FGA’s Summer Reading List
- BY FGA
The weather is getting warmer and the days longer, and maybe your kids are finally on break. It’s time to enjoy a nice cold drink and some summer reading material.
And what better to read on the beach, by the pool, or next to a sunny window than the latest on welfare policy, election reforms, and state permitting processes?
Here’s the latest and greatest from the Foundation for Government Accountability this spring:
Research
- Waivers Gone Wild: Congress Must Crack Down On Food Stamp Loopholes by Jonathan Bain and Jonathan Ingram
- Universal Work Requirements For Welfare Programs Are a Win For All Involved by Michael Greibrok
- President Biden Unilaterally and Unlawfully Increased Food Stamp Benefits by Hayden Dublois and Jonathan Ingram
- House-Proposed Work Requirements Would Limit Dependency, Save Taxpayer Resources, and Grow the Economy by Jonathan Ingram
- Medicaid Expansion Has Not Helped the Drug Crisis. It May Be Making It Worse. By Michael Greibrok and Sam Adolphsen
- Busted Budgets and Skyrocketing Enrollment: Why States Should Reject the False Promises of Medicaid Expansion by Jonathan Bain
- Florida’s Office of Election Crimes and Security: A Guide to Restoring Voter Confidence in Elections by Madeline Malisa and Michael Greibrok
Opinion Pieces
Andrew Welhouse in The Salt Lake Tribune: For a First-Rate Democracy, Pass on Ranked-Choice Voting
“When it comes to participation, access, fairness, and the importance of our elections, it’s clear that ranked-choice voting is nothing more than a second-best option. Ranked-choice voting turns winners into losers, it silences the voice of people who don’t have time to research every candidate, and it reduces confidence in our elections at a time when we need more of it.”
Travis N. Taylor in The Daily Caller: The Democrats Are Playing a Losing Game Of Debt-Ceiling Chicken
“As the federal government approaches the inability to pay its bills, House Democrats appear ready to play a game of chicken with Republicans over the debt ceiling. Unfortunately for Democrats (but fortunately for the fiscally sane), this game puts them in a dangerous position—in opposition to the American people.”
Victoria Eardley in The Dallas Express: How Texas Can Ensure Trust in Elections
“What’s the best way to ensure that Texans trust our elections? This isn’t a hypothetical question. It’s the central problem with a policy known as ‘ranked-choice voting,’ which the state legislature is currently debating. Our state lawmakers need to reach the right answer, because if they get it wrong, trust in our elections and democracy is going to plummet even lower than it already is.”
Josh Mesker in The Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Turning the Page On Covid-Era Mistakes
“The first step to fixing a mistake is to stop what you’re doing wrong, and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is doing that with the process of Medicaid redetermination in Arkansas. She deserves a great deal of credit for fast-tracking this major change to help get the government—and the economy—back on track. Before we can look forward, it’s worth looking back.”
Sarah Coffey in The Washington Times: Work Requirements For Welfare Work—We’ve Seen It Before
“In the last few decades, the Midwest has been a case study in the effectiveness of work requirements in welfare to create opportunity, increase household incomes and revive economies. With strengthened work requirements a key part of House Republicans’ debt ceiling bill, lawmakers in Washington should look to America’s heartland to see just how powerful work requirements really are.”
Nick Stehle in The Wall Street Journal: Work Requirements for Welfare Aren’t ‘Wacko’
“Are work requirements for welfare recipients ‘wacko’? That’s what President Biden said on April 19 in reaction to House Republicans’ debt-ceiling proposal, which included this policy for Medicaid and food stamps. The House passed a bill on April 26 that would require able-bodied adults without children to work, train or volunteer at least part time as a condition of receiving taxpayer support. As my home state of Arkansas proves, this policy works wonders for Medicaid recipients and taxpayers alike.”
Nick Stehle in Fox News: Biden Is Hurting My Special-Needs Son, But Sarah Huckabee Sanders Is Helping
“My wife and I never thought it would be so difficult to get medications and appointments for our special-needs son. He has severe autism and epilepsy, requiring daily doses and regular visits to the doctor’s office. Since he’s disabled, he qualifies for Medicaid, which we’ve found is the only way to get everything he needs. But appointments usually take months to schedule and prescriptions are often delayed.”
Haley Holik in Carolina Journal: NC deserves a ‘shot clock’ for building permits — with consequences
“Most of us learned that lesson years ago: If you pay a bill late, there’s a fee. If you miss a deadline at work, you have a problem with your coworkers. If you miss a government deadline, like filing your taxes or renewing your driver’s license, there’s a consequence for it. Funny enough, it doesn’t seem to work the same way on the government’s side. Unless policymakers create clear guidelines, the government is just about the only place where deadlines don’t matter.”
Hayden Dublois in The Wall Street Journal: Medicaid Expansion Won’t Stop Rural Hospital Closures
“Democrats think they’ve found the key to convincing Republican states to expand Medicaid and cover millions more able-bodied adults in the government-run health-insurance program. Over the past few years, Democrats have claimed that refusing to accept ObamaCare’s central policy will force the closure of rural hospitals, hurting GOP states and voters the most. This tug-at-the-heartstrings message has swayed Republican-dominated states such as South Dakota, Missouri and, as of late March, North Carolina to expand Medicaid. But it’s a lie.”
Stewart Whitson in Epoch Times: Biden Can Lower Prescription Drug Prices by Simply Following the Law
“Not every problem calls for a government solution. But in the case of runaway prescription drug prices, there’s a smart, conservative policy that can help drive down the price of prescription drugs, effectively and fairly, by employing a free-market solution rather than government price controls.”
