Insights & Takeaways
Insights & Takeaways is Sutherland Institute’s official blog that informs the public and policymakers alike. The blog addresses important issues through the two distinct yet complementary lenses of the seasoned policy professional and the engaged citizen.
Insights: analysis, research, and informed commentary from Sutherland experts. For elected officials and public policy professionals.
Takeaways: the most important things voters need to know. For civically engaged citizens.
-
InsightsTransparency is a constitutional check on federal agency power
Read More: Transparency is a constitutional check on federal agency powerAgencies have developed a practice of publishing enforcement manuals and sending letters and similar communications to explain how they understand the law, and by implication, how they plan to enforce…
-
InsightsHurdles facing education choice programs across the nation
Read More: Hurdles facing education choice programs across the nationEducation choice programs will need ongoing support and improvement. False narratives should be corrected, but real issues should be resolved.
-
InsightsFree speech, not politics: Why the Supreme Court rejected Colorado’s counseling law
Read More: Free speech, not politics: Why the Supreme Court rejected Colorado’s counseling lawThe Court’s decision in Colorado prioritized the Constitution over policy preferences and protected the integrity of our system.
-
InsightsWhat Trump’s education budget means for state lawmakers in 2026
Read More: What Trump’s education budget means for state lawmakers in 2026Trump’s new education budget seeks to reduce funding overall, eliminating and streamlining programs, similar to last year.
-
InsightsThe DOJ’s voter roll demand has a federalism problem
Read More: The DOJ’s voter roll demand has a federalism problemThe DOJ’s attempt to obtain state voter registration information is hard to square with the constitutional arrangement.
-
InsightsSutherland Institute’s public comment on the new civics course standards
Read More: Sutherland Institute’s public comment on the new civics course standardsThe passage of last year’s H.B. 381 and this year’s H.B. 312 and S.B. 268 adjust Utah’s civics and social studies requirements.
-
CommentaryThirty Years After Welfare Reform, It’s Time for the Next Generation of State-Led Solutions
Read More: Thirty Years After Welfare Reform, It’s Time for the Next Generation of State-Led SolutionsCongress should act now to ensure that the next phase of reform is once again state-led and work-centered.
-
InsightsFair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act: Protecting religious freedom at the national level
Read More: Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act: Protecting religious freedom at the national levelThis type of national legislation is an important supplement to state efforts, which cannot address disparate treatment of religious organizations by federal agencies.
-
ReportThe Upward Mobility Act: A state solutions framework for benefit cliffs
Read More: The Upward Mobility Act: A state solutions framework for benefit cliffsAmerica’s social welfare system is intended to provide needed, temporary stabilization to families striving to escape poverty, while helping them move back into stable employment and self-reliance.
