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Articles by Meg Tuszynski
Marijuana legalization won’t fix Iowa’s budget Original
One of the arguments made for legalizing marijuana has little to do with marijuana itself. Instead, it is presented as another potential source of tax revenue. That approach misses a much larger point, though. Governments are almost always searching for additional money to support additional spending.
Economic freedom creates paths to prosperity, not inequality Original
Thomas Piketty and his colleagues at the World Inequality Lab recently released the Global Justice Project, a sweeping call to shrink global income and wealth gaps through steep taxes on the world’s richest and a new fund to redistribute the proceeds. Meanwhile, self-described “democratic socialists” are scoring wins or nominations in New York and other blue states for the upcoming midterms. Their chief complaint about American capitalism is its excessive economic inequality.
COMMENTARY: The best insurance against economic uncertainty isn’t in Washington
The big forces bearing down on state economies in 2026 -- trade uncertainty, stubborn inflation, swelling national debt, rippling AI disruptions -- mostly emanate from Washington and boardrooms, not state capitols. No governor sets tariff schedules. None votes on the federal budget, steers interest rates or decides how tech reshuffles local labor markets. Yet states aren't powerless. They don't control shocks, but they can build shock absorbers.
The best insurance against economic uncertainty isn't in Washington
The big forces bearing down on state economies in 2026 - trade uncertainty, stubborn inflation, swelling national debt, rippling AI disruptions - mostly emanate from Washington and boardrooms, not state capitols. No governor sets tariff schedules. None votes on the federal budget, steers interest rates or decides how tech reshuffles local labor markets. Yet states aren't powerless. They don't control shocks, but they can build shock absorbers.
Commentary: The best insurance against economic uncertainty isn't in Washington
Dallas TX1 data center electrical room is pictured at the NTT Data center campus on March 4, 2026, in Garland, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News/TNS) The big forces bearing down on state economies in 2026 - trade uncertainty, stubborn inflation, swelling national debt, rippling AI disruptions - mostly emanate from Washington and boardrooms, not state capitols. No governor sets tariff schedules.
Under Kim Reynolds, Iowa achieves 'Freedom to Flourish' | Opinion
In 2023, Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled “Iowa: Freedom to Flourish” as the state’s new tourism slogan. The phrase also captures the broader economic philosophy that has defined her administration: lower taxes, restrained spending, regulatory reform, and an effort to make Iowa more competitive in attracting both businesses and residents. These policies have helped strengthen Iowa’s fiscal position and improve its long-term economic outlook. Yet Iowa still faces significant challenges.
Under Kim Reynolds, Iowa achieves 'Freedom to Flourish' | Opinion
But Iowa’s recent reforms have positioned the state to compete more effectively in a national economy where people and businesses increasingly have the freedom to relocate. John Hendrickson and Meg Tuszynski Guest columnists May 23, 2026, 6:58 p.m. CT In 2023, Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled “Iowa: Freedom to Flourish” as the state’s new tourism slogan.
Concerned about inequality? Fix uneven playing field shaped by bureaucrats Original
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... New York’s rising political voices, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have put inequality back at the center of public debate. The focus is familiar: the gap between rich and poor, and what government can do to close it. But America’s most important inequality problem isn’t about income. It’s about rules. When Americans talk about inequality, they usually mean outcomes—who has more and who has less.
What New York can learn from Texas about inequality
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a May Day rally at Washington Square Park in New York on Friday. Policy ideas like Mamdani’s proposed rent freezes and raising corporate taxes, along with higher minimum wages, threaten to keep New York perennially stuck at the bottom, writes Meg Tuszynski. (Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press) New York’s rising political voices, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have put inequality back at the center of public debate.
Guest Column: Iowa’s high property tax burden is deterring economic competitiveness
State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed...
Op-Ed: Government spending does not drive economic growth
Iowa has been rated as one of the most fiscally prudent states for several years running, due to sound tax and spending policies. Yet thanks in part to a recent downturn in the agricultural economy, economic growth in the state has slowed.
