Charting FREOPP's Course
Where previous scholarship on low-income Americans has fallen short, and what FREOPP will do differently.
Last month, I shared with you why FREOPP seemed “made for this moment,” as one Member of Congress put it to me. Avik Roy founded FREOPP in 2016 at the same time that then-candidate Donald Trump was capturing the attention of the country, and in particular the attention of tens of millions of Americans who felt forgotten by the country’s elite institutions and policymakers. Since then, the country has turned a magnifying glass onto America’s poor and working class – the struggles they face, what has caused those struggles, and how policymakers can help address them.
Many of the thought leadership and policymaking efforts that have unfolded as a result have been well-intentioned. Unfortunately, in my opinion, many suffer from three key shortfalls:
First, some are just old ideas repackaged as new – relying on bigger, costlier, and more intrusive government bureaucracy that lacks basic faith in the American people.
Second, even the best ideas they come up with have no chance of succeeding in our tribal political era, because most significant federal policy change requires 60 votes – meaning bipartisan support – in the US Senate.
And finally, there simply have not been sufficient, dedicated campaigns for specific policy changes that would most directly benefit Americans below the median income.
None of this is to say that there haven’t been many valuable contributions from thought leaders and policymakers to the plight of the poor and working class over the past decade; there unquestionably have. But FREOPP is the only think-tank dedicated specifically to policy solutions that improve the wellbeing of Americans below the median income, expand liberty, and can reasonably achieve the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
That said, my goal is for FREOPP to:
Produce even more top-of-the-line, in-depth policy research on the issues that matter most to our mission;
Engage in more timely commentary on the debates of the day in order to inform policymaker conversations as they happen; and
To build targeted, sustained policy advancement campaigns on our highest priorities and most unique opportunity areas.
FREOPP will continue to lead on the issues for which you know us, like higher education, welfare/foster care reform, and health care. And we’ll build an even greater presence on the issues where our impact is needed but where we see policy leadership gaps and opportunities (or challenges), like trade, housing, energy, financial services, family policy, and more.
I’ll share even more about our vision and strategy in the months ahead, but in the meantime, I will leave you with this: the essence of the American Dream is that the circumstances of your birth do not determine the circumstances of your life. Our scholars are dedicated to developing ideas and analysis for policymakers to make that principle a reality for every single American. I am committed to maximizing the reach and impact of that most critical work: expanding the American Dream.
In freedom,
Akash Chougule, President