Beacon Center of Tennessee

Chattanooga, TN is quickly becoming a vibrant hub of education entrepreneurship, thanks in large part to the efforts of Rachel Good and other local school founders! It was great to gather yesterday for a dinner workshop with founders, sponsored by Beacon Center of Tennessee and State Policy Network. Always great to see amazing founders like Coi Morefield and connect with education policy champions like Jason Edmonds, Taylor Dawson Justice, and Jane McEnaney.

The last Beacon Poll before election day is out. See how Tennesseans plan to vote. You can check out the full results at www.BeaconPoll.com.

🚨New Beacon Center of Tennessee Poll is here! From pumpkin spice debates to key school choice questions, this poll has it all! Don’t miss the results! 📊👇

Beacon Center of Tennessee is hiring a Communications Manager! The manager will be responsible for strategic communication and media engagement, serving as chief spokesman, managing marketing initiatives, and overseeing digital comms. The manager will also produce external content, manage outreach programs, and collaborate with the Senior Director of External Affairs to advocate for individual liberty and limited government. The ideal candidate will have 3+ years of relevant experience, exceptional communication skills, and a strong passion for free-market principles and individual liberty. This position can be based in Nashville, TN or virtual, anywhere in TN. Full details: https://lnkd.in/dwxzjbbw #TalentMarketJob #LibertyJob

Justin Owen is president & CEO of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a public policy think tank. He’s also a Freedom Conservatism signatory. Owen led the effort to enshrine right-to-work in the Tennessee Constitution and helped enact tort reform, deregulation, and school choice in his state. Under his leadership, Beacon also helped repeal Tennessee’s Hall Income Tax and death tax, saving taxpayers nearly $4 billion to date. Owen appears frequently on television and radio programs and has written for such publications as the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Forbes, the Daily Caller, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Knoxville News Sentinel, and the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He received his J.D. from the Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis and his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University. In a Nashville Tennessean op-ed coauthored with Arthur Laffer and Joe Scarlett, Owen advocated limits on property taxes across the state. “Housing is a fundamental need for all Americans, whether they rent or own their home. “Government should never work to make housing less affordable through exorbitant property tax hikes on its citizens.” You can read more #FreeCon takes on tax and regulatory issues here: https://lnkd.in/enK5S9gU

I published an article last week entitled “Tennessee Trends: The State of Tennessee’s Economy”, with Ron Shultis III (Chief of Staff, City of Jackson, Tennessee; former Director of Policy and Research, Beacon Center of Tennessee) and Jason Edmonds (Deputy Director of Policy, Beacon Center of Tennessee). This article (i) highlights Tennessee’s strong economic performance in the past few years, (ii) documents the state’s record of recent business and individual income tax reform, and (iii) uses the open source #CostOfCapitalCalculator model to evaluate the benefits of four different potential business tax reforms being considered in the state’s upcoming legislative session. https://lnkd.in/gUpe8QQs

Give Beacon Center of Tennessee's latest report a read, which provides a detailed analysis of the state’s economic strengths and weaknesses, and offers opportunities for us to lead the nation in economic strength. https://lnkd.in/gJVK2CRa

A county in East Tennessee tried to prevent farmer Joe Riley from building tiny homes on his own farm. Here’s how farmer Joe fought back: https://lnkd.in/gq9jCf_9

NEW CASE: The Labor Department's Overtime Rule will harm businesses, workers, and nonprofits by forcing employers to reclassify millions of workers on January 1. Beacon Center of Tennessee is proud help Association of Christian Schools International stand up for its rights so that ACSI can focus its resources on its important mission of helping students and teachers: https://lnkd.in/gFSafagX

New Zoning Atlas covering West Tennessee, courtesy of Beacon Center of Tennessee, out now! 🙌 "In our new expansion of the Tennessee Zoning Atlas, we focus on local government zoning policies across West Tennessee. We calculate how local governments in the Memphis, Jackson, and Brownsville area treat different types of housing. We chose these counties because they comprise the vast majority of West Tennessee’s population and include the area expected to grow most as a result of Blue Oval City, [Ford's planned automotive assembly campus]. The Tennessee Zoning Atlas uses standardized methodology created by the National Zoning Atlas. It highlights the need to reform overly strict government zoning regulations with common sense pro-housing reforms that make it easier for would-be homeowners to afford a home at various price points and for property owners and builders to respond to the growing needs of our communities." https://lnkd.in/eZD3-8Cr For more, see how the West TN Atlas compares with the Middle TN Atlas released by Beacon Center last year: https://lnkd.in/essxiKKU