About the Authors and Acknowledgments
Kyle Sweetland
ResearcherKyle Sweetland is a former researcher at the Institute for Justice, where he provided research and analysis on issues central to the Institute’s mission. He is a co-author of IJ’s Food Truck Truth: Why Restaurants—and Cities—Have Nothing to Fear from Mobile Food Businesses, The Price of Taxation by Citation, and License to Work, 2nd ed. His work has appeared in academic journals such as Economic Affairs, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, and Criminal Justice Policy Review, as well as in Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. He holds a bachelor’s in business economics and public policy from Indiana University Southeast and is currently pursuing a master’s in data informatics at Middle East Technical University.
Dick M. Carpenter II, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Strategic ResearchDr. Dick Carpenter is a senior director of strategic research at the Institute for Justice. He works with IJ staff and attorneys to define, implement and manage social science research related to the Institute’s mission. His work has appeared in academic journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Economic Affairs, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, The Forum, Fordham Urban Law Journal, International Journal of Ethics, Education and Urban Society, Urban Studies, and Regulation and Governance. His research results have also been quoted in such newspapers as the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Carpenter’s research for IJ has resulted in reports including License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing, 2nd ed.; The Price of Taxation by Citation: Case Studies of Three Georgia Cities That Rely Heavily on Fines and Fees; Upwardly Mobile: Street Vending and the American Dream; Seize First, Question Later: The IRS and Civil Forfeiture; and Victimizing the Vulnerable: The Demographics of Eminent Domain Abuse. He is also co-author of the book Bottleneckers: Gaming the Government for Power and Private Profit.
Acknowledgments
This report may list two authors, but it profited from the contributions of many others, for whom we are grateful. The collection, organization, cleaning, coding, analysis and checking of data benefited from the efforts of Jennifer McDonald, Anthony Ward, Zachary Popovich, Rachel Rozenboom, Jason Tiezzi, Allan Hegedus, Harrison Weeks and Hannah So. Drs. Darwyyn Deyo and David Warren helped run the revised analysis. Lisa Bergstrom, Melissa LoPresti, David Losson, Marianne March, Kim Norberg and Nick Wolf assisted us in our search for people’s stories to highlight in the report. Tony Laudadio and Marshall Bellando provided literature and citation support. Lisa Knepper furnished helpful perspectives on the findings. Scott Bullock, Dana Berliner, Lee McGrath, Meagan Forbes, Jessica Poitras, Bob McNamara and Renée Flaherty provided feedback on the manuscript. Ben Field and Evan Lisull assisted with legal citations and proofing. Finally, Mindy Menjou’s direction and editing and Nathalie Walker’s design produced readable and engaging text.