Tom Giovanetti is president of the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), a 38-year-old conservative, free-market public policy “think tank” based in Dallas, Texas.
In addition to his administrative and fundraising duties, Tom writes for IPI and for leading publications on a variety of policy topics including tax policy, economic growth, self-government, civil liberties and constitutional protections, judicial supremacy, intellectual property, Social Security personal accounts, technology and Internet policy, and 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 writes often for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tom frequently appears in the media and is a regular guest and occasional substitute host of the Mark Davis Show in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Tom loves thinking out-of-the-box to design novel solutions to policy problems and explaining complicated policy issues in ways average folks can understand.
Tom's mission at IPI is to use issues to teach conservative, free market thinking and to push back against unprincipled populism. He seeks to encourage continued skepticism of Big Government, to maintain faith in markets, and to defend individual liberty as the best means of achieving human flourishing. His most recent work has focused on free market solutions to student loan debt, preserving online freedom, and persuading state legislatures to override local and municipal rules 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), and represented IPI during negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Mr. Giovanetti is a popular speaker and writer and testifies before state and federal legislative committees on a variety of topics.
Follow Tom on Twitter (X) at @tgiovanetti
Tickets and Economic Liberty
Secondary markets are an important component of a free market, and if you buy a legitimate ticket to a live event, you should be able to transfer it to whomever you choose, however you choose. But the Ticketmaster/Live Nation demogorgon wants to control that as well.
Playing Horseshoes with Our Republic
The Horseshoe Theory of Politics observes that the extremes of left and right end up meeting, and having more in common than they might have thought. And today we’ve gone full horseshoe.
Did You Hear What He Said?
“. . . the states are just an agent of the federal government.”
-Donald Trump, Speech to the NRCC, April 8, 2025
EconLog Quotes IPI TradeByte on Congress & Tariffs
Scott Sumner kindly references IPI's recent TradeByte on Congress' impotent response to Trump's tariffs.
Coalition Letter: Tariffs Will Harm the Economy and Undermine the Trump Economic Agenda
IPI joined a number of free-market groups to urge Congress to argue that tariffs will be harmful to the U.S. economy.
Letter in Support of 3.5 GHz CBRS Spectrum Policy
IPI signed this coalition letter supporting the current policy regarding the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).
Property Rights, Free-Markets, or SB 819?
IPI Quoted in Housing Wire on HUD Investigations
Giving No Truck to Trucking
Policymakers need to begin considering new ways of funding transportation infrastructure that properly allocate the costs of maintenance and repair. We are intrigued by the idea of a commercial vehicle miles travelled tax (VMT-C) that would tax commercial vehicles by the miles driven, but which would omit passenger vehicles.
The Conservative Impulse
The wall in Game of Thrones is reminiscent of a parable by the conservative Christian writer G.K. Chesterton, which first appeared in his 1929 book, The Thing.

