Survey Finds That Attorneys Who Write Books Generate More Press Coverage and Attract More Clients

Books Impart Credibility For Their Authors – Earn Reporters’ Respect and Prospects’ Interest

Las Vegas, (today’s date): “According to a just-completed survey of 13,000 private-practice attorneys across America, attorneys who write books about their law practices are far more likely to be cited by news media as experts in matters of the law,” according to Ned Barnett, author of Write Now!, a book about writing and using books to gain business advantage. “In addition, this survey found that attorneys who share their books with their clients are more likely to generate referrals, while those who hand out autographed books to prospects signed more new long-term clients,” Barnett explained.


This survey, developed by Barnett – which can be viewed here (URL) – queried attorneys in private practice about practice-marketing best practices. Writing books – then leveraging them with the news media and with clients and prospects – came in at the top of the list of innovative practice-building tools and techniques, with 37 percent of respondents choosing books as their preferred marketing tool. Five other marketing approaches generated significant favorable responses.

I used my book on how to survive unexpected legal crises to land a regular “week in review” segment on a local TV station’s 5 o’clock news program, where I provide insights into the most important local court cases,” one attorney commented. “This then led to me becoming a regular source for that station’s national affiliate. Along with my book, that press coverage has helped grow my practice by 32 percent, allowing me to help many others deal with legal crises.”

Along with writing and leveraging books, Barnett noted that the survey identified five other marketing best practices, including giving talks at local civic clubs, donating professional services (such as writing wills) to charity auctions, creating digital newsletters focusing on trends in the law, providing legal insight on local TV news programs and conducting high-profile pro-bono legal work for worthy causes.

About Ned Barnett

Barnett, the CEO of Barnett Marketing Communications (hot link), has a long history helping private practice professionals – doctors, attorneys and CPAs – to grow their professional practices. He conducted this survey from January 14 to January 28 to help identify best practices. His Amazon bestselling book, Write Now! Writing YOUR Book – The One That Will Attract Clients and Help Land You on TV, tells attorneys, entrepreneurs and other professionals how to write – or have written – a book that will leverage their business with the news media and with prospects.

Barnett can be reached for interviews about this survey or his book at 702-561-1167 or ned@barnettmarcom.com.

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beautiful forever CEO Cheryl Whitman is Scheduled to Address Two Major Aesthetics Industry Events in May

2010 Annual Aesthetics Academy, May 1st in

New York City

&

The Aesthetic Practice Association’s Aesthetic Show 2010,

May 20-23 in Las Vegas

 

Englewood New Jersey, (date): Long-time aesthetics industry leader Cheryl Whitman, CEO of the beautiful forever Aesthetics Consulting Practice based in Englewood NJ and Boca Raton FL, is scheduled to speak at two leading Aesthetics Industry conventions in May. The Aesthetics Academy (http://www.theaestheticacademy.com/index.php) has announced that Cheryl Whitman will be among its featured speakers at The Aesthetics Academy 2010 in New York City on May 1st. In addition, the Aesthetic Practice Association (http://tapamed.org/) has invited Cheryl Whitman to speak at The Aesthetics Show 2010 (http://www.miinews.com/aesthetic/) to be held in Las Vegas, May 20th-23rd.

The aesthetics industry recognizes Whitman as a leading expert on how aesthetic practices can and should operate – as businesses, as well as caring healthcare practices – to ensure that they prosper in good times and bad, even in the face of intense competition. She will address these timely issues at both programs.

Veteran Plastic Surgeon Offers Tips for Natural Beauty

Dr. Laurence Milgrim Explores Natural Nose and Closed Approach Procedure in New White Paper

Teaneck, Date: Facial plastic surgery expert Dr. Laurence Milgrim, medical director of the Northern Jersey Facial Plastic Center, has just published a new patient-oriented white paper on the related subjects of the “natural nose” and the “Closed Approach” to achieving a natural look through facial plastic surgery. This white paper can be found on his practice website, http://www.milgrimplasticsurgery.com.

 

In this white paper, Dr. Milgrim explains why each person is an individual, and she should strive to have the most natural-looking nose which complements her face, blending in rather than standing out. He talks about how people often want a new look that won’t work with their overall facial structure, and how they will be far happier with a more natural look.

