Kerby Anderson

Joy Pullman is the executive editor of The Federalist. In a recent speech, she reminded her audience that even though economic issues are important, we should not neglect the social and cultural issues of our nation.

She admitted, “I love low taxes and regulation as much as the next Milton Friedman fan, but I also know a great culture and nation is not built or sustained simply on low marginal tax rates.” We need to also focus on the culture. “Low taxes don’t matter if our kids are picking up pornography at the local library or, God forbid, being encouraged to mutilate their bodies and witness nudity and smell weed in the public square.”

Much of her speech could be summarized with the statement: If it’s good enough for the federal government, it should be good enough for the states. She believes that our state legislatures should codify many of Trump’s executive orders.

If you think about it, this is the reverse of how we normally have talked about federalism. We usually refer to the states as “laboratories of Democracy.” States can experiment with various policies without risking the entire nation. But she argues that what is working at the national level should be implemented at the state level.

For example, why not have the state legislatures erase DEI from the National Guard? Why not ban taxpayer funds from any institution that supports DEI in any form? Why not have a statewide DOGE search through programs and erase those that conflict with the Constitution? Shouldn’t legislatures stop school libraries from using tax dollars to purchase pornographic books? Why not enforce indecency laws at the state and local level?

Her speech reminds us of the importance of cultural issues and the need to pay attention to them in our states and local communities.