In The Tank Podcast (ep35): Empower Mississippi, Weirdest Taxes by State, Privatize Space Travel, and Recruiting Free Agents

John and Donny continue their exploration of think tanks in #35 of the In The Tank Podcast. This weekly podcast features (as always) interviews, debates, and roundtable discussions that explore the work of think tanks across the country. The show is available for download as part of the Heartland Daily Podcast every Friday. Today’s podcast features work from Empower Mississippi, Freedom Partners, Freedom Works, and the Washington Policy Center.

Better Know a Think Tank

In this edition of Better Know a Think Tank, John and Donny speak with Grant Callen, President of Empower Mississippi. Empower Mississippi is a state-based organization dedicated to expanding school choice. Their mission is to “to ensure that every child in Mississippi has the opportunity to flourish through access to a high quality education.” Callen discusses the progress that has been made in the state so far and what the ideal education system would look like.

Featured Work of the Week

This week’s featured work of the week is from Freedom Partners – a nonprofit organization based out of Virginia. The piece highlighted is titled “Here are the Most Absurd Taxes by State.” Donny and John pick out and discuss some of the most outrageous taxes highlighted in this report. For Example, In Tennessee there is an Illegal Drug Tax where citizens are expected to purchase a stamp to attach to their illegal products. Bizarre.

In the World of Think Tankery

Today Donny and John discuss space travel. FreedomWorks, a conservative/libertarian advocacy group based in D.C., published an article titled “Privatize Planetary Pursuits.” The article does a great job of explaining why the commonly-heard justification for a publicly funded space exploration program is weak at best.

The last topic discussed by Donny and John is how professional sports teams lure free agents by promoting the tax friendliness of their state. The Washington Policy Center produced an article titled “Will Olympia take away Seahawks’ advantage recruiting free agents.” The article does a great job explaining how big a difference a state income tax of 13.3 percent will make compared to a state with no income tax.

Events 

• Heritage Foundation – The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left (Wednesday, April 27) @ The Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C.
• Mercatus Center – Panel Discussion On Driverless (Autonomous) Cars: The Ethical, Legal, and Public Policy Implications (Wednesday, April 27) at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia
• Texas Public Policy Foundation – Is Big Government Driving Out Ridesharing? (Thursday, April 28) in Austin, Texas.
• Heartland Institute – Library Grand Opening (Wednesday May 4^th) @ The Heartland Institute in Arlington Heights Illinois

I hope you’ll listen in, subscribe, and leave a review for our podcast on iTunes. We welcome your feedback in our new show’s inbox at InTheTankPodcast@gmail.com or follow us on twitter @InTheTankPod.

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