Free to Offend

Over the past several years there have been substantial changes to Nevada’s election laws, and trust in the process has been on the decline.

Walter Olson is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of a new report by Nevada Policy on election law here in the Silver State. He joined the program to discuss how Nevada can re-establish trust in voting and what states are actually getting it “right” when it comes to implementing election reform.

Download your copy of the report here: https://www.npri.org/election-integrity/

Is ranked-choice voting best for Nevada? Jason Snead, Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project, joins Nevada Policy Outreach and Coalitions Director Marcos Lopez for a special interview, recorded live recently at The Dangers of Ranked Choice Voting: a Grassroots Seminar. 

How can a public policy think tank change the way Nevadans think about the greatest challenges facing the state?

President  John Tsarpalas joined the program to talk about Nevada Policy’s work over the past year and its ambitious plans for turning even more Nevadans into activists for a freer and more prosperous Silver State.

We hear a lot about “economic inequality” as a growing problem in the nation. However, we don’t hear nearly as much about what really matters to most people: economic mobility. 

Economic mobility is the simple idea that we’re capable of bettering our lot in life – that we have the ability to build a business, learn a new skill or find a better job and start climbing into higher socioeconomic classes. 

Justin T. Callais, PhD, is a research fellow at the Archbridge Institute and the lead researcher for the institute’s Social Mobility Index project. He joined the podcast to discuss why this metric should matter more to academics and policymakers than merely measuring the “inequalities” between social classes.   

Keeping government open, accessible and accountable is one of those few policy areas where groups on all sides of the political divide can agree – and yet, it remains one of the most challenging public-policy fights we face on a daily basis. From police departments to local school districts, public officials and institutions routinely deny activists and journalists access to otherwise “public” information.    

Michelle Rindels is a journalist and the president of The Nevada Open Government Coalition, and she joined the program to talk about the importance of open government, the challenges we face in Nevada and what ordinary citizens can do to keep their public officials accountable to the people they serve.   

Innovators and entrepreneurs often find themselves stuck in a Catch-22 when it comes to bringing new ideas to the market: Regulators are skeptical to change laws and standards until there’s evidence it’s safe to do so, but innovators can’t generate that evidence until those laws and standards are actually changed.

Economist Cameron Belt joined the program to discuss his forthcoming paper on “regulatory sandboxes” for Nevada Policy — a policy concept that allows innovators and regulators to overcome that Catch-22 and build a more dynamic, and flexible, regulatory framework.

Free to Offend Episode 89 | Guest: Geoff Lawrence and Marcos Lopez   

Sure, we’ve talked plenty about the outcome of Nevada’s 2023 legislative session … but do you really know whether your lawmakers voted in your best interests? 

Nevada Policy’s Geoff Lawrence and Marcos Lopez joined the program to discuss Nevada Policy’s Legislative Scorecard, which grades lawmakers on their votes and legislative priorities. Geoff and Marcos discuss the “inside baseball” of what happened in Carson City and why every voter should be looking at how the scorecard judges lawmakers on their roles in shaping policy during the session.   

Download your free copy of the Legislative Scorecard https://nevadapolicy.org/scorecard

Guest: Victor Davis Hanson  

From “woke” ideology to modern monetary policy and “critical legal theory,” there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the future of our republic.  

Victor Davis Hanson will be the keynote speaker at Nevada Policy’s Spirit of Las Vegas Benefit Dinner on Oct. 24, and he joined the program ahead of his visit to share his thoughts on the cultural trends threatening the future of freedom and prosperity in America. 

Many of the biggest public sector unions actually spend more money on political activity than they do on their core mission of representing workers. No wonder so many public sector workers don’t feel like they actually have a voice.

After all, the union certainly isn’t always fighting on their behalf.  

Isabel Blank, the senior communications director at Americans for Fair Treatment, joined the program to discuss how public sector workers can reclaim their voice when their union starts putting its own concerns over that of its members.  

The American Southwest is a place like no other – culturally, economically, and even politically.  

Dowd Muska, with the Southwest Public Policy Institute joined the program to talk about what makes the American Southwest – and Nevada specifically – such a unique place to call home, and why it’s so well positioned to be a shining example for the rest of the nation.