Intellectual Ammunition for Reform

From statehouses to the halls of Congress, IJ’s strategic research has been providing intellectual ammunition for freedom-friendly reforms, most notably efforts to rein in civil forfeiture and scale back out-of-control occupational licensing. Hard facts—like the scope of civil forfeiture actions and the burdens licensing laws impose on entrepreneurs—can help raise the profile of issues and ratchet up pressure for reform. Two figures illustrate how our research is increasingly influencing public debate:

215

Since last October, IJ’s civil forfeiture research has earned 215 media mentions, including features in The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as editorials and op-eds in Nevada, Georgia and elsewhere, supporting state and federal reform efforts. Our research was featured in coverage for one of IJ’s newest forfeiture cases, involving a baseless seizure at the Cincinnati airport, and our challenges to Philadelphia’s forfeiture machine and IRS forfeiture abuses.

198

IJ’s License to Work report, detailing occupational licensing burdens for low-income workers nationwide, has earned 198 media mentions since its release in 2012. The report has been the go-to source for a growing chorus of advocates and writers supporting licensing reform in outlets as ideologically diverse as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Boston Globe, The New Republic and Vox.com.