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The Heritage Foundation is one of the world's most prominent conservative think tanks. Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such [1][2] Founded in 1973, it is based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including Fiscal conservatism, Supply-side economics, Social conservatism Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Limited Government is a government structure where any more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is not usually allowed by Law, usually Traditional values refer to those Beliefs Moral codes, and Mores that are passed down from generation to generation within a Culture, Subculture The development of the culture of the United States of America — music, cinema, dance, architecture, literature, poetry "[1]

The Heritage Foundation's initial funding came from political conservative Joseph Coors, co-owner of the Coors Brewing Company. Joseph Coors Sr ( November 12, 1917 – March 15, 2003) was the grandson of Adolph Coors and president of Coors Brewing The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. [3] Funding from Coors was later augmented by financial support from billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3 1932 is an American Billionaire and Newspaper Publisher. Conservative activist Paul Weyrich was its first head. Paul M Weyrich (born October 7, 1942, in Racine Wisconsin) is a US conservative political activist and commentator Since 1977, Heritage's president has been Edwin Feulner, Jr. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Edwin John Feulner Jr (born August 12 1941 in Chicago Illinois) is President of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, a position he has , previously the staff director of the House Republican Study Committee and a former staff assistant to U. S. Congressman Phil Crane. Philip Miller "Phil" Crane (born November 3, 1930, in Chicago Illinois) is a former American politician

Until 2001, the Heritage Foundation published Policy Review, a public policy journal, which was then acquired by the Hoover Institution. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Policy Review is one of America's leading conservative journals The Hoover Institution on War Revolution and Peace is a libertarian Public policy Think tank and Library founded in 1919 by U From 1995 to 2005, the Heritage Foundation ran Townhall.com, a conservative website. Townhallcom is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. [4]

Contents

History and major initiatives

Mandate for Leadership

After many years of activism against consumer advocates like Ralph Nader, Heritage's 1981 book of policy analysis, Mandate for Leadership was a landmark in advocacy for corporate rights and limited government. Ralph Nader (born February 27 1934 is an American Attorney, Author, Lecturer, political activist, and independent candidate for President Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Limited Government is a government structure where any more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is not usually allowed by Law, usually At 1,000-plus pages, Mandate for Leadership offered specific recommendations on policy, budget and administrative action for all Cabinet departments, as well as agencies to be staffed by political appointees in the incoming conservative administration of President Ronald Reagan.

Cold War and foreign policy involvement

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Heritage Foundation was a key architect and advocate of the "Reagan Doctrine", under which the United States government supported anti-Communist resistance movements in such places as Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia and Nicaragua and generally supported global anti-communism during the Cold War. The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Heritage foreign policy analysts also provided policy guidance to these rebel forces and to dissidents in Eastern bloc nations and Soviet republics.

The foundation was instrumental in advancing President Ronald Reagan's belief that the former Soviet Union was an "evil empire" and that its defeat, not its mere containment, was a realistic foreign policy objective. The phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union by US President Ronald Reagan and American conservatives, who took an aggressive Containment refers to a Foreign policy of the United States in the early years of the Cold War. Heritage also played a key role in building support for Reagan's plans to build an orbital ballistic missile shield, known as the "Strategic Defense Initiative". The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI was a proposal by US President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect

Internationally, and in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, Heritage publishes the annual Index of Economic Freedom, which measures a country's freedom in terms of property rights and freedom from government regulation. The Index of Economic Freedom is a series of 10 economic measurements created by the Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation to measure the degree of Economic freedom The factors used to calculate the Index score are corruption in government, barriers to international trade, income tax and corporate tax rates, government expenditures, rule of law and the ability to enforce contracts, regulatory burdens, banking restrictions, labor regulations, and black market activities. Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. International trade is exchange of Capital, Goods, and Services across International borders or Territories. The rule of law, in its most basic form is the principle that no one is above the law A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better Deficiencies lower the score on Heritage's Index.

Since the end of the Cold War, Heritage has continued to be an active voice in foreign affairs and has been generally supportive of President George W. Bush's foreign policies. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. On September 13, 2007, the anti-war organization Code Pink disrupted a Heritage Foundation forum on the Iraq War in protest of the foundation's support for U. Code Pink Women for Peace is an anti-war group that started in the leadup to the Iraq War. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign S. military engagement in Iraq. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. [5]

Free market domestic policies

In domestic policy, Heritage is a proponent of supply-side economics, which holds that reductions in the marginal rate of taxation can spur economic growth. Supply-side economics is an arguably heterodox school of Macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for

In 1994, Heritage advised Newt Gingrich and other conservatives on the development of the "Contract with America", which was credited with helping to produce a Republican majority in Congress. Newton "Newt" Leroy Gingrich, (born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the Speaker The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign The "Contract" was a pact of principles that directly challenged both the political status-quo in Washington and many of the ideas at the heart of the Clinton administration. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States As such, Heritage is often credited with supplying many of the ideas that ultimately proved influential in ending the Democrats' control of Congress in 1992. Heritage has also worked with Democrats on policy matters over the years, including former U. S. Senator John Breaux and other "blue dog" Democrats. John Berlinger Breaux (bɹo (born March 1, 1944) is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005

