Tom Giovanetti is president of the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), a conservative, free-market public policy research organization based in Dallas, Texas.
In addition to his administrative duties, Tom writes for IPI and for leading publications on a variety of policy topics including taxes and economic growth, self-government and the Founders' design, civil liberties and constitutional protections, judicial supremacy, intellectual property, Social Security personal accounts, technology and Internet policy, and out-of-control government spending. In addition to being regularly published in major outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, FoxNews.com and The Dallas Morning News, Tom has a regular column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tom frequently appears in the media and is a fill-in host for the Mark Davis Show in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Tom's passion is encouraging conservative voters and organizations to remain skeptical of Big Government, maintain faith in markets, and defend individual liberty as the best means of achieving human flourishing. His most recent work has focused on free-market solutions to the student debt issue, preserving freedom of speech online, and persuading state legislatures to override local and municipal policies that restrict economic liberty.
Mr. Giovanetti has represented IPI at many national and international organizations, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) the World Health Organization (WHO) and represented IPI during trade agreement negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Mr. Giovanetti is a popular speaker and writer, and also testifies before state and federal legislative committees on a variety of topics.
Follow Tom on Twitter at @tgiovanetti
If Obamacare Is so Great, Why Limit Other Options? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains “bridge” or “gap” short term health insurance policies, which have functioned as less costly alternatives to Obamacare for many people. But progressives don’t actually like Americans to have choice, IPI President Tom Giovanetti reminds us, and that’s why the Biden administration announced steps last week to severely limit access to what they characterize as “junk” insurance policies. But if Obamacare is so great, why be worried about people choosing alternatives? Because, for one thing, Obamacare ain’t all that great. And for another thing, progressives don’t really believe in consumer choice. Free market economic proposals, by contrast, start with an assumption of consumer choice.
What Is the Likelihood that Joe Biden Can Survive a Second Term? (Audio: Podcast)
It may seem a bit morbid to be discussion Joe Biden’s lifespan, but it’s entirely appropriate for voters to discuss and consider whether to cast a vote for someone who may or may not live long enough to fill out the term. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews takes us through the actuarial science and lifespan tables of the Social Security Administration to point out that Biden has perhaps only a 50 percent chance of finishing a second term. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: How Should We Think About Artificial Intelligence? (Audio: Podcast)
We welcome IPI Research Fellow Dr. Dan Garretson to help us with an explainer on artificial intelligence (AI): What it is, what it isn’t, and how should we think about its impact on consumers, the economy, and the future? IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews demonstrates how “2001: A Space Odyssey” influences his thinking, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti can’t resist asserting that a free society gives us all the tools we need to manage technological revolutions.
Bidenomics: Embracing the Failure (Audio: Podcast)
Talk about embracing the suck. This week President Biden announced he is attempting the impossible by running on his economic accomplishments. But there’s a slight problem: The American people are very unhappy about the economy and rate the President very low on his handling of the economy. And while IPI President Tom Giovanetti begrudgingly gives Biden points for audacity, IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews goes through the statistics and the news ain’t good. Here’s a tip: Be alert to the lie that Biden came into office during a terrible economy. In fact, the economy was robustly recovering when Biden took office, and he poured trillions of stimulus on an already demand-constrained economy.
If You Want a President of Color, You'll Have to Vote Republican (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews surveys the presidential contestants (thus far) and observes that, if you want a President of color, your only choice is Republican. And not only is the Democrat field exclusively white, it also skews geriatric. While the Democrat field is old, white and wealthy, the Republican field is younger, more ethnically diverse, and more economically representative of the American people. Funny, huh? With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Republicans Should Be Willing to Vote by Any Means Necessary (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discusses his recent (6/21/23) piece in The Hill about how Republicans need to stop rejecting early voting, mail-in voting and other means of voting. Let’s make sure they are secure and aren’t open to fraud, but it’s counterproductive and self-defeating to boycott voting methods that are used by your opponents. Parties and candidates need every vote possible in order to win elections. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: In Politics, Compromise Is a Virtue, Not a Vice (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains at least part of the current dysfunction of Congress, and the dysfunction of the Republican Party, by explaining that while compromise may be a vice in religion, theology and ethics, compromise is the essence of democracy. Compromise is simply negotiation, and negotiation is necessary for self-government. Otherwise, we fall into the biggest concern of the Founders; namely, that a faction gains political power and then rules over their opponents. We see this play out when parties think they can only accomplish things when they control both Congress and the White House until the next midterm election. And we end by reading former Senator Phil Gramm’s recollection of how compromise was necessary for the Reagan agenda to become law and whip inflation, grow the economy, and win the Cold War.
Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right (Audio: Podcast)
Solo today, IPI President Tom Giovanetti talks through the Trump indictment for obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI, explains why this is different than the Biden and Pence document situations, and agrees that Hillary Clinton should also have been indicted. But two wrongs don’t make a right, and letting Trump flaunt the law just because Hillary did would set a terrible precedent and firmly establish a two-tiered justice system.
What's Going On with the Supreme Court? (Audio: Podcast)
Not a review of this term’s cases, but rather using today’s surprising Supreme Court decision on the Alabama districting case, IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains that it is oversimplistic to see the current court as a “6-3 conservative court.” Rather, there are several different judicial approaches and philosophies in the mix, which suggests something more like a 2-4-3 court. And IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews reminds us that it’s the progressive justices, not the conservatives, who almost always vote as a predictable bloc. And maybe those who so vilified Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh should think again, since Kavanaugh seems to be less willing than most to be at the vanguard of a conservative agenda. And Tom reminds us of one of his favorite points, namely that the Supreme Court is NOT engaged in a “power grab,” but rather is actually refusing the temptation to make policy from bench and is insisting the Congress actually do its job.
The Feds Make Drug Companies an Offer they Can't Refuse (Audio: Podcast)
The dishonestly named “Inflation Reduction Act” creates an explicit price controls mechanism for prescription drugs under Medicare. This unravels the market protection mechanism in the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit known as the nonintervention clause. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains how these price controls will be harmful to prescription drug innovation, and the constitutional grounds on which a legal challenge by Merck might be successful. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
How Government Is Wasting Your Green Dollars (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains how taxpayer dollars pledged to help vulnerable and developing countries cope with climate change are instead being used as a slush fund for project with little or no connection to climate change, and for projects that should be able to find adequate financing from the usual financial markets. Seems to IPI President Tom Giovanetti that this is yet another example of how the concern about climate change seems to be little more than an excuse for spending money on pet projects.
Should the IRS Calculate Your Taxes? (Audio: Podcast)
In a pursuit to close the “tax gap”—the alleged tax revenue the federal government thinks it’s missing out on – the IRS has several times floated the idea that the IRS would calculate your taxes and then send you a tax form with the fields and amounts already filled out. This is a terrible idea because the IRS could be relied upon to calculate your tax liability in the way most favorable to them, not to you. IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains that our system of voluntary tax compliance, where the burden of proof lies with the IRS to challenge your tax calculations, is worth preserving. So when the IRS says it wants to make tax compliance easier, the solution is a simpler tax code, not IRS intimidation. With IPI Resident Schlar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Two Great Supreme Court Decisions on Section 230 (Audio: Podcast)
Two of the major tech cases before the Supreme Court were handed down Thursday, and thankfully both of them preserved the critical Section 230 protection against intermediary liability for social media platforms. IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains the issues and discusses the cases with IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
The Durham Report: It Was as Bad as You Thought It Was (Audio: Podcast)
While the Mueller investigation found that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the Durham investigation went into the sources of the allegation, the source of the “Steele Dossier,” and the prejudicial behavior of FBI officials. And yes, it’s every bit as bad as you were afraid it was. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews reads excerpts from the report and explains their significance, with IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
The EPA Once Again Overreaches Its Authority (Audio: Podcast)
Today, the EPA announced a slate of new rules and regulations for coal and natural gas fired electrical generation plants, including mandating carbon capture technologies. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews suggests that such an act might not stand up to Supreme Court scrutiny under the major questions doctrine, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti is amused that the EPA claims it can impose such sweeping, ambitious regulations without raising the cost of electricity to consumers.
Total Records: 433
