Akash Chougule

Some personal news - March 21 is my last day at AFP; On March 26, I begin as President of @FREOPP! I am grateful to AFP and Stand Together, and honored for the opportunity to lead FREOPP - looking forward to helping expand the American Dream to uplift more Americans than ever!

.@Avik founded @FREOPP to fill basically that exact gap in 2016. Today we continue focus on market-oriented solutions to make the “economics of agency” more accessible and affordable for Americans specifically on the bottom half of the socioeconomic ladder, empowering not just upward mobility but also the non-economic elements of human flourishing like family and community. Contrary to what many claim, economic freedom helps, not undermines, those things.

Fred makes a good point: the Right can’t rely on “cheap consumer goods” as its economic argument, we must tap into “the economics of agency”—that is, the material dimension of what is required for a good life.

.@Avik founded @FREOPP to fill basically that exact gap in 2016. Today we continue focus on market-oriented solutions to make the “economics of agency” more accessible and affordable for Americans specifically on the bottom half of the socioeconomic ladder, empowering not just upward mobility but also the non-economic elements of human flourishing like family and community.

@christopherrufo The key economic issue is instead securing the economics of agency (housing, employment, family formation, etc.). Those on the right can make a case for that agency through market-oriented means--but they have to keep an eye on that bigger question.

This kind of rhetoric was good in the 1980s when America was going through a consumer product boom, but it’s not going to meet the current moment. The Left’s easy counter is, “Sure, you can buy a cheap fridge, but you can’t afford housing, education, and healthcare.” We’re not going to get the DSA generation to change their minds with an appeal to consumerism and recycled arguments from “I, Pencil.” Sadly, we’re way beyond that point.

FREOPP is growing, and we're hiring a Development Associate. Based in Washington, DC or virtual, this role supports fundraising operations, donor stewardship, prospect development, grant management, and event execution. We’re looking for a professional with 1-2 years of experience in development, fundraising, nonprofit operations, public policy, external affairs, communications, or a related field. If you're organized, detail-oriented, and inspired by turning ideas into action, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today 👇 talentmarket.org/job-opening/fr… #TalentMarketJob #LibertyJob

FREOPP is hiring! Come join our growing team as Development Associate - a great opportunity for someone young and hungry to help us build the future of freedom: #TalentMarketJob" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">talentmarket.org/job-opening/fr… @FREOPP @TalentMarket

The Asian students who attend NYC’s specialized high schools aren’t a monolith. They come from a variety of subgroups, and many are either low-income or working-class. These schools are a tool of social mobility. To suggest that they aren’t, or that they lack diversity, is a lie. freopp.org/oppblog/in-def…

Heartwarming: A non-unionized company that's one of the country's top importers and delivers great returns for shareholders as the beating heart of American consumerism pays its workers well for entirely market-based reasons. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Between elevating a scumbag like Graham Platner because they thought he gives off working-class vibes — and nominating socialists who underperform in low-income minority precincts but over-perform in highly educated whiter precincts — the far Left has made painfully obvious how much they patronize and how little they actually understand about struggling Americans who just want a shot at the American Dream. Working with your hands doesn’t make you more open to Marxists or Nazi-tattoo predators. It just means you want a raise, but the far Left knows its policies can’t deliver that.

@EWErickson Not only very telling of what the left thinks of masculinity, also incredibly insulting to working-class Americans that this is the person the Left thought would be most resonant and relatable to them.

Democrats did not stumble into Graham Platner. They went looking for him. For a decade, the party has been losing men — young men, blue-collar men, veterans, the guys who fix your truck and pour your beer. So the smart set decided they needed a man who could win those men back. Not a policy fix. A vibe. And when they went hunting for the most aggressively masculine figure they could find in a swing state, they landed on a Marine with a Nazi death’s-head tattooed over his heart. That should tell you something about how the modern left thinks masculinity works. They didn’t want a good man. They wanted a hard one, and they weren’t careful about the difference. ewerickson.substack.com/p/826ac0f9-cc5…

Happy Birthday America 🇺🇸 Here’s to 250 more! @ShadowLion

Two hundred and fifty years ago, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail. In it, he described exactly how he envisioned this day would be celebrated — forever more. He wasn’t wrong about a single word of it. The parades, the fireworks, the celebrations from one end of this country to the other — this is exactly what he had in mind. And let’s not forget — the Fourth of July was brought to you by guns and cannons. 🇺🇸 Today we celebrate. Tomorrow we keep fighting for it. Happy 4th of July, enjoy every bit of it, the founding fathers would want us to.