 

Book Signing – Cheryl Whitman Introduces to NYC her New Book – “Beautifully Profitable / Forever Profitable”
Signing To Be Hosted at Sue Phillips’ New
TriBeCa’s Scenterprise Perfumery
February 10, 6-8 p.m.

TriBeCa, New York City – January 30, 2014: On the evening of February 10th, from 6 to 8 p.m., TriBeCa will play host to an exciting new book signing event – an even where the host location and the book are ideally mated and “pure New York.”

NYC-area aesthetics and cosmetics medical practice expert Cheryl Whitman – founder of beautiful forever, the nation’s leading cosmetic and plastic medical practice consultancy will be signing her latest book, “Beautifully Profitable, Forever Profitable” at this event, introducing her book to the nation’s Number One Aesthetics and Cosmetic medical and spa market.

This book will be introduced to New York City at an exclusive Author’s Book Signing event on February 10, 6-8 p.m., hosted at Sue Phillips’ remarkable new Scenterprise Perfumery’s Custom Perfume Studio at 85 Franklin. Sue’s landmark building location, situated in the heart of TriBeCa, has just been restored to look just like Ralph Lauren’s living room.

Beautifully Profitable is a practical guide for physicians and spa owners on how to build successful businesses, based on Cheryl’s extensive experience in assisting medical practices and med-spas. Cheryl has been a leader in this field for more than two decades, and has learned the opportunities and pitfalls of creating, marketing and promoting medical spas and aesthetics medical practices.


Sue Phillips’ Custom Perfume Studio was created to offer Bespoke Perfume scents, custom-created for special events, including weddings, premiers and even corporate team building. Sure to be a major location during Fashion Week, this newly restored facility is ideally-situated to play host for this specific new book-signing.

In Cheryl’s new book, she has distilled her experience into four broad chapters, with dozens of sections, each focusing on a specific element of aesthetic practice or med-spa business-building and practice marketing.


These dynamically-practical chapters include “Building a Business,” “Specializing a Business,” “Staging and Hosting Events,” and “The Write Stuff – Communicating Your Message.” In this designed-to-be-useful format, Cheryl Whitman’s new book covers everything from business plans and strategic marketing plans, to ghost-writing eBooks to build your reputation online, and with prospective clients.

The 250-page book provides extensive coverage of key points in aesthetics practice building and marketing, as several advanced-copy reviewers have noted.

Dr. Kalpana S. DePasquale, DO, of St. Augustine’s Avanti Medical Spa said, “Cheryl Whitman’s new book, Beautifully Profitable, has given me some very useful guidance in the areas of product and service sales – this section was right on-target for my current needs.”

Bob Haley, FACHE, CEO & Executive Director, Rainy Lake Medical Center, has another take on the book. “In Cheryl Whitman’s new book, Forever Profitable, she guides doctors – and yes, hospital executives – in mastering the business and marketing side of healthcare. Her focus is on aesthetics care, but her message applies much more widely.”

Finally, Dr. Jason Pozner, MD, FACS, of Sanctuary Plastic Surgery in Boca Raton, said, “Cheryl Whitman’s newest book, Forever Profitable, is a remarkable compilation of some of the best advice I’ve read on how an aesthetics medical practice can effectively manage and market itself to ensure profitability.  

As our marketplace gets ever more crowded, as new doctors move from insurance-based to self-pay markets, it is essential for those who plan to succeed to know what they have to do – and how they should do it.  Cheryl’s book will provide a welcome roadmap to those med-spas and doctors.”


This book is available from the author at her website, or from Amazon.com.

About the Author:

Cheryl Whitman is the pioneering leader in aesthetic business development consulting for physicians, hospitals, clinics and spas. Through her extensive published writings, such her columns for several of the leading publications, such as MedEsthetics and Radiant Life, she reaches thousands of professionals each year. She also makes frequent presentations at national cosmetic and aesthetics medicine and surgery conferences, such as The 30th Annual American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Conference in Hollywood Florida this past January, and The Vegas Cosmetic Surgery & Aesthetics Dermatology 10th Annual Conference, scheduled for June 2014, two of her literally hundreds of educational seminars at professional conferences.

