“The Texas Public Policy Foundation is “one of the most influential state-level think tanks in the nation.”
“Perry, Cruz, Cornyn and other politicians frequently turn to TPPF to help make the intellectual case for reducing government involvement…”
These two statements about the impact and efficacy of TPPF came from unlikely sources: the extreme-left British newspaper The Guardian and the more local, but nearly as left-wing, Texas Observer. Of course they meant these remarks as alarm-raising condemnation and, though we take them as compliments instead, we certainly agree that this Foundation ought to be alarming if you’re on the side of big government, constricted individual liberty, and the empowerment of elites at the expense of the average American.
The plain reality is that the Texas Public Policy Foundation has done more to advance liberty in Texas and America — and more to wreck the aspirations of the big-bureaucracy core readership of the Guardian and Texas Observer — than nearly any other organization its size, anywhere in the country.
And we’re only getting more effective — and more dangerous to the left.
That’s why they’re on the attack — against us, and worse, against you. As TPPF analyst John Davidson and I explain in our recent article in National Review Online, private documents of the State Policy Network were obtained by The Guardian under suspicious circumstances that they then shared with the public as part of a coordinated effort to shut down civil society that resists government power.
The cornerstone of this effort is an attack on freedom of association, and especially the right to anonymity of donors to organizations like TPPF.
It’s both amusing and alarming to read what activities by TPPF were found to be offensive by our attackers: activities like research and outreach to demonstrate how Medicaid could be reformed to bring significant savings to the state and – although this detail didn’t make their stories – bring better quality care to more people.
Why such an aggressive, international attack? It’s simple really: thanks to the dedicated support of our donors, TPPF has established itself as a national leader in the fight for freedom and prosperity. We have been identified as a substantial threat to those who believe our nation’s problems can be solved by an ever-growing government.
If standing for liberty means wearing a target, we will wear it with pride.
Our success has brought us to this place of honor. Texas is the last bastion of the American Dream, largely because of the leadership of TPPF and the committed patriots who support our work. In the past year alone, TPPF helped keep our state on the path to prosperity:
- We gave Texas policymakers the research they needed to refuse costly Medicaid expansion that would have pushed Texas further into an ineffective, expensive program;
- Our research and outreach efforts led policymakers to implement a total of $1.4 billion in tax and fee relief (largely from a substantial reduction in the state margin tax), reducing the tax burden for businesses and families;
- After exhaustive outreach by TPPF, Texas took important steps this year to improve the quality of education in our state through significant school choice reform;
- We continue to advocate to lower tuition costs and improve the quality of higher education, not just for Texas, but across the nation;
- We gained substantial ground against the Environmental Protection Agency in their crusade against America’s energy sector; and much, much more.
These accomplishments were made possible only with the support of generous donors who recognize that a contribution to TPPF is a sound investment in the future of America.
We know that, to achieve our policy goals and continue to stand up for liberty in the face of such adversity, we must have your support. We will continue to lead through our Liberty Action Agenda, initiated earlier this year to prepare us for the next legislative session. This ambitious plan will secure the future of Texas as a free and prosperous state with the aim to:
- Improve health care quality while rolling back ObamaCare;
- Increase competition to grow Texas’ infrastructure;
- Halt the destructive action of the EPA;
- Restore state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment;
- Find market-based, state-led solutions to immigration;
- Cut taxes for businesses and families;
- Expand education quality and choice for all students;
- Inform state and local officials of the importance of fiscal responsibility; and more.