Policy influence

Heritage has hosted many influential foreign and domestic political leaders since its founding, including Congressmen, U. S. Senators, foreign heads of state, and U. S. Presidents. On November 1, 2007, President George W. Bush visited Heritage to defend his appointment of Michael Mukasey to succeed Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States; Mukasey's nomination faced opposition in the U.S. Senate over the nominee's refusal to label the interrogation tactic of waterboarding as illegal. Michael Bernard Mukasey (mjuːˈkeɪzi(born July 28, 1941)is an American lawyer currently the 81st Attorney General of the United States, and Alberto R Gonzales (born August 4 1955) was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Waterboarding is a form of Torture that consists of immobilizing a person on their back with the head inclined downward and pouring water over the face and into the breathing [6] Mukasey was confirmed and became Attorney General eight days later.

Heritage's influence is also due in part to its decision to publish shorter policy papers that are designed to convey usually complex topics in an executive summary format more likely to be read by governmental officials. Other Washington think tanks historically have produced lengthier publications or book-length works, which Heritage also publishes, but only rarely.

The Heritage Foundation also publishes The Insider, a quarterly magazine about public policy.

Several Heritage Foundation personnel have served, or gone on to serve, in senior governmental roles, including: Richard V. Allen, L. Paul Bremer, Elaine Chao, Lawrence Di Rita, Michael Johns, John Lehman, Edwin Meese, Steve Ritchie, and others. Richard Vincent Allen (born 1936 was the United States National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1982 Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30 1941 known as Paul Bremer and also nicknamed Jerry Bremer, is an American Diplomat. Elaine Lan Chao ( born March 26, 1953) currently serves as the 24th United States Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of President Lawrence Di Rita (born in Detroit Michigan) was a close aide to United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and is currently a spokesmen for Michael Johns (born September 8, 1964 in Allentown Pennsylvania) is an American Health care executive former Federal government John F Lehman Jr (born September 14, 1942) is an American Investment banker and Writer who served as Secretary of the Edwin "Ed" Meese III (born December 2, 1931 in Oakland California) served as the seventy-fifth Attorney General of the United Brigadier General Richard Stephen "Steve" Ritchie (born June 25, 1942 in Reidsville North Carolina) was an officer in the United States [7]

Funding

Heritage is primarily funded through donations from private individuals and charitable foundations. Businessman Joseph Coors contributed the first $250,000 to start The Heritage Foundation in 1973. Joseph Coors Sr ( November 12, 1917 – March 15, 2003) was the grandson of Adolph Coors and president of Coors Brewing Other significant contributors have included the conservative Olin, Scaife, DeVos and Bradley foundations. Not to be confused with the F W Olin Foundation or Spencer T Olin Foundation, founded by Olin's father and brother respectively The Scaife Foundations refer collectively to four foundations: the Allegheny Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee Wisconsin, is a conservative foundation with about half a billion US dollars in assets

In 2007 Heritage reported an operating revenue of $48. 7 million dollars. $26. 4 million came from individual donors, $16. 8 million from foundations and $2. 2 million from corporations. [8]

In 2006, the Foundation established the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom,[9] based on a grant from the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, to promote United States/United Kingdom cooperation and to advance the transatlantic alliance between the two countries. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Lady Thatcher has since been named Patron of the Heritage Foundation, her only official association with any U. S. -based group. [10]

Think tank competitors

Similar think tanks include the American Enterprise Institute and the libertarian Cato Institute. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI is a conservative Think tank, founded in 1943 The Cato Institute is a Libertarian Think tank headquartered in Washington D The Center for American Progress performs many of the same functions as Heritage, but from a left-wing perspective and on a smaller scale. The Center for American Progress is an American liberal political policy research and advocacy organization

Location

Headquarters for the Heritage Foundation are located at 214 Massachusetts Avenue, Northeast, in the Capitol Hill section of Washington, D.C.. Massachusetts Avenue, abbreviated Mass Ave, is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington D Capitol Hill, aside from being a Metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential Neighborhood in Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

Notes

  1. ^ a b Heritage Foundation - About
  2. ^ People for the American Way. Right-Wing Organizations: Heritage Foundation.. Retrieved on 2007-09-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the
  3. ^ Joseph Coors, Sr. at NNDB.
  4. ^ About Us Townhall. com
  5. ^ "Memorial for Iraq War Dead During Heritage Foundation Forum," September 13, 2007.
  6. ^ "Bush Raises Stakes on Mukasey," The Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2007.
  7. ^ NNDB - The Heritage Foundation
  8. ^ The Heritage Foundation 2007 Annual Report
  9. ^ Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
  10. ^ A new birth of freedom, Heritage Members News, Winter 2006

External links

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