December 17, 2021
Week in Review: December 17, 2021
The Buckeye Institute’s Robert Alt joined Matt Kibbe on his podcast, Kibbe on Liberty, to discuss Buckeye vaccine mandate case and whether there are any effective legal mechanisms to limit government power when both federal and state officials are dedicated to expanding it as much as possible under the rubric of “emergency measures.”
Empower Mississippi launched Embark, an initiative that will assist school founders in starting charter and private schools.
The Ethan Allen Institute announced that Meg Hansen has joined their Board of Directors. Hansen has been a frequent columnist in Vermont papers, formed her own communications firm, served as a media advisor to the Vermont Republican House Caucus, created a Vermont policy-focused television program called “Dialogues with Meg Hansen,” and was Executive Director of the 501c4 Vermonters for Healthcare Freedom.
The Institute for Reforming Government led a coalition to announce a proposal—the first ever in Wisconsin—to eliminate the individual income tax. The plan would result in massive tax relief to small businesses and middle class families, transforming Wisconsin to become the best state in the Midwest to do business and allow the state to compete with Florida and Texas.
Jordan Roberts has been selected to lead the John Locke Foundation’s government affairs division as Director of Government Affairs.
The largest tax cut in Arkansas history: Arkansas reduced its income tax rate from 5.9% to 4.9%. Since its founding in 1995 the Arkansas Policy Foundation has advanced the idea that income tax rates should be reduced. The Foundation’s work has informed policymakers’ decisions to reduce the top rate from 7.0% to 4.9% in the last decade.
Pork Report 2021
The Beacon Center of Tennessee released this year’s “recipe book” themed Tennessee Pork Report, revealing hundreds of millions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Teacher Pensions In West Virginia: How They Affect Teachers & Taxpayers
Cardinal Institute examined the teacher pension system in West Virginia, highlighting issues in how retirement plans are funded and how benefits are distributed among different groups of teachers.
Why Pennsylvania Needs Probation Reform
In a new policy backgrounder, the Commonwealth Foundation outlines probation reforms to improve public safety.
Tiering Up: The Unfinished Business of Public Pension Reform in New York
Empire Center evaluated previous reforms to New York’s pension system, highlighting the benefits these reforms have brought and the areas of the state’s pension system that still need reformed.
NJ Pension Fund Crossing The Tipping Point: Looming Impact Of More Retirees Than Employees
As New Jersey’s Legislature takes up a proposal to add themselves back into the struggling public pension system, the Garden State Initiative released a new report which showcases why this idea only exacerbates New Jersey’s tenuous pension system.
Election Integrity Scorecard
Heritage Foundation’s Election Integrity Scorecard is an interactive tool that allows users to quickly and easily assess the status of state election fairness and security—and even compare states by their rankings.
Policy Solution: Eliminate the Individual Income Tax
In a new policy memo, the Institute for Reforming Government argues one way to make Wisconsin a national leader is to eliminate the personal state income tax, increase the state sales tax to 3%—while keeping existing sales tax exemptions on everyday items like groceries, rent, medical expenses, and childcare—in order to cut taxes, drive economic growth, and generate new state revenue.
How Years of Policy Choices Enabled Microschooling to Thrive in Arizona
A new issue brief from Manhattan Institute explores how Arizona’s decades-long commitment to school diversification and choice laid the foundation for the state’s burgeoning microschooling community.
Charting the Course: The Future of South Carolina K-12 Education Funding
A comprehensive new report on charter schools from Palmetto Promise Institute shows that Problem Number One for public charter school students is identical to the most pressing issue that all public school students face: too little connection between their individual needs and the funding their schools receive for them.
A judicial tool, no crystal ball
Badger Institute
Thousands of Minnesotans oppose Sentencing Guidelines change
Center of the American Experiment
First Step Act Provides Second Chance
Empower Mississippi
Utah Still Faces Challenges Mitigating Police Use Of Force
Libertas Institute
Poor District’s Approach To Teaching Reading Bears Dramatic Results, Worth Emulating
Bluegrass Institute
Universal School Choice Is the Way to Go
Cato Institute podcast with Cardinal Institute
The California Indoor Mask Mandate’s Return Is Nonsensical
California Policy Center
The Teachers Unions’ Misbegotten Efforts Have Ignited The Push For Educational Freedom
California Policy Center
Students Say Edina Schools Face “Unprecedented Behavior Issues”
Center of the American Experiment
Illinois Teachers Sue Pritzker Over Covid-19 School Mandates
Illinois Policy Institute
Building a Conservative Vision for Education
John Locke Foundation
The Left Wants to Blunt School Choice By Warning About Privatization, But It Doesn’t Work
John Locke Foundation
Who Owns Public School Students?
