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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

Unquiet Riot

What to Know: Police say Saturday’s protests in Portland became a riot when officers were attacked and a police union building was set on fire.

The TPPF Take: There’s an interesting correlation between a city’s chances of rioting and its vote counts for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.

“The more a city voted for Clinton, the more violence it saw in conjunction with the protests,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Why did the leaders of the hardest-hit cities decide to give space to destroy? Some mayors saw the protest organizers as political supporters. A few may have calculated that widespread coverage of burning cities would harm President Trump’s reelection chances.”
CANNON BANNER (23)

Backing the Blue

What to Know: “Back the Blue” rallies in support of embattled police officers are spreading throughout the nation.

The TPPF Take: Recent calls for defunding (or even abolishing) police departments seeks to punish all officers for the bad actions of a few.

“Punishing everyone regardless of their culpability in an action is the best way to breed feelings of distrust and retribution,” says TPPF’s Randy Petersen. “In reality, the police abolition movement will result in the police being replaced with other agents of order. Camden, New Jersey did experiment with this idea by getting rid of their entire police force and switching to the county police force, which then hired most of those same officers at a lower rate.”

Workforce Development

What to Know: A group of state and regional organizations have launched a new workforce development effort to try to help Texans get back to work.

The TPPF Take: We must ensure that workforce development efforts are targeted and effective.

“It’s not enough to base public policy and social services around hunches or anecdotal success stories,” says TPPF’s Erin Valdez. “Low-income Texas families deserve interventions that are backed by evidence that they work.