Week in Review: The Hidden Cost of Indoctrination

Forty million hours wasted. Nearly $2 billion down the drain of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI). It’s the hidden cost of indoctrination, a new Goldwater Institute investigation reveals.

Nationwide, public universities mandate DEI general education courses, and that costs students and state taxpayers at least $1.8 billion in tuition and state appropriations over each four-year period. The current undergraduate population at public universities, meanwhile, will spend at least 40 million student hours satisfying these requirements.

DEI trains Americans to judge each other based on skin color. But the Goldwater Institute is leading the charge to defeat this toxic ideology, dismantling DEI mandates in numerous states. Now, we’re working to pass our first-in-the-nation Freedom From Indoctrination Act, which eliminates all DEI course requirements in public universities.

It’s time to stop forcing students and state taxpayers to indulge in the lies of DEI.

Read more here. 

Lights, Camera, Hollywood Handouts?

Hollywood is all glitz and glamour, and states across the country shell out taxpayer dollars to lure movie productions into their communities. But tax dollars should not fund movies, and the Goldwater Institute is taking a stand.

This week, Goldwater sued on behalf of taxpayers to shut down the $125 million-per-year handouts to film companies in Arizona, on the basis that they violate the state constitution’s ban on government giveaways to private companies.

Film subsidy programs rarely deliver on their promised economic benefits. But in state after state, the Goldwater Institute has succeeded time after time in defending taxpayers from illegal subsidies. Until we can say “that’s a wrap!” on politicians funneling money to special interests, we will continue to fight unconstitutional handouts—and show the nation how to win.

Read more here.

Debunking DEI Myths

Proponents of DEI claim this discriminatory ideology is necessary for economic growth. That couldn’t be further from the truth, Goldwater’s Timothy K. Minella writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky.

“DEI doesn’t promote cohesiveness, a sense of belonging, or a belief in one’s efficacy,” writes Minella, a former University of Kentucky professor, as the Kentucky General Assembly prepares to take on DEI in 2025.

Indeed, studies have shown that there is no relationship between a company’s diversity and profitability. The problem isn’t diversity itself—companies should simply hire the most qualified applicants. It’s that “DEI promotes hatred and division, not because we’re doing it wrong, but because hatred and division are the logical consequences of this poisonous ideology,” Minella explains.

“DEI has no place in the classroom, the boardroom, or in any part of American public life,” he concludes.

Read more here.