Fellow Conservative,

As the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, more and more Americans agree it is time to open the nation and allow Americans to get back to work, school, and church.

As of this morning, over 65,000 Americans have signed the petition to open American society. Together, they are sending a message to their local community leaders and elected officials that:

• People should be free to travel
• Businesses should be open to the public
• Americans should be responsible for getting themselves tested as needed
• Constitutional liberties must be protected in times of crisis
• Individuals have personal responsibility and are willing to take smart precautions to care for their neighbors

Americans across the country (especially Heritage Action Sentinels), have also been voicing their opposition to state bailouts. Why? Because bailouts create a perverse incentive for governors to keep their states closed, and they allow states to be irresponsible with their finances and reward them for mismanaging taxpayer money.

But don’t just take our word for it…

Americans say NO to state bailouts

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Simply put, state bailouts are not a good idea. Yet, Congress is reportedly considering bailing out state and local governments to the tune of $1 trillion dollars. State bailouts would waste taxpayer money while rewarding mismanaged states at the expense of responsible ones.

For instance, some of the states that are requesting the biggest handouts--Illinois, California, and New York--have a history of wasteful spending and mismanagement.

Illinois

• Has not balanced a state budget since 2001.
• Has kept the lowest credit rating of any state since 2010.
• Has a rainy day fund of well less than 1% of its budget ($4 million total).

California

• Spends more than $320 billion per year with federal taxpayers funding $106 billion of it.
• Is ranked next to last (49th) for taxpayers’ return on investment.
• Has approximately $1.5 trillion in debt and unfunded liabilities.

New York

• New York’s budget, passed in April 2020, gives $1 million directly to Planned Parenthood of New York City.
• Provides $100 million of taxpayer funding to political campaigns.
• Sends $420 million to film and television subsidies.
  

Many elected officials and conservative leaders have joined the opposition to bailouts.

And even more significantly, Americans from different walks of life are speaking up and opposing state bailouts. Here is what they are saying:

• In Kansas, Heritage Action Sentinel Pam Porvaznik wrote a letter to the editor challenging state bailouts. She said, "We only have to look at Detroit and its 50 years of deterioration to know throwing money at bad politics will never make a strong economy."

• In Florida, Heritage Action Sentinel Dr. Lentz published an op-ed with an interesting question: “There are so many states that have thrown financial discretion to the wind and have created massive debt for the people of their states… Why should the states that have been responsible and balanced their budgets every year be responsible for funding those states that have lost any semblance financial responsibility? It would be unconscionable to ask the responsible states to bail out the irresponsible states.”

• And across the country, Americans are voicing their opposition to wasteful spending and fiscal mismanagement. See the full video here.

That’s all for this week. Stay safe, healthy, and continue advocating for conservative values and policy solutions!

- Jessica and the Heritage Action team

P.S. Too often lawmakers get elected and forget about the conservative principles their constituents elected them to uphold. That’s why we created the Heritage Action Sentinel program to be the tip of the spear in the fight to achieve conservative victories in Washington. If you would like to join a community of thousands of like-minded conservatives across the country check out the Heritage Action Sentinel page.

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.