Cheryl and her gifted team of experts have helped hundreds of doctors and spas to achieve their full business potential. She has now created beautiful forever university, offering high-level professional education for doctors and their staffs.

 

A former professional educator, Cheryl’s diverse background enables her to provide keen strategic insights, along with superior consulting support and business education – the kind that helps practices grow and thrive, even in challenging economic times.


Cheryl is donating a portion of her profits from this book to SIDS research and prevention, in memory of her grandson, and to MAZON, a Jewish charity that feeds the hungry without regard to faith or race, an organization on which her husband sits on the board.

For more information, or to receive a review copy or to interview the author, contact: Ned Barnett – ned@barnettmarcom.com – 702-561-1167

ThermiAesthetics and Beautiful Forever Team Up To JumpStart Physicians to Profitability

New Marketing Program

Dateline: ThermiAesthetics rocked the plastic surgery marketplace with its newly-FDA approved non-surgical technology – ThermiRF™, revolutionizing cosmetic skin care by painlessly delivering immediate, dramatic results previously only available following extensive, painful surgery. ThermiTight™ applies gentle heat just under the skin, tightening the skin while literally melting away adjacent fat cells, allowing doctors to literally sculpt their patients’ appearance. This incredible computer-controlled micro-invasive process is monitored by a Thermal Image Guidance™ infrared video camera, allowing physicians to create treatments of unprecedented precision – delivering immediate and noticeable results with no down-time and no pain.

Having revolutionized skin tightening, ThermiAesthetics is set to launch another revolution. Teaming up with Aesthetics marketing and business management innovator beautiful forever, they are helping doctors quickly attract patients – and reach profitability in as soon as 60 days.

“Our experience with more than (#) of physician practices proved that once patients learn about ThermiTight™, they can’t wait to enjoy those benefits for themselves,” according to Kevin O’Brien, President of ThermiAesthetics.

“After reviewing our findings with beautiful forever’s founder, Cheryl Whitman, we realized our doctors needed a strong marketing program to jump start their success with ThermiTight.”

“The solution was actually quite simple,” Whitman explained. “Patients want three things: Immediate results, with no pain and no down-time. ThermiTight delivers all of that, making this the ideal for face and body-sculpting. But doctors need to tell their patients and prospects what Thermi can do, and our new program does exactly that.”

beautiful forever created the revolutionary JumpStart to Marketing Success, a marketing took-kit for physicians. It includes a Beauty Guide book with 40 sets of dramatic before-and-after photos, a copy of Beautifully Profitable / Forever Profitable – Whitman’s special Thermi edition of her ground-breaking book on practice marketing and management – along with press releases, social networking posts, on-call consulting support and the complete template for creating a ThermiTight Exclusive VIP Event that introduces ThermiTight to the physician’s practice.

“With the kind of visionary marketing and on-call support Cheryl has put together for our doctors, we know that our doctors’ practices will become more profitable, more quickly, and with greater levels of patient satisfaction,” O’Brien pointed out.

“This JumpStart to Marketing Success program reflects ThermiAesthetic’s commitment to our physicians, our partners in progress – and success.”

For more information, contact:

The Family Prosperity Initiative Launches a New Approach to Supporting Faith-Based and Faith-Friendly Social Policy
Family Prosperity is the Engine Which Drives National Prosperity

Dateline: “When it comes to developing positive social policy – policy that reflects faith-centered values – this is going to change everything,” according to Dan ___, CEO of the American Conservative Union. “With the launch today of our new Family Prosperity Index, we will now be able to establish – mathematically – the cost or benefit to families of faith-centered changes in America’s social policies.”

America has not had an economic barometer to accurately gauge the impact of faith-based social policies, especially as they impact the status of the America’s prosperity. “There is a remarkable correlation between faith-based policies and economic prosperity,” Family Prosperity Index co-founder Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D. explained “Our Index measures six broad categories and 57 sub-categories of data, and one of those shows a direct correlation between religion and family prosperity. On average, families that include religious faith prominently in their lives tend to be more successful in other areas of their lives,” Dr. Warcholik said.

