Week in Review: School Punishes Mom, Not Belt-Wielding Bus Driver 

“Who cares? Are you kidding me? That is insane!” 

That was the reaction from a concerned Indiana mom after a disturbing incident where her daughter’s school bus driver was caught on video smacking his belt against his hand while walking up and down the aisle. When Nicole Graves asked for a meeting with the principal, she was flippantly told, “if you don’t trust the bus drivers…then just bring your kid to school”—and then banned from school grounds when she spoke out.  

Watch Nicole tell her story in a new Goldwater Institute video. 

This week, Goldwater sent a warning to the school on Nicole’s behalf, part of our nation-leading work to defend parents’ rights from coast to coast: Stop violating her First Amendment rights—and tell parents the truth about what’s happening with their kids.  

Read more here.  

Price Controls for Medicine Have a Devastating Effect 

Patients suffer when government imposes mandatory price controls, Goldwater Institute President and CEO Victor Riches writes in Townhall.  

While Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 promising to lower healthcare costs by capping prices for drugs, the data shows that the heavy hand of government price-setting disincentivizes innovation. “Several studies have demonstrated that diminished revenue for pharmaceutical manufacturers tends to reduce investment in research and development, resulting in fewer approvals for new drugs and leaving patients waiting for treatments that would improve their lives,” Riches adds.  

Read more at Townhall.  

Goldwater to Argue Before Arizona Supreme Court for 13th Time 

Government in Arizona is yet again stepping on its citizens’ constitutional rights. Now, for the thirteenth time, the Goldwater Institute is heading back to the Arizona Supreme Court—this time to defend Arizonans’ right to support causes they believe in without fear of harassment and retaliation.  

Prop 211 requires nonprofit organizations that speak on matters of public concern to turn over their donors’ names, addresses, employers, and contribution amounts to the government, which will then publicize their private data. That’s why Goldwater filed suit over this unconstitutional law. “There are few rights more precious to Arizonans than their rights to free speech,” Goldwater Senior Attorney Scott Day Freeman says. Now we’re excited to argue our case before the state Supreme Court. 

Read more here.