Week in Review: The Blind Leading the Blind

Want to get something done right? Don’t copy the people who did it wrong.

But new documents obtained by the Goldwater Institute reveal that officials from cities like Phoenix and Scottsdale took a taxpayer-funded trip to the West Coast liberal haven of Portland so they could “learn” how to address Arizona’s homelessness crisis.

If “solving” rampant homelessness in Arizona means copying Portland—where leaders twiddle their thumbs as homeless encampments overrun the city—it’s clear Arizonans can’t count on their government for real solutions. Indeed, many Arizonans’ livelihoods have already been destroyed as their government refuses to enforce laws against public camping, public drug use, vandalism, and even violent crime.

That’s why Goldwater is working to pass a new reform in Arizona that allows law-abiding property and business owners to claim a refund on their taxes for mitigation expenses incurred as a result of the government’s failure to safeguard their rights.

Consider that it took a lawsuit (Goldwater attorneys helped along the way) and a court order for Phoenix to finally clean up its homeless “Zone.” If the government isn’t going to solve the problem, this reform empowers Arizonans to take matters into their own hands.

Read more here.

Workers Welcome

 The latest state to join Goldwater’s national movement to free workers to pursue their American Dream?

That would be Nebraska, where Goldwater this week passed our sweeping licensing reform—designed to help hardworking professionals get to work faster—through the state legislature.

More than one in four jobs nationwide requires an occupational license—and workers usually must go through the costly and time-consuming process of obtaining this government permission slip to work each time they move to a new state. But now, more than half the states in the nation have adopted universal recognition, which allows a licensed professional to apply for and be quickly granted a license to work based on the training or testing he or she has already completed out of state.

Countless workers—including more than 10,000 in Arizona alone, where Goldwater first enacted this law five years ago—have gotten to work under universal recognition. And we look forward to enacting more reforms that prioritize the right to earn a living over the ability of bureaucrats to create red tape.

Read more here.

This Rare Disease Day, a Chance at Hope

She loves to swim, practice gymnastics, and ride her bike. When she grows up, she wants to be Princess Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen.

Four-year-old Keira Riley of Arizona has a rare and usually fatal brain disease. But Keira gets to live her life and dream of her future thanks to the power of personalized gene therapy—lifesaving treatment that outdated federal regulations wouldn’t let her access in the U.S.

Thursday was Rare Disease Day, and patient advocates spent the month raising awareness about the challenges facing the 30 million-plus Americans who suffer from rare diseases. Outdated government regulations forced Keira’s family to move to Italy to save their child’s life, highlighting the need to embrace innovative reforms like Goldwater’s Right to Try for Individualized Treatments. This reform—already law in Arizona and Nevada, with more states on the horizon—expands the original Right to Try so that critically ill patients can obtain the personalized care they need without first begging the federal government for permission.

No family should have to move overseas to save their child’s life. This law would give Americans desperate for help a chance at hope.

Read more here.

RSVP Today! Conservative Woman’s Guide to College

With radical ideologies like “diversity, equity, and inclusion” infesting campuses, all while right-leaning students, faculty, and speakers are constantly shut down and harassed, it can be tough navigating college as a conservative.

Join the Goldwater Institute and the Network of enlightened Women (NeW) on Tuesday, March 19, at 12 pm Mountain Time for an exciting live webinar about NeW founder Karin Lips’ book “You’re Not Alone: The Conservative Woman’s Guide to College.” We’ll also be joined by Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur and Goldwater Ronald Reagan Fellow Cameron Teel, a current college student, as we discuss Karin’s new book and share tips on how to launch a career in the liberty movement.

Register for the free webinar here.