The other day, another Internet keyboard warrior who has no idea how good he has it fired off another post questioning what makes America "the greatest country in the world." A lot of people noted our wealth and might. Those things are true, but critics are actually correct that they don't alone make America the greatest country in the world. Here is what I shared in response, a sentiment I perhaps worth sharing more broadly today: I suggest you ask this question to someone who came from a different part of the world and chose to become an American. America has been the most desired country to live in every year since pollsters started asking the question; 134 million people around the world would become Americans if they could. Second is Canada, and half the people who say so do because of its proximity to America. Is there another country on earth that so many people are willing to leave behind everything and everyone they’ve ever known – sometimes risking their lives in blazing heat or shark-infested waters – to come to? America is not only the strongest and most prosperous place on earth. It’s also the most open, welcoming, upwardly mobile, and benevolent society in history. And it is not that way by chance - or even only because of the character of its people. America is the greatest, most desired country on earth because of our founding ideals, enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. 250 years ago, our Founding Fathers took a chance beyond radical, beyond unheard of. They challenged the most powerful empire on earth with a simple premise: that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their efforts changed the course of human history, not just here, but around the world. Every single day since then, we have strived to be a more perfect union. And the result has been this: not perfection, but a nation closer to it than any other society in the history of the world, with the outcomes and demand to prove it. Increasingly these days, it's important to note that it isn't just okay to defend America's founding, inherent goodness, and superiority - it's absolutely necessary. Let's do that today, tomorrow, and every day here forward. Happy 250th birthday, America, and thank you. 🇺🇸

So good 🇺🇸

The ideas in our founding documents are not relics. They are the answer to the question of how a nation built on freedom can remain worthy of it. There's no better time to recommit to free enterprise and individual liberty than right now.

Sad and embarrassing for every Rhode Islander. Rhode Island contributed so much to America’s founding and the country we are today: - the birthplace of religious liberty, thanks to Roger Williams - the first colony to declare independence from the British - the last to sign the Constitution to guarantee a Bill of Rights - the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution In many ways, America has Little Rhody to thank for our freedom and prosperity. But our feckless, pathetic state leaders couldn’t look past politics to put that amazing history and heritage on display for the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.

Shouldn’t have closed Indian Point! Cc @grantadever

Free enterprise and individual liberty gave people without wealth or connections a chance to earn their way to a better life. That's been America's edge for 250 years. It's worth defending.

Many "conservatives" are really telling on themselves with their reactions to the birthright citizenship ruling. The Court was clear and correct, and most importantly, stayed within their proper role. Reasonable people can disagree, and to the extent there is nuance and questions that need to be resolved by Congress or constitutional amendment, so be it. But some of the other reactive hysteria coming from certain corners of the right for a more activist judiciary are not only insane and straight from the Left's playbook, they are wildly out of touch with the preferences of the vast majority of Americans.

Perhaps you’re being intentionally obtuse to make a different backhanded point, but I suggest you ask this question to someone who came from a different part of the world and chose to become an American. America has been the most desired country to live in every year since pollsters started asking the question. 134 million people around the world would become Americans if they could. Second is Canada, and half the people who say so do because of its proximity to America. Is there another country that many people are willing to leave behind everything and everyone they’ve ever known – sometimes risking their lives in blazing heat or shark-infested waters – to come to? America is not only the strongest and most prosperous place on earth. It’s almost the most open, welcoming, upwardly mobile, and benevolent society in history. It’s popular to score cheap points on the Internet asking questions like this, but the thing it reveals most is a complete disconnection from reality.

do people outside the US say their country is the best in the world or is it mostly an american thing? like, do swedes say "sweden is the best country in all of human history?"

Perhaps you’re being intentionally obtuse to make a different backhanded point, but I suggest you ask this question to someone who came from a different part of the world and chose to become an American. America has been the most desired country to live in every year since pollsters started asking the question. 134 million people around the world would become Americans if they could. Second is Canada, and half the people who say so do because of its proximity to America. Is there another country that many people are willing to leave behind everything and everyone they’ve ever known – sometimes risking their lives in blazing heat or shark-infested waters – to come to? America is not only the strongest and most prosperous place on earth. It’s almost the most open, welcoming, upwardly mobile, and benevolent society in history. It’s popular to score cheap points on the Internet asking questions like this, but the thing it reveals most is a complete disconnection from reality.

interesting how many people have cited wealth and military power as the reasons why the US is the "best country in the world." i would think that the best country in the world, if such a thing exists at all, should be about whether citizens are happy and fulfilled.