Profile in Courage: David Pryor
 
In today’s toxic political climate, it’s easier to call opponents names and dig up dirt about them than work with them to create a better future. It does not have to be this way. Public servants such as recently deceased Arkansas Governor, Senator, and Representative David Pryor (D) exemplify model statesmanship, serving as a courageous contrast to the current crop of U.S. politicians. Pryor consistently took the high road, finding common ground with adversaries and championing causes outside of his party’s comfort zone. For doing the right rather than expedient thing and bringing people together, David Pryor was absolutely a Profile in Courage. He was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1960 and served Ouachita County from 1961 through 1966. Like most Southern states in the 1960s, Arkansas was reluctant to grant civil rights to black citizens amid ferocious and often violent resistance from segregationists. Because of despicable policies such as poll taxes, impoverished black residents did not have the means to vote and were effectively disenfranchised. Meanwhile, political cronies kept no-bid contract dollars flowing to “good ol’ boys,” perpetuating the power structure and exacerbating inequality. After assuming office, Pryor promptly set his sights on these deeply unfair policies. He recalled, “In the Legislature I was known as a Young Turk... I tried to get rid of a poll tax, things like that. [County commissions] let the contracts for road building in each county...And under the system, they did all this without taking competitive bids. The first bill I introduced...required competitive bidding for all state and local highway contracts.” While the bill floundered at first, the legislation eventually passed and paved the way for reform. Arkansan voters followed Pryor’s lead on poll taxes, abolishing the racist policy in 1964 via state constitutional referendum.
 
After fighting these battles, Pryor’s ambitions led beyond the state house. President Lyndon Johnson’s sudden appointment of Congressman Oren Harris (D) to a federal judgeship led to a special election for Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District, and Pryor stepped up to the plate. The “Young Turk” cruised to election and served the Fourth District from 1966 to 1973. Pryor’s tenure in Congress was marked by the Vietnam War, and the young lawmaker shared the nation’s deep uncertainty and misgivings about the “forever war.” On one of many plane trips from Washington to Arkansas, Pryor had a life-changing conversation with a young serviceman who had lost a leg fighting overseas. The veteran told Pryor, “I would not have minded losing my leg, if only someone had told me why we were there in the first place.” From then on, Pryor made a point of opposing funding for the war and called for a swift end to the bloody conflict. He garnered swift acclaim for speaking the conscience of the country, and pretty soon, Little Rock pols were begging him to come back to Arkansas full-time. Gov. Dale Bumpers decided not to run for a third term and Pryor banked on widespread popular support and was swept into the Governor’s Mansion. After being sworn in as governor in January 1975, Pryor quickly set his sights on fiscal reform. Like the rest of the nation, Arkansas was gripped by a recession, high taxes, and burgeoning government spending. Gov. Pryor proposed significant reforms, including a 25 percent reduction in the state income tax and devolution of tax-and-spend powers to localities. He reasoned that people should spend money however they wish, and taxpayers were struggling enough with soaring costs and economic malaise. While the “Arkansas Plan” failed, it would prove a harbinger of pro-taxpayer policies at the federal and state level. The Reagan Revolution was only a few years away, and Pryor found an increasing number of friends from across the aisle who shared his distaste for tax-and-spend policies. Effectively working with them, though, would require changing jobs yet again. While completing his term as governor, Pryor successfully ran for an open Senate seat and went on to serve his state for nearly twenty years.
 
Back in the halls of Congress, Pryor championed taxpayer protections from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxpayers had little recourse from the sprawling bureaucracy, which could upend lives through endless liens and audits. Pryor worked with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to introduce the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” which required the IRS to allow attorney assistance during audits, recovery of costs for administrative proceedings, and easy-to-understand explanations for taxpayers. Congress enacted this landmark legislation in 1988, and for the first time, taxpayers were not on their own against the IRS. Pryor didn’t stop there and successfully pushed for subsequent “Taxpayer Bills of Rights” designed to “achieve higher standards of accuracy, timeliness and fair play in providing taxpayer service.” The Senator explained, “these proposals do not diminish the power of the IRS -- They simply make the IRS accountable for its actions.” Pryor deserves acclaim for these critical first steps toward agency transparency and accountability. The IRS is still far too powerful, but Pryor showed that progress is possible through dedication and bipartisan cooperation. Pryor championed change wherever he went, transforming millions of lives and making Arkansas – and all of America – a better place. David Pryor is a Profile in Courage, and his legacy will endure for generations.
 
