Week in Review: Children Need to Know

Black or white? Big city or small town? Ph.D. or GED?

It doesn’t matter, because the American Dream is for everyone—and there’s a new generation of young people who need to know about it. That’s why the Goldwater Institute created our new children’s book, A Is for the American Dream. And this past week, joined by our supporters and friends at a special event in the Phoenix area, we launched the book for children across the country to enjoy.

It’s more important now than ever that children learn about the cornerstones of our constitutional republic—about values like liberty, bravery, gratitude, justice, and hard work. Children are the future of our nation, but the left is trying to brainwash the next generation by lying about America’s founding principles. That was one of the main themes of a panel discussion featuring book author and Goldwater Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg, national education innovator Kali Fontanilla, and Phoenix parent and Arizona Women founder Hannah Woodruff.

But the Goldwater Institute will never let that happen. We’re building a strong foundation for America’s future—by inspiring today’s children to pursue their own American Dream.

You can buy A Is for the American Dream here.

Livelihood Destroyed? Goldwater Defends Right to Earn a Living

The government is running Arkansas entrepreneur Steven Hedrick out of business. But the Goldwater Institute is standing up for Steven’s right to earn a living.

Steven’s customers rent out his roll-off dumpsters, then he disposes of the waste in accordance with state law. But a city ordinance bans Steven and everyone else from picking up and disposing of solid waste—and forces consumers to use a specially chosen government entity. This exclusive monopoly violates the Arkansas Constitution’s explicit prohibition of monopolies and its protections for citizens’ right to earn a living.

“Customers want the service that I can offer—why won’t the government let me provide it?” Steven says. That’s why Goldwater sent a letter to the city demanding it amend the unconstitutional ordinance.

The Goldwater Institute is the national leader in safeguarding Americans’ right to earn a living—both by passing crucial reforms like our Right to Earn a Living Act in multiple states, and by standing up for hardworking entrepreneurs like Steven. Across the country, Goldwater will always fight to protect Americans’ freedom to earn an honest living in the profession of their choice.

Read more at In Defense of Liberty.

Nevada Advances Patients’ Rights with Landmark Right to Try Expansion

Hope is on the horizon for critically ill Nevadans desperate for good news.

The Nevada Assembly voted overwhelmingly this week to advance the Goldwater Institute’s landmark Right to Try for Individualized Treatments reform. Right to Try 2.0, which Goldwater first enacted last year in Arizona, expands the Institute’s federal Right to Try law, allowing patients with rare diseases to seek cutting-edge, personalized treatments without first begging the federal government for permission.

Why is it so urgently needed? Because patients can’t find treatments in the United States and are forced to travel overseas to get cutting-edge medication. “Many times over the years, I’ve had to send people outside of the United States, because…we can identify precisely an immunomodulatory agent…that could help them in their situation and oftentimes those medications are not approved in the United States,” Dr. Beth McDougall, who has 25 years of experience treating patients with severely debilitating diseases, told Nevada lawmakers.

Right to Try for Individualized Treatments is also being considered in Texas and Iowa, with more states expected to follow suit. Goldwater has a long, nationwide track record of putting patients first, and we won’t stop until every critically ill American can exercise their right to try to save their own life.

Read more at In Defense of Liberty.