The Right Idea

Brian and Derek have the pleasure of sitting down with the CEO and Founder of OpenTheBooks.com, Adam Andrzejewski, who works to promote transparency in public policy and politics by removing the veil of secrecy that covers up national and local spending.

2:10 What is OpenTheBooks.com?
3:45 How “Free and transparent” are Freedom of Information Act requests?
6:20 Texas’ reforms regarding government transparency
10:40 America’s trust in its government
12:50 How is America really spending money to “protect” our southern border?
22:10 How effective is our education spending?
27:35 The ties between education, parental empowerment and Open the Books
31:50 Efficiency Audits on local jurisdictions 
34:40 The worst spending atrocities Open the Books has discovered
36:47 How bad did COVID spending get and what did it lead to?

Creators & Guests

Host
Brian Phillips
Brian Phillips is the Chief Communications Officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. For over a decade, Brian has helped policymakers and political candidates develop effective messages and communication strategies. Phillips is a veteran of presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns, and has extensive experience working in the United States Congress and public policy think tanks.
Host
Derek M. Cohen
Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Vice President of Policy and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

What is The Right Idea?

The Right Idea: The Texas Public Policy Foundation's weekly look at the people, policy, and politics that drive Texas.