Now, we have a tool that will evaluate faith-based social policies, measuring their benefits – or costs – in sound economic terms. These include policies that strengthen families, such as: job preparation, the dignity of work, welfare reform, the role of faith in society, prisoner re-entry, as well as foster care, adoption and abortion. There is a generational benefit in sound foster care and adoption programs, and a generational cost to abortion. Those who won’t be persuaded by arguments based on morality might be reached with economic arguments,” she said, “and others, who evaluate policies solely on their benefit to the economy will now have reason to support faith-based social policy initiatives.”

The family is the engine which drives the American economy,” according to economist and Index co-founder J. Scott Moody, “which is why we have created the Family Prosperity Index.

The FPI Index will revolutionize the way economists evaluate America’s economic health, even as it provides state and federal policymakers with new tools to help develop family-supportive policies that help – rather than hinder – family prosperity,” Moody explained. “The Index will provide faith-based advocates for positive social change the statistical tools to help justify the changes they promote, and it will provide a solid foundation for state and national-level think tanks to develop new social policy initiatives.”

In addition,” Moody pointed out, “this will be extremely helpful to the news media, and not just those reporters who cover economic and social policy. By understanding a complex matrix of five-year trends in any given state, primary and general election outcomes can be projected – at least in terms of faith-focused family prosperity trends – and perhaps more important, the data will be extremely useful in analyzing primary or general election results on a state-specific basis. With “evangelicals” playing an ever-increasing role in elections, the media will find the FPI Index valuable in understanding what drives this key demographic. We expect to see political reporters and political analysts making extensive use of the Index and its data.”

ACU’s CEO, Dan ____, explained that, “Part of our mission is to help others to develop, advocate for and implement positive social change – change, often with a strong moral or faith-based component, that helps families, and thereby helps society. However, until now, what was missing was an accurate way of projecting the economic impact of new social policies. The FPI Index provides the data and the tools needed to make those projections, using 57 different factors to create a mosaic which accurately reflects the benefits – or cost – of such change on families, and the economy.”

Moody and fellow Economist Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D. are co-founders of the Family Prosperity Initiative, which has created the FPI Index. Previously, they created the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, an authoritative measure of the impact of tax policy on business that is now in its tenth year.

The FPI Index will be presented at next week’s CPAC convention in Washington, with a panel discussion (date, time) as well as private briefings for those policymakers, think-tank planners and policy advocates who are most likely to be involved in using the Index in their states.

About the Family Prosperity Initiative

The Family Prosperity Initiative operates as part of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Human Dignity, which serves as an educational outreach program fostering positive social change in areas such as job preparation, the dignity of work, welfare reform, the role of faith in society, prisoner re-entry, as well as foster care and adoption. While fully integrated into the ACU Foundation, the Initiative has a distinct mission, a grant-funding source and its own advisory board.

About the Family Prosperity Index

The Family Prosperity Index (FPI) is designed as a companion to the GDP, a standard measurement of the nation’s economy. Recognizing that the family is America’s core economic engine, the FPI Index is the first source to provide comprehensive and integrated state-by-state rolling five-year data that demonstrates the link between economic policy, social policy and family structure variables at the state level. The tool helps state and local policy-makers — as well as advocates and community-minded citizens — develop and implement economic and social policies that improve the wellbeing and prosperity of American families… and the society in which they live. No other source provides more credible insights into how the economy affects families and how families affect the economy.

For more information, contact:

Frank Limpus – frank@limpuscommunications.com – 615-668-9938, or

Ned Barnett – ned@barnettmarcom.com – 702-561-1167

American Conservative Union: www.conservative.org

American Conservative Union Foundation: www.acufoundation.conservative.org

The Family Prosperity Initiative Launches a New Metric To Help News Media Evaluate Primaries, Caucuses, Elections and Issue Campaigns
Five-Year Trend Lines Equate Family Prosperity with Actions of Electorate
Families are the Engines which Drive the Economy – and the Election

Dateline: “When it comes to evaluating and understanding election outcomes – this new measure of family prosperity is going to change everything,” according to Dan ___, CEO of the American Conservative Union. “With the launch today of our new Family Prosperity Index, we will now be able to establish – mathematically – each state’s level of family prosperity. Though designed to assist policymakers, think-tanks and policy advocates to create more family-friendly social policies, the FPI Index has become one more valuable tool for reporters, election analysts, pundits and the public to understand electoral outcomes.”

How this works was explained by FPI Index co-creator, economist J. Scott Moody.

