RESEARCH

Other than “tax increase,” few terms rile up Americans more than “red tape.” READ MORE

The cost of higher education has been a topic of debate for decades, yet the discussion has never held more of a policy focus as it does now. On August 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced canceling $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year, and up to $20,000 for... READ MORE

Conservative budgeting would allow state policymakers to implement more permanent tax cuts, providing relief in a time of rising prices and fostering further economic growth and prosperity. READ MORE

Today, after months of research and open records requests, the Beacon Center released a new report showing how local school districts in Tennessee are budgeting and spending federal COVID dollars through the ESSER program. Congress allocated over $4 billion in federal taxpayer money to Tennessee school districts to address the pandemic. The data suggests that Tennessee public schools have budgeted or spent millions... READ MORE

What are the requirements for occupational licenses in Tennessee, and are they becoming more or less onerous over time? READ MORE

In direct response to students and parents who felt they had no voice in public education, nearly half of all states created, expanded, or improved educational choice programs. READ MORE

While Tennessee is generally considered a more free-market-oriented state, one area it regulates more heavily is in occupational licensing, essentially a government permission slip to do a job. READ MORE

The Beacon Center is proud to release its “recipe book” themed Tennessee Pork Report, revealing hundreds of millions of dollars in government waste, fraud, and abuse. This year’s infamous Pork of the Year “winner” was Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). MNPS entered into an $18 million no-bid contract with Meharry Medical College Ventures which produced... READ MORE

As we have witnessed with Nashville Mayor Cooper’s recent faux pas, a misunderstanding of the state’s Truth in Taxation law can at best create confusion among taxpayers, or at worst, be used to deceive them. Additionally, while the law does prevent Tennesseans from automatically paying higher property taxes, it has clearly provided little defense against... READ MORE

If Tennessee is investing more each year in education funding, yet nearly half those dollars do not make it to the classroom, it begs the question of how public education is funded in the first place. READ MORE

If Tennessee lawmakers do commit and embark on creating the most free and innovative economy the nation has ever seen, who knows? Someday soon the Tennessee Valley will be the new Silicon Valley. READ MORE

For several decades and under the control of both Republicans and Democrats, Tennessee has been known for its fiscally conservative budgeting. Years of limited spending and low taxes have kept hundreds of millions of dollars in the pockets of Tennessee taxpayers that might otherwise have gone to government bloat. In fact, according to the Tax... READ MORE