Economic Progress

It’s getting a lot easier for individuals and entrepreneurs in states across the country to get to work, start businesses, and grow their state’s economy.   Strategic efforts led by groups like the Knee Regulatory Research Center, Goldwater Institute, and Buckeye Institute, all grantees of Stand Together Trust, have led to reform and elimination of overly […]

Fixing complex problems requires comprehensive approaches, collaboration, patience, and people dedicated to finding realistic solutions. The Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation embodies these characteristics.   Founded in 2013, the Pension Integrity Project, a grantee of Stand Together Trust, is tackling one of the biggest fiscal issues states face today — pension plans. Pension liabilities (pensions […]

Innovation and entrepreneurship — for generations these have been trademarks of American prosperity. Yet, the challenges plaguing our country in recent decades — things like higher housing costs, slow wage growth, expensive healthcare hindered by a highly regulated healthcare system, and partisan politics — seem to be interfering with the ability for politicians and citizens […]

Political polarization is increasingly stalling the progress toward solving America’s most pressing challenges. It can be difficult for advocates and policymakers to focus on shared values and common goals, rather than points of disagreement. However, those who lean into collaboration across political divides are often the ones finding the most effective solutions.  United Family Advocates […]

The Tennessee state motto is “America at its best,” and among America’s best qualities are the innovation and entrepreneurism that fuel our economy.   The Beacon Center of Tennessee, a grantee of Stand Together Trust, wants to make good on its state motto by increasing the ability of innovators and entrepreneurs to thrive in their state. […]

When Maria Elena Thomas’ grandchildren were removed from the care of their mother, she didn’t like the thought of them entering foster care. So Thomas and her husband scrambled to take the children in, the New York Times reports. Accepting responsibility for the children was easy, but that responsibility came with significant costs. “The couple […]

In 2007, Chantell and Mike Sackett started building a family home on their plot of land near Priest Lake, Idaho. They could never have imagined that 15 years later, that house would still not be built. Instead, they are in an ongoing legal dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with the U.S. Supreme Court […]

Flexibility is a perk that often attracts people to entrepreneurship. The ability to set your schedule and choose where you work — these conveniences make it easier for people to balance work and family, save on commute times, and fit in household chores, exercise, and other tasks during coffee and lunch breaks.   Many people may […]

“Pension reform.” When most people hear the phrase they might tune out, thinking it’s a topic that doesn’t concern them greatly. After all, it refers to benefits promised to government workers and the balancing of local and state budgets.   However, the Reason Foundation, a grantee of Stand Together Trust, believes that public pension reform […]

It’s well known that media shapes culture and influences politics. However, the rapid evolution of technology has changed which type of media has the most influence.   Consider that the average cable TV news viewership per day is between 1 million and 3 million views. Meanwhile, the front page of Reddit, an online aggregate of news, […]