The FPI Index will be extremely helpful to the news media, and not just those reporters who cover economic and social policy,” Moody pointed out. “By understanding a complex matrix of five-year trends in any given state, primary and general election outcomes can be projected – at least in terms of faith-focused family prosperity trends – and perhaps more important, the data will be extremely useful in analyzing primary or general election results on a state-specific basis. For instance, with “evangelicals” playing an ever-increasing role in elections, the media will find the FPI Index valuable in understanding what drives this key demographic. We expect to see political reporters and political analysts making extensive use of the Index and its data.”

Let’s use the recent – and unexpected – results of the Iowa caucuses to demonstrate how the FPI Index can assist political and economic reporters cover elections and policy debates,” Moody suggested. “If you evaluate the results of Iowa’s caucuses through the prism of our new FPI Index – a five-year trend study of six key economic and social factors,” Moody explained, “Iowan’s willingness to risk dramatic change and support candidates on the progressive left or conservative right — instead of staying with the status quo – is understandable. Across all six categories measuring family prosperity in Iowa, the state is both above the national average and remarkably stable over a five-year trend-line. This relative prosperity, as well as this relative stability, provided voters a sense of security that allowed them to risk voting in bolder directions than one might expect. And that is what appeared to happen.”


What the FPI Index showed for Iowa can be shown for any state, or for the nation as a whole.

Typically, voters are willing to make aggressive changes in political candidates only if they feel things are not going as they would like and they’ve got little to lose,” according to economist Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D., co-founder of the FPI, “or if their economic condition is so good that the risks of change are negligible. In Iowa, the voters felt that they had a secure and stable level of prosperity, allowing them to seek candidates posed to remake their reality, confident that they had nothing to lose.

By the same token, a troubled state would also find voters willing to risk discarding the status quo. However, less-stable and less-prosperous states which, nonetheless, aren’t living with a crisis mentality, are generally more likely to avoid “rocking the boat” with their votes,” she explained. “However, the factors that go into an electorate’s choice are complex – but, with 57 different variables in six major categories, the FPI Index can provide the in-depth information analysts require to help shape their perceptions – and their reporting.”

America has not had an economic barometer to accurately gauge the impact of family-focused social policies, especially as they impact the status of the America’s prosperity. “There is a remarkable correlation between family-supportive policies and economic prosperity,” Dr. Warcholik explained. “Clearly, this can and will show itself in voting patterns, as well as in support or opposition of social policies.

The family is the engine which drives the American economy, which is why we have created the Family Prosperity Index. It measures and tracks family prosperity, and in doing so, it gives political analysts new levels of information by which they can evaluate and understand voting patterns in terms of deep levels of economic self-interest.”

For all its benefit to reporters and political analysts, the FPI Index was created primarily to provide useful, scientifically-valid information to policymakers, think tanks and advocates for positive social change, the kinds of change which supports families, rather than penalizing them.

The FPI Index will revolutionize the way economists evaluate America’s economic health, even as it provides state and federal policymakers with new tools to help develop family-supportive policies that help – rather than hinder – family prosperity,” economist Scott Moody explained. “The Index will provide family advocates for positive social change the statistical tools to help justify the changes they promote, and it will provide a solid foundation for state and national-level think tanks to develop new social policy initiatives.”

ACU’s CEO, Dan ____, explained that, “Part of our mission is to help others to develop, advocate for and implement positive social that helps families, and thereby helps society. However, until now, what was missing was an accurate way of projecting the economic impact of new social policies. The FPI Index provides the data and the tools needed to make those projections, using 57 different factors to create a mosaic which accurately reflects the benefits – or cost – of such change on families, and the economy.

However, the benefits the FPI Index offers to political and economic reporters cannot be over-stated. This new economic barometer, with its five-year trend-line for all of its more than 60 variable factors, helps media analysts identify the underlying causes of unexpected or extreme reactions of the electorate to the current political and economic climate,” (Dan said).

It has taken us years to refine our data sources to ensure they are reliable, and to create the complex measuring tools that allow us to evaluate different types of data in a way that makes sense,” Moody said. “With this system now complete – allowing us to help evaluate the economic performance of each state, over a five-year period, and to identify meaningful trends – we are ready to help state-level policy makers develop economic and social programs and policies that will measurably enhance the state’s family-specific prosperity. And we are ready to help the news media understand these trends in terms of electoral outcomes.”

