About Us

Right to Rise Policy Solutions is dedicated to developing policies that maximize economic and social mobility for all. We believe that each individual is capable of success if given the opportunity. And we believe that liberty is the essential foundation for providing that opportunity—the "Right to Rise".

America has long provided the shining example of Right to Rise principles at work—demonstrating that it is possible for someone to rise from even the lowest economic and societal ranks to the highest through hard work, entrepreneurship, and the desire to provide their family with more than what they were born into. At home and abroad America has been a positive force for liberating people, lifting them out of poverty, and releasing their potential.

While we are extremely proud of America's legacy as the standard bearer for liberty and economic opportunity, we cannot take it for granted. We must be vigilant to protect and strengthen the Right to Rise to ensure that America continues to lead the way.

Maximizing the Right to Rise requires policy solutions that adhere to the following principles:

  1. Families and communities are the center of civic life.

    Evidence has shown that strong families and communities produce the best chance of success for economic and social mobility. Government should be careful not to displace or disrupt these critical institutions through programs that—intentionally or unintentionally—replace or discourage them.

  2. Individuals are capable of making responsible decisions and taking risks.

    The cycle of creative destruction that spurs innovation in free market societies has produced the most advanced and economically dynamic systems in the world. In order for this cycle to exist, individual people must have both the ability and the incentive to offer and implement their ideas in the market. Government must encourage and allow this type of risk taking, and must not penalize its success.

  3. Work should be rewarded and encouraged, not penalized.

    From the stay-at-home mom who wants to open her own delivery service, to the college student who wants to earn money as a part-time chauffeur, to the engineer with a big idea to completely reconfigure a well-worn process—each individual has the ability to advance their economic and social circumstances. Government must encourage them to do so, and must let them reap the economic benefits of their success rather than penalizing them with overbearing taxes and regulations. At the same time, while government should provide a safety net for the most vulnerable Americans and those that are down on their luck, it should always be oriented towards propelling as many people as possible back towards self-sufficiency. Government should never trap people in a system that makes it more economically rational to not work than to work.

  4. Government should discharge its essential functions in the most efficient and least intrusive manner possible.

    People work hard to earn their paychecks. They spend hours away from their families and forgo their free time in order to go to work and provide for themselves, for their families, and for the American economic engine. They sacrifice to save their money—for a new house, for a college education, for a vacation. It is incumbent upon the government to respect this hard work and sacrifice by minimizing and streamlining the bureaucracy that tax dollars must support. From reigning in the bureaucratic sprawl that has ballooned the federal workforce; to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in safety net programs; to paying more than lip service to the notion of eliminating outdated and duplicative regulations. In order to foster the behavior that leads to economic and social mobility, the government must be committed to working efficiently and within its means.

Right to Rise Policy Solutions is committed to developing ideas that adhere to these principles and catalyze upward economic and social mobility for all.

Our Mission

For centuries, the world's political systems have grappled with the question of which governing model creates success and opportunity for the most people: one based on centralized, top-down, big government intervention; or one based on liberty, free markets and maximum local control? America has been the shining example of the liberty approach, with concepts such as freedom and self-governance fueling the achievement of the American Dream for millions of people. However, we cannot rest on our success. Liberals have gained ground in moving us away from liberty and toward greater government control across every aspect of American life. Conservatives must continuously make the case for liberty over big government to protect and strengthen the American Dream. Recent history presents us with a stark opportunity to make that very case.

The total control of the White House and Congress by the Liberal party in 2009-2010 allowed Liberals to pass—without a single Conservative vote—the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). The Executive Branch under President Obama has brazenly expanded the limits of its power through successive executive orders and regulations that affect many corners of the American economy and American life. All of which has given Americans a real-time opportunity to consider the question squarely: under which model are you better off? Big government or liberty? In the elections of the past five years, Americans have spoken. And they are overwhelmingly on the side of liberty.

In every election cycle since 2008 the American people have increasingly signaled that they are unconvinced of the ability of big government to improve their lives. In 2010, Conservatives overtook control of the House and in 2014, the Senate. Liberal pollster Mark Mellman told the Washington Post that his party had failed to credibly address voters' basic economic concerns. "People are deeply suspicious that government can deliver on these problems," Mellman says. "And they are not wrong. We've been promising that government can be a tool to improve people's economic situation for decades, and by and large, it hasn't happened."

While the failure of big government has created a backlash, it is not enough for conservatives to simply point out the fatal flaws of this governing approach. Conservatives must answer this challenge with big ideas rooted in liberty for improving the lives and addressing the economic anxieties of everyday Americans. The country is at a crossroads. We must return to the governing model that produced and nurtured the American Dream. This is the mission of Right to Rise Policy Solutions.


[June 28, 2015]