AI Won’t Kill Work – It Will Reinvent It - Econlib
It’s easy to doomscroll these days. AI, it appears, is coming for our jobs. Even occupations that were previously considered an easy path to a middle-class lifestyle, like lawyer and radiologist, may be subject to the AI chopping block. Yet these stories, despite their flashy headlines, are missing nuance. They examine the seen (and likely) consequences of the AI revolution, but are missing the unseen “what comes next” part of the story.
Government Spending Does Not Drive Economic Growth
Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government. The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government. In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.
Liberating the literature: A project on women and economic freedom
EFW Economic Freedom of the World GDI Gender Disparity Index 1 INTRODUCTION In 2016, Rosemarie Fike suggested an important reevaluation of the way economic freedom is measured. Since the publication of the very first Economic Freedom of the World Annual (EFW) Report in 1996, numerous minor tweaks to the methodology had been made.
Free Trade and Economic Freedom
Donald Trump’s trade policies are rightly being derided as economically damaging. According to the Tax Foundation, the average American may experience a $1300 reduction in after-tax income this year if proposed tariffs go into effect. GDP is expected to decline by between 0.8% and 1% this year, depending on how other nations respond. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned that we may be facing the twin evils of creeping inflation and rising unemployment in the near future.
Another View: How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump’s constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That’s because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone’s right to own and use property.
Commentary: How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump’s constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That’s because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone’s right to own and use property.
How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump’s constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That’s because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone’s right to own and use property.
Column: How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump’s constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That’s because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone’s right to own and use property.
Mitchell, Tuszynski: How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump’s constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That’s because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone’s right to own and use property.
How Trump's trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump's constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That's because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone's right to own and use property.
Commentary: How Trump’s trade war threatens US economic freedom
President Donald Trump's constructive effort to bolster American economic freedom with his tax and regulatory plans is under threat. Not from Democrats, but from the president himself. That's because the second chapter of his trade war is likely to undermine all of it. People have more economic freedom when they are allowed to make more of their own economic choices. Government can support these choices by evenhandedly protecting everyone's right to own and use property.
Opinion: Tax incentives vs. tax freedom: Which spurs economic growth?
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. Attracting business to your state is key for economic growth and the job creation that comes along with it. While local governments often find it attractive to offer incentive packages, including subsidies and tax abatements, such programs come with a number of undesirable consequences.
Op-Ed: Gov. Kim Reynolds sets the gold standard for state fiscal policy
Iowa is quickly becoming a beacon for economic growth and opportunity thanks in large part to Gov. Kim Reynolds. Her fiscally conservative policies have lowered tax rates, kept spending low, and reduced regulations. Reynolds has received numerous honors for her fiscal prudence, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Tax Foundation and the Linda S. Weindruch award from the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
To err is human, but to really foul up a rental market requires rent control Original
It seems straightforward. When prices get too high, price caps can keep them from going higher. Indeed, this is what residents in many places hard-hit by inflation are arguing should be done in the rental housing market. The fact is this: not only would price caps result in damaging unintended consequences, but they’re not even the best method for achieving reasonable rental prices. Instead, proponents of affordable rental housing should argue for measures that increase economic freedom.
Institutions, Trade, and Economic Prosperity: An Examination of the U.S. and Mexican States
Home > Centers > TEXASMEXICO > TEXASMEXICO-RESEARCH > 4 Publication Date 1-2019 Abstract We provide the first subnational-level examination of the relationship between the presence of policies and institutions that are consistent with economic freedom and trade volume.
California migrants are not trying to un-Texas Texas
By Dean Stansel and Meg Tuszynski 1:30 AM on Nov 19, 2020 CST For centuries, people have been fleeing governments that limit their freedoms and moving to countries, or to less regulated areas within their own nations, that afford greater freedom. For many years, the U.S. had an open door to those immigrants. That door is no longer quite so open. One reason is that some immigration opponents believe immigrants will import the bad institutions and policies from their countries of origin.
Work-at-home crowd prefers to relocate to places with lower taxes, less regulation Original
When people can work wherever they want, where do they choose to live? And perhaps more importantly, where do they choose to leave? Traditionally, decisions about where to live have been closely tied to decisions about where to work. If you got a job in Phoenix, you head to Phoenix. COVID-19-related workplace disruptions caused many companies to move all or part of their operations temporarily online.
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