Across the States

Latest Episodes:

43: Protecting Patients’ Rights During COVID-19 w/ MI Rep. Johnson and the Mackinac Center Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

With the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, ensuring patients’ rights and wishes are not being disregarded protects individual liberty across the states. In response to the responsibility to uphold these wishes and rights is the COVID-19 Patient Rights to Life Resolution from the Mackinac Center. On the podcast to discuss this resolution and why it matters is Mackinac Center Health Care Policy Advisor Greg George, Michigan State Representative Steve Johnson and ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force Director Brooklyn Roberts.

COVID-19 Patient Rights to Life Resolution: https://www.mackinac.org/archives/2020/COVIDresolution.pdf

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42: The US Trade Deficit w/ Christine McDaniel Jun 05, 2020

Show notes

Joining host Dan Reynolds on this episode of Across the States to discuss the trade deficit in the United States is Christine McDaniel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and Karla Jones, Senior Director of the Federalism and International Relations Task Force at ALEC.

Christine McDaniel's piece in the Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/493397-congratulations-the-trade-deficit-dream-came-true

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41: A Deep Dive into Higher Education During COVID-19 w/ Armand Alacbay and Dr. Lindsey Burke May 29, 2020

Show notes

On this episode of Across the States, host Dan Reynolds takes a deep dive into higher education, and how COVID-19 has impacted its landscape with guests Armand Alacbay, Vice President of Trustee & Government Affairs at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, Lindsey Burke, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Fellow in Education Heritage Foundation and Scott Kauffman, ALEC Director of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force.

Canceling Student Loan Debt Isn’t A Smart or Fair Response to Covid-19: https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/canceling-student-loan-debt-isnt-smart-or-fair-response-covid-19
Accreditation: Removing the Barrier to Higher Education Reform:
https://www.heritage.org/education/report/accreditation-removing-the-barrier-higher-education-reform
ACTA’s “How Colleges Spend Money” web tool with comparison data for over 1,500 colleges and universities: https://www.howcollegesspendmoney.com/
ACTA president Michael Poliakoff’s Forbes article “How Higher Education Leaders Should Respond To The Coronavirus Financial Crisis” - https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpoliakoff/2020/04/14/how-higher-education-leaders-should-respond-to-the-coronavirus-financial-crisis/#33be010a8d48

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40: What is the Swiss Debt Brake? w/ Barry Poulson May 26, 2020

Show notes

As we progress through the Coronavirus pandemic, the national debt remains a growing concern. It’s time to look closely at international models to restore fiscal restraint and responsible spending in the United States. One of those models is the Swiss Debt Brake – but what is it? Here to fill us in is Barry Poulson, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado, Karla Jones, ALEC Senior Director of the Federalism and International Relations Task Force and Lee Schalk, ALEC Senior Director of the Center for State Fiscal Reform.

The States Are Poised to Lead the Nation Toward Fiscal Sustainability: https://www.alec.org/article/the-states-are-poised-to-lead-the-nation-toward-fiscal-sustainability/
ALEC Model Resolution Calling for a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/a-resolution-calling-for-a-federal-balanced-budget-amendment/
How to Solve America’s Debt Crisis in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic: https://www.alec.org/app/uploads/2020/05/PBdebtcrisisApr20.pdf

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39: Sports Betting and the Gaming Industry During COVID-19 w/ the American Gaming Association May 22, 2020

Show notes

During the COVID-19 pandemic, sporting events of almost every kind were cancelled. How has this affected the online sports betting and gaming industry, and what will we see from that industry as states and society begin to reopen? Here to discuss this is Jess Fiel, the Senior Director of Government Relations at the American Gaming Association (AGA) and Ronald Lampard, ALEC Senior Director of the Criminal Justice and Civil Justice Task Forces.

AGA Website: https://www.americangaming.org/
Details on the AGA initiative on unlawful gaming: https://www.americangaming.org/new/aga-agem-launch-partnership-to-combat-unregulated-gaming-machines/
Casino reopening tracker: https://www.americangaming.org/research/covid-19-casino-tracker/
Read about issues on sports betting: https://www.americangaming.org/policies/hot-issue-sports-betting/
AGA Twitter: https://twitter.com/americangaming

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38: School Choice, Higher Education and COVID-19 w/ Dr. Lindsey Burke and Martin Lueken May 19, 2020

Show notes

Joining host Dan Reynolds on the podcast are 3 education experts: Lindsey Burke, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Fellow in Education Heritage Foundation, Martin Lueken, Director of Fiscal Policy Analysis at EdChoice and Scott Kaufman, Director of the ALEC Education and Workforce Development Task Force. The group discusses education choice, education savings accounts, how it benefits the states and the future of public higher education after COVID-19.

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37: Tracking China’s Policy Changes During COVID-19 w/ Dr. Weifeng Zhong May 15, 2020

Show notes

Joining host Dan Reynolds on the podcast to discuss Chinese government policies, a policy change index and how it can be used to track China’s response to COVID-19 is Dr. Weifeng Zhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center. Also joining the discussion is Karla Jones, ALEC Senior Director of the Federalism and International Relations Task Force.

The Policy Change Index (PCI) project website: https://policychangeindex.org/
The PCI newsletter sign-up form: https://mercatus.org/pcinewsletter
Research paper “Reading China: Predicting Policy Change with Machine Learning”: https://www.aei.org/research-products/working-paper/reading-china-predicting-policy-change-with-machine-learning/
Research paper “Predicting Authoritarian Crackdowns: A Machine Learning Approach”: https://www.mercatus.org/publications/technology-and-innovation/predicting-authoritarian-crackdowns

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36: Trying to Take a Pay Cut for COVID-19 w/ Cheyenne, WY City Councilman Dicky Shanor May 12, 2020

Show notes

When we increase government spending, it’s a good idea to decrease spending somewhere else – especially during a pandemic. On the podcast to discuss how Cheyenne, WY is working to do just that is City Councilman Dicky Shanor, who recently introduced a resolution to reduce the salaries of him, his fellow council members and the mayor. Also joining the conversation is Councilman Jon Russell, National Director of the American City County Exchange (ACCE), a sister organization of ALEC.

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35: Debate: National Popular Vote vs. Electoral College May 08, 2020

Show notes

In this very special edition of Across the States, our podcast studio is transformed into a virtual debate stage. The topic? Electoral College vs. National Popular Vote. Listen in as Trent England, Executive Director of Save Our States and Ray Haynes, National Spokesperson for National Popular Vote make the case for each.

Save Our States website: https://saveourstates.com/

National Popular Vote website: https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/

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34: Home Schooling and COVID-19 w/ the Home School Legal Defense Association May 05, 2020

Show notes

Home schooling has quickly become the reality for every family across the states, and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has been well-versed in the multi-faceted schooling option long preceding the pandemic. Joining host Dan Reynolds to discuss what home schooling is – and isn’t – as well as other education polices are Scott Kaufman, ALEC Director of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force, Heather Frommack, HSLDA Program Manager for Education Consultants and Dan Beasley, HSLDA Staff Attorney.

HSLDA website: www.hslda.org

For families who find themselves suddenly homeschooling: www.mompossible.org

Homeschool law summaries: www.hslda.org/laws

Homeschool quickstart guide: https://hslda.org/getting-started

HSLDA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hslda

HSLDA Education Consultants Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HSLDA.EduConsultants

HSLDA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hslda/

HSLDA YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hslda

The HSLDA Podcast: https://hslda.org/content/podcast/

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