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

Countdown to Policy Orientation 2020

What to Know: The Dallas neighborhood of Bonton continues to be one of the safest in the city—helped, in part, by Bonton Farms, the urban farm and market community founded by Daron Babcock.

The TPPF Take: Bonton Farms shows that change comes from people—not programs.

“We’re seeing lives changed and communities restored not through government programs or political fiat, but by the rebuilding of the institutions that matter,” says TPPF’s Kevin Roberts. “It happens when individuals take upon themselves the command of every faith to care for the poor and forgotten. And that’s what Daron Babcock does every day.”
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Courtroom Victory

What to Know: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handed TPPF a win on Wednesday when it ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must follow the law regarding the listing of the golden cheeked warbler as an endangered species.

The TPPF Take: The golden cheeked warbler is not, in fact, endangered.

“According to a 2015 study of the species by the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, the warbler is 19 times greater in population and has 5 times as much habitat as when first listed,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “Yet, it has remained under perpetual regulation by the federal government. Today’s opinion holds the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service accountable to following the law and provides hope that this regulatory burden of the warbler listing will soon be lifted from the backs of property owners across Texas.”

Coverage Isn’t Care

What to Know: In Michigan, one Medicaid recipient had to seek care outside of the system when she couldn’t find a provider.

The TPPF Take: Dani Valassis eventually found health care—through a new model called direct primary care

“Direct primary care re-establishes the relationship between physicians and their patients—without the middlemen of insurance companies, benefits managers and Medicaid officials,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “To solve our nation’s health care delivery problems, we need new ideas—not the kind of government takeover we would see with Medicare-for-All.”