $185 million reduction in local contributions, the state government still allocated an additional net $82 million for equalizing public schools14. School choice programs do not necessarily compromise funding for public schools. Generally, school funding is a poor proxy for performance: According to Stanford University’s Institute for Economic Policy Research, Florida spends less than half per student on public education than New York, but graduation rates are similar, especially for minority students15. Granted, public school teachers in New York are paid far more than their peers in Florida: The average in Florida is $53K, compared with $93K in New York16. Both states represent opposite extremes of teacher salaries but similar educational outcomes. Such distortions are possible in non-competitive systems.
There are sensible criticisms of school choice policies, but they can be addressed through careful public policy. Professor Argun Saatcioglu of the University of Kansas School of Education and Human Sciences cautions that school choice is only an effective policy when paired with other programs that alleviate socioeconomic inequities17. He notes that low-income parents may struggle to arrange transportation for their children to attend private schools in other ZIP codes17. His suggestion warrants further discussion.
Leaders should sponsor more empirical analyses of school choice. A 2013 study by Patrick J. Wolf, et al., determined, through a randomized study, that the Opportunity Scholarship Program in Washington, D.C., had a beneficial effect on graduation rates and reading ability18. In contrast, a 2021 study by Heidi H. Erickson, Jonathan N. Mills, and Patrick J. Wolf concluded that the Louisiana Scholarship Program had a detrimental effect on students in grades 1-5 and a negligible effect on students in grades 7-1219. Policymakers should implement school choice programs according to recommendations from a growing body of credible research.
Conclusion
America faces an extraordinary opportunity to build a fairer and greener economy. This is a lofty goal shared by Americans of both partisan leanings. Unfortunately, a vocal clique of policymakers argue that the time-tested philosophy of free markets and limited government is incompatible with equity and compassion. Though well-intentioned, they will inevitably lead us to Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek’s “road to serfdom.” Now is not the time to abandon the values that thrust America to an unprecedented standard of living and global economic preeminence.
3 https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3282/nasa-announces-summer-2023-hottest-on-record/
4 https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/04/12/will-2024-be-warmest-year-on-record/73274156007/
5 https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-does-permitting-for-clean-energy-infrastructure-work/
6 https://www.pacificresearch.org/enviro-laws-abusers-continue-to-block-urban-housing/
7 https://www.ferc.gov/federal-statutes/fast-41
8 https://cleanpower.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Governors-Offshore-Wind-Letter_ACP.pdf
9 https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/how-covid-taught-america-about-inequity-in-education/
10 https://www.epi.org/publication/education-inequalities-at-the-school-starting-gate/
11 https://www.edchoice.org/who-we-are/our-legacy/articles/milton-friedman-on-vouchers/
12 https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/kemp-signs-georgia-school-voucher-bill-amid-controversy
13 https://gbpi.org/how-does-georgia-fund-schools/
14 https://gbpi.org/overview-2025-fiscal-year-budget-for-k-12-education
16 https://www.newsweek.com/teacher-salary-map-1896546
17 https://soehs.ku.edu/news/article/01HH4XKS3EYQ4JC11KTK8ZV1AY
18 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/pam.21691
20 https://www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-transition-interconnection-reform-ferc-qcells/628822/
21 www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/20230213_CRM_Patnaik_Permitting_FINAL.pdf