R Street Institute

My colleagues @smayranderson & @LiselPetis have a great piece out in the wake of @AGPamBondi’s ouster. They analyze this through the lens of what occurs when institutions—particularly ones that should be neutral arbiters—become politicized/corrupt & lose the public’s trust. 🔗⬇️

One of the strongest arguments against flavor bans is substitution. A 2024 study found flavor restrictions were linked to a 3.6 percentage point drop in daily vaping among young adults, but also a 2.2 percentage point increase in daily cigarette smoking. That is a terrible trade. Read the full article by Jeffrey S. Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Healthier Communities, here: bit.ly/41nbouP

Power lines are expensive, and customers are the ones who end up paying for them. The real question is whether we are building the right projects, at the right time, for the right price. Better planning could save people money without sacrificing reliability. Read the full article by @kchan55, here: bit.ly/41rK0vM

Florida’s proposed “AI Bill of Rights” is not really a narrow rights measure. It is a broad regulatory package aimed at data centers, chatbots, publicity rights, defamation, political ads, and more. When everything gets bundled together under an AI label, policymaking starts to lose discipline. Read the full article by @AdamThierer & @Logan_Kolas, here: bit.ly/4sWgASm

There’s a lot of folks who’ve been in prison for decades who are no longer dangerous. If we believe in rehabilitation, we need to build it into our system. Made a short video explaining how second look laws do just that 👇

The second look debate is not just about sentence length. It is about whether the justice system has any mechanism for reassessing risk, rehabilitation, and public safety after years behind bars. 🎥⚖️ @smayranderson explains why second look laws are gaining traction, and why review should be part of any serious criminal justice conversation. Watch our other 'Second Look' Policy short here: youtube.com/shorts/2jIemxf…

Interesting Use Case: Virginia’s second look debate raised the right question - can lawmakers create a review process that takes public safety seriously while still allowing courts to revisit cases where circumstances have changed? 🏛️ This @RSI testimony walks through what legislators should keep in mind: rstreet.org/outreach/virgi…

Second look is not about going soft. It is about whether the justice system has any room for judgment once the years start piling up. ⚖️🎥 @LoganSeacrest explains why 'incentives' are so important to understand second look laws, and why a serious public safety agenda should care about review, not just rhetoric. Watch the video below. 👇

America’s 250th anniversary is a good moment to ask not only what liberal democracy has given us, but what we want it to become. A free society depends on more than inheritance. It depends on whether we make the right choices to sustain liberty, equality under the law, and limited government into the future. 🔗 Read the full article by Rebecca Kendall, here: rstreet.org/commentary/the…

The best response to AI-driven misinformation may not be one giant solution. It may be a layered system of verification: trusted reporting, in-platform context, user corrections, and a little more patience before sharing. Read the full article by @Marc_Hyden, here: bit.ly/4sqx5Gp

One of the biggest risks of limiting ads on AI platforms is that it could entrench incumbents. Large firms can survive on subscriptions or cross-subsidies more easily than smaller entrants can. If you cut off ad support, you may end up making competition harder, not easier. Read the full article by @AdamThierer & @neil_chilson, here: bit.ly/4rSN530

One of the more interesting developments in smoking cessation research is psilocybin-assisted therapy. In a Johns Hopkins pilot randomized trial, 40.5 percent of the psilocybin group achieved prolonged abstinence at six months, compared with 10 percent in the nicotine patch group, with both groups also receiving 13 weeks of CBT. Read the full article by Jeffrey S. Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Healthier Communities, here: bit.ly/4t4ktEQ

The best way to judge AI may not be by asking what it can do. The better question is whether it changes how and when people live. Structural change reveals itself in ordinary rhythms long before it gets named in political theory. Read the full article by @RSI President and Co-founder, Eli Lehrer, here: bit.ly/41a2u45

More than 3,000 federal agents were deployed into a city with roughly 600 police officers, and the operation began without unified command, advance coordination, or a shared operational framework. That is not a small planning gap. That is a public safety risk. Read the full article by Jillian Snider, Resident Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, here: bit.ly/4t4f0Oi

Jerry Theodorou, Director of Coalition member @RSI gives his insights on the current state of the insurance market, the pitfalls of a federal reinsurance backstop, and how best to address the rising cost of homeowners insurance. Read on: rstreet.org/commentary/why…

While cost concerns are common with efficiency changes, the status quo is far pricier. Some states have shown courts can move cases faster without cutting corners. When proven models exist, delay becomes a choice. @RSI rstreet.org/commentary/the…

One of the most striking parts of this debate is that even flawed AI laws keep getting copied. Colorado’s fairness model has already inspired similar proposals in other states, including Texas and South Carolina. Bad policy is proving highly portable. Read the full article by @AdamThierer & @Logan_Kolas, here: bit.ly/4sv90hO

As @RSI marks America’s path to the 250th anniversary, our America 250 Conversations series has brought together historians, journalists, and policy leaders to explore how the nation’s founding ideas still shape public life today. We were proud to launch the series with presidential historian @lmchervinsky, whose work also contributes to @InPursuitUSA. Next week, we’re pleased to welcome @AnitaBMcBride, co-chair of @InPursuitUSA, for a conversation on America’s First Ladies and their influence across 250 years of American public life. 🔗 Join us in DC: rstreet.org/events/america…

The most important point in smoking policy may be the simplest one: if current methods are leaving most people behind, we need more options. When two-thirds of current smokers want to quit but success rates remain low, innovation is not a luxury. It is a public health necessity. Read the full article by Jeffrey S. Smith, Resident Senior Fellow, Healthier Communities, here: bit.ly/3Pu8jGK