FW Newsletter: Reform Bringing Both Sides Together

Criminal Justice Reform is Becoming Washington's Bipartisan Cause - via TIME The need to reform the broken U.S. criminal-justice system is fast becoming the rare cause for which Washington’s warring factions will lay down their weapons and work together. The seed of the idea was planted last October, when an array of think tanks and advocacy groups from all points on the political spectrum assembled in Washington for a spirited meeting. Finding broad agreement, they agreed to team up despite longstanding acrimony on a host of other policy issues. “Did anyone on any planet imagine these Republicans and Democrats would come together for a common cause?” asked Matt Kibbe, president of the Tea Party group FreedomWorks and another participant in the coalition. Read more here... Conservatives Join Up with Liberals to Tackle Rising Prison Numbers - via The Guardian Some of America’s most bitterly divided political organizations, untangling from mortal combat over the role of government and the presidency, have agreed to set aside their disagreements and join forces in a drive to tackle the country’s addiction to mass incarceration. On the right, Matt Kibbe, president of the Tea Party-alligned and Koch brothers-funded FreedomWorks, said the new alliance “marks a potential shift in the traditional left versus right, Republican versus Democratic split. That suggests that something big is going to happen on criminal justice reform." Read more here... Real Talk: Civil Asset Forfeiture ObamaCare Will Make Filing a Tax Return an Even More Frustrating, Complex Process - by Jason Pye Americans already spend some 6 billion hours and $168 billion each year complying with a complex and onerous tax code. But ObamaCare is going to make tax filing even more of a chore for consumers who received subsidies for health plans purchased through the state and federal exchanges. Tax filing season will be extraordinarily difficult for many who received subsidies for which they weren't eligible. But just filing a tax return may be a headache, adding to the already complicated process that Americans have come to loathe. Reason's J.D. Tuccille points to a CBS Money Watch report that describes the new two-page IRS Form 8962, which anyone who has received subsidies will be required to fill out and submit with their tax return. Read more here... 18 Must-Know Facts about U.S. Prisons - by Julie Borowski Over 2.2 million people are currently in U.S. jails or prisons. That’s more than the entire population of New Mexico. It's the highest prison population in the entire world.* The U.S. also has the highest prison rate in the world at about 724 people per 100,000.* Read more here... Less Imprisonment Doesn't Lead to More Crime - by Logan Albright The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, as well as the largest prison population anywhere on Earth. With all those people locked away, one would hope that the streets would be pretty safe for the rest of us. Yet in many parts of the country, crime rates remain high, leading some to question whether putting so many people in prison is actually making us any safer. Overcriminalization of non-violent crimes is clogging up the system, making it harder for law enforcement and judicial authorities to appropriately deal with criminals who are truly dangerous. Still, the suggestion that we should strive for lower incarceration rates worries some people. Won’t letting people out of prison just result in more criminals on the streets? Read more here... FreedomWorks at the International Students for Liberty Conference - by Daisy Belden The weekend of February 13th-15th, FreedomWorks sponsored the 8th annual International Students for Liberty Conference, a gathering of more than one thousand students from all over the world and across America for the purpose of exploring the ideas of liberty. The International Students for Liberty Conference, held in Washington each year around Valentine's Day, hosts many prominent leaders in the libertarian movement for speeches, question and answer sessions, and breakout sessions on a variety of topics pertaining to liberty in the world today. Read more here... Oppose the Ex-Im Bank - by Tom Borelli via The Washington Times Republican control of Congress has not slowed the influence of the DC insiders’ push for bigger government. Regrettably, Republicans are dancing with Democrats to the lobbying tune of big business special interest groups, calling for a tax increase and the renewal of the corrupt Export-Import Bank. The Export-Import Bank increases sales of U.S. multinational corporations by providing government-backed loans, loan guarantees and other credit mechanisms to foreign based countries and companies. Read more here... The Ex-Im Bank: Do You Side with Hillary, Warren, and Reid? - by Logan Albright The United States Export-Import Bank was founded in 1934 as yet another one of FDR’s misguided “New Deal” programs. For the past 80 years, the Bank has been an instrument of corporate welfare, handing out taxpayer-backed loans to big corporations and special interest projects, such as green energy. The Ex-Im Bank’s charter expires at the end of June, and all Congress has to do to end an entire corporate welfare program is not vote to reauthorize it. Read more here... Get the FreedomWorks Special Edition of Atlas Shrugged III - by Logan Albright Half a century ago, Ayn Rand penned one of the world’s most vibrant and enduring books on the dangers of a too-powerful government and the importance of individual freedom. Yet despite its popularity and influence, it took until 2011 and the rise of the Liberty Movement for anyone to successfully adapt this remarkable novel for the silver screen. Now, for the first time, you can buy the third installment on DVD, and the FreedomWorks 2-Disc Special Edition of Atlas Shrugged 3: Who Is John Galt? is available exclusively for mail order. Read more here... Sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update If you want an update like this newsletter twice a week, be sure to sign up for the Freedom Works Morning Update! The Morning Update is your tool to keep up-to-date with all the threats to your freedom. Sign up here. Make freedom work, Adam Brandon Executive Vice President, FreedomWorks           Forward To A Friend | Update Your Email Preferences 400 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 765 Washington, DC 20001