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Seven Reasons To Let Parents Choose
Oklahoma Council for Public Policy
South Carolina Public Charter School Resources
Palmetto Promise Institute
Parents Deserve More Transparency
Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Innovative Springfield School Up for $1 Million Center for Education Reform Prize
Show-Me Institute
What To Know About The Next Big Supreme Court School Choice Case
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Feds Handcuff Wisconsin From Rewarding In-Person Instruction
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Hybrid Vehicles A Better Option Than Full Battery Powered Vehicles
Caesar Rodney Institute
Oregon Is Falling Behind Other States In The Race For Advanced Nuclear Power
Cascade Policy Institute
Unrealistic Beliefs In Climate Law
Empire Center for Public Policy
Consumers Deserve Choice For Power Providers
Goldwater Institute
Even Elon Musk Wouldn’t Support Missouri’s Ev Tax Credit Bill
Show-Me Institute
A Heavy Wind (Trailer): The Fight To Save An American Heritage
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Governor’s New Climate Proposals: More Money, But No Environmental Benefit
Washington Policy Center
Civil Asset Forfeiture In West Virginia
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
Oregonians Tell Politicians: If You’re Not Part Of The Solution, You’re Part Of The Problem
Cascade Policy Institute
Nevadans Deserve A Governor That Will Defy Next Lockdown Push
Nevada Policy Research Institute
Biden’s Policy Failures Pile Up
Oklahoma Council for Public Policy
Hochul Faces A Test On Health Insurance Costs
Empire Center for Public Policy
Medicare: Four Years To Insolvency
Ethan Allen Institute
Certificate Of Need (Con) Resource Center
Palmetto Promise Institute
Building Healthcare Bigger: New Bill Is Good Medicine Or Ill-Designed Cost Shift
Pioneer Institute
Spending On Affordable Housing Won’t Improve Affordability In St. Paul
Center of the American Experiment
Reforming Zoning Laws Reduces Housing Costs
Kansas Policy Institute
Breaking Down Barriers To Opportunity Would Do More To Build ‘Equitable’ California Than Higher Spending
Pacific Research Institute
Inflation May Be Much Higher Than Reported, And That Could Hurt Seniors And The Poor
Yankee Institute
The Government Shouldn’t Tell Food Trucks They Can’t Be Near Restaurants
Empower Mississippi
Sales Taxes Are Holiday Gift That Keeps On Taking
Illinois Policy Institute
Comprehensive Regulatory Reform From The Bottom Up: The Case Of 340b
Pacific Research Institute
One Indicator Shows California’s Recovery Is Incomplete
Pacific Research Institute
An Insider’s Insight On Today’s Economy
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Economic Freedom Lets Texans Prosper
Texas Public Policy Foundation
The Minnesota Government Does Not Need To Spend More Money
Center of the American Experiment
State’s New Pension “Tiers” Cut Tax Costs, But More Reform Is Needed, Report Says
Empire Center for Public Policy
Window Of Opportunity For Tax Reform In Georgia
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Bigger Government Brings Bigger Costs
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Nebraska Posts Gains With November 2021 State Revenues
Platte Institute
Money Can’t Replace Meaning And Purpose
Georgia Center for Opportunity
Government Exists To Protect Our God-Given Individual Rights
John Locke Foundation
Happy Bill Of Rights Day
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
All I Want For Christmas – A Policy Wish List For Santa
Washington Policy Center
Health care in Delaware can be improved
Caesar Rodney Institute in The Bay to Bay News
Initiative To Fund And Fast Track Water Projects Is Badly Needed
California Policy Center in The Mercury News
The First Step Act Is A Giant Leap Toward Meaningful, Bipartisan Prison Reform
Commonwealth Foundation at The Daily Caller
Would More Sunshine Move Kentucky Out Of Its Sinkhole?
Bluegrass Institute in The Times Leader
Third Attempt To Empty Rural Vermont
Ethan Allen Institute in the Rutland Herald
Biden’s Newest Welfare Benefit: Taxpayer-Funded Lawsuits
Foundation for Government Accountability at CNS News
Doj Tries To Stomp On Texas Under Guise Of ‘Protections’
Foundation for Government Accountability in the Denton Record-Chronicle
Turning To Taxpayers Should Be Politicians’ Last Resort
Frontier Institute in Lee Newspapers
New Jersey’s Pension Fund Is Crossing The Tipping Point
Garden State Initiative at NewJersey.com
Young People In America Understand The Benefits Of Capitalism
Libertas Institute in The Salt Lake Tribune
Supreme Court Ruling On School Choice Could Lift Barriers In Maine, Michigan
Mackinac Center for Public Policy in The Hill
Right Or Wrong, Gretchen Whitmer Is Not Acting Based On Data
Mackinac Center for Public Policy in the Washington Examiner
The FDA Is Standing In The Way Of At-Home COVID-19 Tests
Pacific Research Institute in the Washington Examiner
Independent Voters Are Alive And Well—And Angrier Than Ever
State Policy Network in The New York Post
What Does ‘Self-Governance’ Look Like In The Era Of Community Decay?
SPN’s Tony Woodlief on The Federalist podcast
Podcast: Can American self-governance be saved?
SPN’s Tony Woodlief on the Spectator podcast
Tony Woodlief: I, Citizen
SPN’s Tony Woodlief on the Civil Squared Podcast
Book Review: ‘I, Citizen: A Blueprint for Reclaiming American Self-Governance’
Tony Woodlief’s I, Citizen featured in The Epoch Times
The Left And Right Can Find Common Ground On Protecting Families
Texas Public Policy Foundation in the Washington Examiner
Cut Washington’s Regressive Sales Tax Rate—Now
Washington Policy Center in The Spokesman-Review
Please see SPN’s Network Calendar for a full list of events.