Scott Moody and his wife and fellow Economist Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D. are co-founders of the Family Prosperity Initiative, which has created the FPI Index. Previously, they created the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, an authoritative measure of the impact of tax policy on business that is now in its tenth year.

The FPI Index will be presented at next week’s CPAC convention in Washington, with a panel discussion (date, time) as well as private briefings for those policymakers, think-tank planners and policy advocates who are most likely to be involved in using the Index in their states.

About the Family Prosperity Initiative

The Family Prosperity Initiative operates as part of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Human Dignity, which serves as an educational outreach program fostering positive social change in areas such as job preparation, the dignity of work, welfare reform, the role of faith in society, prisoner re-entry, as well as foster care and adoption. While fully integrated into the ACU Foundation, the Initiative has a distinct mission, a grant-funding source and its own advisory board.

About the Family Prosperity Index

The Family Prosperity Index (FPI) is designed as a companion to the GDP, a standard measurement of the nation’s economy. Recognizing that the family is America’s core economic engine, the FPI Index is the first source to provide comprehensive and integrated state-by-state rolling five-year data that demonstrates the link between economic policy, social policy and family structure variables at the state level. The tool helps state and local policy-makers — as well as advocates and community-minded citizens — develop and implement economic and social policies that improve the wellbeing and prosperity of American families… and the society in which they live. No other source provides more credible insights into how the economy affects families and how families affect the economy.

For more information, contact:

Frank Limpus – frank@limpuscommunications.com – 615-668-9938, or

Ned Barnett – ned@barnettmarcom.com – 702-561-1167

American Conservative Union: www.conservative.org

American Conservative Union Foundation: www.acufoundation.conservative.org

Covering The Election Through The Eyes of a New Metric: American Conservative Union Foundation's Family Prosperity Index Helps News Media Evaluate Primaries, Caucuses, Elections and Issue Campaigns

Five-Year Trend Lines Equate Family Prosperity with Actions of Electorate;

Families are the Engines which Drive the Economy – and the Election

WASHINGTON, D.C., (February 24, 2016) — “When it comes to evaluating and understanding election outcomes – this new measure of family prosperity is going to change everything,” says Dan Schneider, Executive Director of the American Conservative Union (ACU).

With the launch today of our new Family Prosperity Initiative Index (FPI Index), we will now be able to establish – mathematically – each state’s level of family prosperity. Though designed to assist policymakers, think-tanks and grassroots advocates to create more family-friendly social policies, the FPI Index has become one more valuable tool for reporters, election analysts, pundits and the public to understand electoral outcomes.”

Launched by the ACU, the FPI Index economic database breaks new ground, presenting a broader view of how family and economic factors impact one another. These interrelationships found in the five-year trend study of six key economic and social factors are based on credible data and intended to help state policymakers and legislators implement long-term solutions to problems in local communities.

But there’s a side benefit of the Index for journalists.

The FPI Index will be extremely helpful to the news media, and not just those reporters who cover economic and social policy,” Economist and FPI Index Co-Founder J. Scott Moody pointed out. “By understanding a complex matrix of five-year trends in any given state, primary and general election outcomes can be better understood – at least in terms of family prosperity trends – and the data will be extremely useful in analyzing primary or general election results on a state-specific basis. For instance, with “evangelicals” playing an ever-increasing role in elections, the media will find the FPI Index valuable in understanding what drives this key demographic. We expect to see political reporters and political analysts making extensive use of the Index and its data.”

Using the recent – and somewhat unexpected – results of the Iowa caucuses as an example, the FPI Index can assist political and economic reporters in better understanding elections and policy debates.

It’s been a couple of weeks, but if you evaluate the results of Iowa’s caucuses through the prism of the Index, Iowan’s willingness to risk dramatic change and support candidates on the progressive left or conservative right — instead of staying with the status quo – is understandable,” Moody explained. “Across all six categories measuring family prosperity in Iowa, the state is both above the national average and remarkably stable over a five-year trend-line, meaning policies, laws and regulations are, on the whole, probably pretty family- and prosperity-friendly. In my judgment, based on our Index, Iowa’s relative wellbeing, as well as the state’s relative stability, provided voters a sense of security that allowed them to vote in bolder directions than one might have otherwise expected. And that is what appeared to have happened.”


