As chief economist and executive vice president of policy at the  American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),  Jonathan Williams plays a pivotal role in shaping economic and fiscal policy at the state level.  Since joining ALEC in 2007, Williams has been at the forefront of advocating for policies that empower legislators to drive economic growth and opportunity in their communities. Through his work, he has consistently been involved in ALEC-Laffer's influential  Rich States, Poor States report, a go-to resource for understanding the impact of state-level policy on economic competitiveness and growth.  Passionate about federalism and the unique role states play as “laboratories of democracy,” Williams brings a nuanced perspective on the challenges and triumphs of state economies and exactly what public policy means for their residents. He recently sat down with 1851 Franchise to discuss his professional journey and the role ALEC plays in shaping state-level economic policies. 1851 Franchise: Tell us about ALEC and your work. What do you do, and who does it impact? Jonathan Williams:  We work on, I think, some of the most impactful issues that benefit individuals and businesses across every single state. My view is that economics is very micro in nature. So much of the time, people look at the big-picture economics of GDP numbers and some of these macro issues that are often talked about on the nightly news, but when you boil it down, our Rich States, Poor States report is all about individuals and what different policy changes at the state-level matter and how they matter for individuals, businesses and consumers. ALEC represents a couple thousand different state legislators across the country looking to do the right things for their communities and states. They’re looking at policies that really, at the end of the day, benefit the individual. 1851: What was your professional journey? How did you end up where you are today? Williams:  I’ve been with ALEC since 2007. Before that, I was over at the Tax Foundation, another nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, working on research on both federal and state issues. For me, it became very apparent early on in my career that you can work an entire career and see one major change happen at the federal level. The last time we did federal tax reform was in 2017, and a lot of people forget how long it was between 2017 and the previous tax reform. That ended up being 31 years earlier under President Ronald Reagan. So, I was working on some federal issues at Tax Foundation, and it was very clear to me that, if you want to be impactful and you want your research to make a difference, which I think is something that most young employees coming into the workforce — at least in public policy — like to see, the states are where the action is happening. We have 50 laboratories of democracy. Nearly every state has a budget requirement they need to go through — that’s kind of the basics of good government.  I had a friend at ALEC at the time who said there was an opening to run a tax and fiscal policy task force and to have a bird’s eye view of working at the state level, being able to work with thousands of state policy makers and business leaders to have an imprint on what good public policy should look like in the states, and I jumped on the opportunity. 1851: What are some of the challenges you've faced throughout that journey? On the flip side, what are some of your biggest accomplishments or successes? Williams:  I’ve had plenty on both fronts. It’s not just what’s happening [in a given state]. It’s what’s happening everywhere else. How do you stay competitive? I think the beauty of the American experiment with federalism is having these 50 laboratories of democracy.  I think we were in our second or third edition of Rich States, Poor States when we had the global financial crisis. We went from a scenario where you had tons of states looking to cut taxes and some states raising taxes to a scenario where I think all 50 states had budget deficit scenarios during a couple of years there. Then it was mostly states playing defense to try to make sure they maintain a good policy environment as the global financial crisis ravaged markets and ravaged individual savings and our investment accounts. Across the country, states were not immune from that, so it was a really difficult couple of years as we navigated those challenges. But I think with any challenge comes great opportunity. We saw the cream rise to the top in a lot of these states. Many of our members came to the conclusion that it’s irresponsible to ask for hard-working taxpayers to pay more while they’re all cutting back themselves. Government putting up strategies to reprioritize the way it does business and look at the business model was an incredible opportunity. On the upside, what we’ve seen coming out of the pandemic is similar. The challenges that gave the states and their policymakers were really unparalleled in recent generations; however coming out of that as states opened up their economies, it would turn the page on that period in our lives. States came out of that stronger than ever, and what we’ve seen is that, over the last number of years, about half of the states have substantially cut taxes. We also saw natural revenue growth. It has really empowered states to go on this so-called tax cut revolution over the last number of sessions, and it’s been something that has been [largely] fueled by the ideas in our Rich States, Poor States report to become more competitive, grow jobs in a state and provide a better standard of living at a lower cost. It’s been something that has been incredible to be a part of along with a good number of our allies and thousands of ALEC members leading the way across the country. 1851: What is something you think more people should know about ALEC, fiscal policy or state economics? Williams:  Having traveled to all 50 states multiple times over the course of working on this project, they’re all very different. I said earlier that federalism is key, but it can also be messy. One of the big discussions is often around whether the federal government should take something and bring it to the federal level instead of leaving it at the state level, [and understanding the structure of federalism provides a clearer answer].  A lot of folks, if you were to call on a person on the street, could probably name the first and second amendments, but beyond that, it gets a little bit fuzzy. One that would probably have very little recall from Americans is the 10th Amendment. Maybe this is more of an indictment on our education system, but I think you would find that we get a failing grade as a country on answering that question. So many of the solutions I think we need to look toward are solutions based in this 10th Amendment idea of federalism. Most ideas should not originate at the federal level. It should be reserved for the states and the people of the states. 1851: Is there anything else you'd like our audience to know? Williams:  The other thing to put a finer point on is that economics are not partisan. Looking at data and looking at what works based on our research in Rich States, Poor States — the proof is in the pudding. When you look at it, states with a freedom-oriented agenda of lower taxes, limited government and pro-business regulatory environments consistently outshine the states that have big government, high-tax approaches. For more on the ALEC-Laffer report, visit  https://www.richstatespoorstates.org/ . Find more information on top franchise opportunities at  https://1851franchise.com/growth-club .