The Importance of World Vape Day
 
May 30 was World Vape Day, an annual global campaign created by consumers of tobacco harm reduction products. This day unites millions of adults who have quit smoking using novel alternatives to combustible cigarettes. More importantly, World Vape Day directly counters the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World No Tobacco Day on May 31, challenging the taxpayer-funded organization’s prohibitionist stance towards products that are not only less harmful than traditional cigarettes but also effective in helping adults quit. Even though the WHO has turned World No Tobacco Day into an assault against tobacco harm reduction, the truth is that World Vape Day and World No Tobacco Day should be the same day. Widespread acceptance of vapes and other tobacco harm reduction products could mean a real World No Tobacco Day. Modern tobacco harm reduction products, including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and oral tobacco products, first gained market strength in the mid-to-late 2000s when the modern e-cigarette was introduced to the US and UK markets. Contrary to the rhetoric pushed by the WHO, e-cigarettes were not introduced by tobacco companies. In fact, the first e-cigarette was created by Hon Lik, a private consumer adult who was then addicted to combustible cigarettes, who found traditional nicotine replacement therapies did not work for him, and went on to develop the modern electronic nicotine delivery device – or the modern e-cigarette.  
 
The first e-cigarette came to the US in 2007. It wasn’t until 2011 that larger tobacco manufacturers realized the potential of the product and purchased already-existing e-cigarette brands. In 2022, the top 10 tobacco companies controlled only 24.9 percent of the global e-cigarette market. The WHO creates an unnecessary enemy in the modern tobacco product industry. According to WHO’s own tobacco treaty, tobacco companies cannot be involved with any strategies to reduce the burden of smoking. This is a shame. While large tobacco companies have struggled to gain a majority stake in the vapor product category, they have made significant strides in other tobacco harm reduction products—namely heated tobacco and oral nicotine alternatives. In Japan, even the American Cancer Society has remarked that the introduction of one particular brand of heated tobacco has “likely reduced cigarette sales in Japan.”
 
The stubborn stance of the WHO and similar organizations against tobacco harm reduction products is not only misguided but also detrimental to public health. By ignoring the substantial evidence supporting the effectiveness and relative safety of e-cigarettes and other alternatives, these organizations are failing millions of adults seeking to quit smoking. On World Vape Day (and every day), it's crucial to recognize and support the potential of these products to save lives and reduce the burden of smoking globally.
 

BLOGS:

Tuesday: Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Why The Jaguars Renovation Plan Is A Big Headache To Jacksonville Taxpayers

Wednesday: Dirty Tricks Threaten Medicare Advantage

Thursday: World Vape Day Recognizes the Impact of Tobacco Harm Reduction, State Bill of the Month – PA HB 2298 , and Bill of the Month: Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act

Friday: Profile in Courage: David Pryor

Media:
 
 
May 24, 2024: States News Service mentioned TPA in their article, “What They Are Saying: H.R. 8372, The Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act.”
 
May 24, 2024: WRC-TV Channel 4 (Washington, D.C.) quoted TPA in their story about housing fraud. 
 
May 25, 2024: Targeted News Service mentioned TPA in their article, “What They Are Saying: H.R. 8372, The Debt Per Taxpayer Information Act.”
 
May 27, 2024:  WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about The Farm Bill and the Sugar Program
 
May 27, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their story about Baltimore County buying a building.
 
May 28, 2024: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “FDA’s Mixed Messaging on E-Cigarettes Undermines Public Health.”
 
May 29, 2024: The Sunday Gazette-Mail (Charleston, WV) ran TPA’s op-ed, “FDA should send clear message on e-cigarettes.”
 
May 29, 2024: Health Econ Bot ran TPA’s op-ed, “FDA should send clear message on e-cigarettes.”
 
May 29, 2024: The Charleston Gazette-Mail (Charleston, W.V.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “FDA should send clear message on e-cigarettes.”
 
May 29, 2024: American Family News quoted me in their article, “EV infrastructure program an example of gov't incompetence.”
 
May 30, 2024: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “World No Tobacco Day Should Protect Youth and Help the 1.3 Billion Adults Who Smoke.”
 
May 30, 2024:  WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about electric school buses.
 
May 30, 2024:  I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about electric vehicles and tax reform. 

May 30, 2024: Axios quoted TPA in their article, "IRS opening free online tax filing program to all states."


Have a great weekend!