What the FPI Index showed for Iowa can be shown for any state, or for the nation as a whole.

Typically, voters are willing to make aggressive changes in political candidates only if they feel things are not going as they would like and they’ve got little to lose,” said Economist Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D., co-founder of the FPI. “Or if their economic condition is so good that the risks of change are negligible. In Iowa, the voters felt that they had a secure and stable level of prosperity, allowing them to seek candidates posed to remake their reality, confident that they had nothing to lose.

By the same token, a troubled state with laws and regulations that might not be so balanced and family-centric would also find voters willing to risk discarding the status quo. However, less-stable and less-prosperous states which aren’t living with a crisis mentality are generally more likely to avoid ‘rocking the boat’ with their votes,” she explained. “The factors that go into an electorate’s choice are complex – but, with 57 different variables in six major categories that assess family wellbeing, the FPI Index can provide the in-depth information analysts require to help shape their perceptions – and their reporting.”

America has not had an economic barometer to accurately gauge the impact of family-focused social policies, especially as they impact the status of America’s prosperity. “There is a remarkable correlation between family-supportive policies and economic prosperity,” Dr. Warcholik explained. “Clearly, this can and will show itself in voting patterns, as well as in support or opposition of social policies.

Moody and Warcholik developed the FPI Index in 2015, based on the work of Dr. William J. Bennett, as well as their own research, to prove the relationship between both economic and social policies and to revolutionize the way economists evaluate America’s economic and societal health. The Index is the first resource to document the linked relationship between almost 60 economic, social and familial factors and is intended to provide a solid foundation for state and national-level think tanks to develop new social policy initiatives.

It has taken us years to refine our data sources to ensure they are reliable, and to create the complex measuring tools that allow us to evaluate different types of data in a way that makes sense,” Moody said. “With this system now complete – allowing us to help evaluate the economic performance of each state, over a five-year period, and to identify meaningful trends – we are ready to help state-level policy makers develop economic and social programs and policies that will measurably enhance the state’s family-specific prosperity. And we are ready to help the news media understand these trends in terms of electoral outcomes.”

The ACU’s Schneider explained that, “Part of our mission is to help others to develop, advocate for and implement positive social that helps families, and thereby helps society. Though designed to assist policymakers, we believe this new economic barometer will also help media analysts identify the underlying caused of unexpected reactions of the electorate to the current political and economic climate. The benefits the FPI Index offers to political and economic reporters cannot be over-stated.”

Moody and Warcholik are also authors of the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, an authoritative measure of the impact of tax policy on business that is now in its eleventh year.

The FPI Index will be presented at next week’s CPAC convention in Washington, with a panel discussion on Friday, March 4, as well as private briefings for those policymakers, think-tank planners and policy advocates who are most likely to be involved in using the Index in their states.

###

About the Family Prosperity Initiative

The Family Prosperity Initiative operates as part of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Human Dignity, which serves as an educational outreach program fostering positive social change in areas such as job preparation, the dignity of work, welfare reform, the role of faith in society, prisoner re-entry, as well as foster care and adoption. While fully integrated into the ACU Foundation, the Initiative has a distinct mission, a grant-funding source and its own advisory board.

About the Family Prosperity Index

The Family Prosperity Index (FPI) is designed as a companion to the GDP, a standard measurement of the nation’s economy. Recognizing that the family is America’s core economic engine, the FPI Index is the first source to provide comprehensive and integrated state-by-state rolling five-year data that demonstrates the link between economic policy, social policy and family structure variables at the state level. The tool helps state and local policy-makers — as well as advocates and community-minded citizens — develop and implement economic and social policies that improve the wellbeing and prosperity of American families… and the communities in which they live. No other source provides more credible insights into how the economy affects families and how families affect the economy.

For more information, contact:

Frank Limpus – frank@limpuscommunications.com – 615-668-9938, or

Ned Barnett – ned@barnettmarcom.com – 702-561-1167

American Conservative Union: www.conservative.org

American Conservative Union Foundation: www.acufoundation.conservative.org

Family Prosperity Index: www.familyprosperity.com