Ira Magaziner

Last updated
Ira Magaziner
ICANN History Project Interview with Ira Magaziner (102E) 37s.jpg
Magaziner in 2011
Born (1947-11-08) November 8, 1947 (age 76)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Known for CEO of Clinton Health Access Initiative
Children Seth Magaziner
Jonathan Magaziner
Sarah Magaziner

Ira Magaziner (born November 8, 1947) [1] is an American advisor. He was born in New York City, New York, US. After being a student activist and business consultant, Magaziner became the senior advisor for policy development for President Clinton, especially as chief healthcare policy advisor. He now serves in a leadership capacity for two of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation's international development initiatives, which are at the forefront of non-governmental organizations in addressing global health and environmental issues.

Contents

Student activism

During his college years at Brown University, Magaziner was one of the two architects of the "New Curriculum", a liberal academic approach which eliminates core requirements outside of the concentration the student pursues. Magaziner excelled academically at Brown and in 1969 was named valedictorian of his class.

During the 1968 black student walkout at the University, Magaziner held rallies in support of their demands, and as president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, he negotiated with the administration on the terms of their return. His valedictory address at graduation was featured in a 1969 Life magazine special on student leaders—a special which also included a story about a recent Wellesley College graduate, future First Lady, New York Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham. After his address, Magaziner led the students in turning their backs on Henry Kissinger, who was receiving an honorary degree. Magaziner also organized Brown's Spring Weekend concerts and festivities. [2]

He was named a Rhodes Scholar upon graduation and studied political philosophy and economics under Isaiah Berlin at Balliol College of the University of Oxford. While studying at Oxford, Magaziner met Bill Clinton, also a Rhodes Scholar, who would become a close friend and eventually boss in the 1990s. After two years, Magaziner left the program without earning a degree to organize protest rallies against the Vietnam War—at one point in cooperation with actress Vanessa Redgrave.

After Oxford, Magaziner and a group of former Brown students attempted to implement social democratic reforms in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts. These reforms included starting an agricultural cooperative, supporting liberal candidates for city council, strengthening the union movement, and printing a progressive town newspaper. Magaziner soon abandoned the project, after the group recognized that the effects of foreign business competition on the local manufacturing base would undercut their efforts. He then determined that a greater understanding of business was necessary to promote broad-based social and economic reforms.

Business consulting

Magaziner went on to work for the Boston Consulting Group in Boston, London and Tokyo from 1973 to 1979. He founded Telesis in 1979, sold the company in 1986 to Towers Perrin Inc. and managed the U.S. strategy practice for Towers Perrin from 1986 to 1989. Throughout his consulting career, Magaziner's client list has included General Electric, Corning Glass, the Governments of Ireland and Sweden and other high-tech manufacturing and health care companies.

Magaziner also has had significant influence in Rhode Island. Working alongside Governor J. Joseph Garrahy, he devised a state economic plan, known as the "Greenhouse Compact", which, upon approval by the voters, aimed to resolve several key economic issues in the state, to create several business "incubators", and to stimulate state exports. While initially popular among state legislators, and some civic and business leaders, it was ultimately voted down by referendum. [3] Magaziner and his family continue to support prominent Democratic Rhode Island politicians and other social causes, including the Rhode Island Food Bank.

Magaziner has authored two books on business strategy and industrial policy: Minding America's Business and The Silent War. The former, co-authored with future Clinton Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, laid out a plan for U.S. industrial policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and received critical acclaim. Emphasis was placed on eliminating subsidies for inefficient American industries, and applying fiscal and industrial policy strategies to stimulate growth in sectors for which the U.S. had "cost-advantage." The Silent War, co-authored with Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin, tells the story of international business competition in the early 1990s, and Magaziner's experiences in dealing with different countries' relationships to their corporate base.

The Clinton years

Magaziner is best known for leading, along with Hillary Clinton, the failed Task Force to Reform Health Care in the early Clinton administration, which aimed to implement a managed competition regime for the health insurance industry, and to establish community rated insurance pools to cut costs for small businesses and the uninsured. The plan was widely criticized for being too complex. Pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies waged a broad-based ad-campaign against the plan, which included the famous "Harry and Louise" ads. Despite the attacks by Republicans and industry associations, Magaziner did little to respond. People within the administration criticized Magaziner's blunt and domineering approach, attacking critics who disagreed instead of trying to build consensus.

Brad DeLong, Deputy Treasury Secretary for the Clinton administration at the time, argues that Magaziner's failures stemmed from having a background in management consulting instead of policy: "A management consultant's principal goal is to win a debate in front of his employer ... by making intellectual arguments, controlling the flow of information..., [and] walling-off potential adversaries from the process ... You develop a policy by forming a large coalition ... Then you have a large group of people who are enthusiastic about the proposal: they will go out and make your arguments for you." [4]

Magaziner was court ordered to pay $285,864 to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, [5] in 1997 by a federal judge for alleged cover up of whether the Task Force to Reform Health Care hired non-governmental employees and therefore had to release documents from their strategic deliberations upon public request. Magaziner was subsequently cleared of all allegations and the fine was overturned by unanimous decision of the United States Court of Appeals on August 25, 1999. [6]

Magaziner stayed in the administration and worked to develop an E-Commerce policy initiative with OSTP staff and industry advisors. That initiative evolved to include a facilitative role in the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to assume Internet administrative activities previously maintained by the US DARPA.

Clinton Health Access Initiative

Since 2002, Magaziner is the chief executive officer and vice chairman of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), which works to save lives in low and middle income countries by helping people gain access to essential medicines and health services.[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Magaziner lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, with his wife Suzanne. He has three children: Seth, Jonathan, and Sarah. Seth Magaziner was elected General Treasurer of Rhode Island in 2014. [7] On September 14, 2021, Seth announced his candidacy for governor, focusing on issues that included women's rights, clean energy, reducing gun violence, fiscal responsibility, pandemic response and school improvement. [8] Seth was elected to Congress in 2022, representing Rhode Island's 2nd district.

Magaziner repeatedly flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s jets and his personal phone number and private email were in Epstein’s “black book.” [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Clinton</span> President of the United States from 1993 to 2001

William Jefferson Clinton is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. Clinton, whose policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy, became known as a New Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Bill Clinton</span> U.S. presidential administration from 1993 to 2001

Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican incumbent president George H. W. Bush and independent businessman Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1996 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee Bob Dole and Perot again, to win re-election. Clinton was succeeded by Republican George W. Bush, who won the 2000 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Health Insurance Program</span> Health Insurance program for families administered by the United States

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The program was passed into law as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the statutory authority for CHIP is under title XXI of the Social Security Act.

The Clinton health care plan of 1993 was an American healthcare reform package proposed by the Bill Clinton administration and closely associated with the chair of the task force devising the plan, first lady Hillary Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political positions of Hillary Clinton</span>

Hillary Clinton, the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States in 2016, has taken positions on political issues while serving as First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States (1993–2001); as U.S. Senator from New York (2001–2009); and serving as the United States Secretary of State (2009–2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Altmire</span> American politician (born 1968)

Jason Altmire is an American businessman, author, lobbyist and politician. He is the former Democratic U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, serving from 2007 until 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Foundation</span> American non-profit organization

The Clinton Foundation is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was established by former president of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence." Its offices are located in New York City and Little Rock, Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles N. Kahn III</span>

Charles N. ("Chip") Kahn III is the president and chief executive officer of the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), whose member companies own nearly 20 percent of all American hospital beds. Kahn and the FAH represent their members on health policy issues like health care reform and hospital care quality improvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Echaveste</span> White House Deputy Chief of Staff

Maria Echaveste is a former U.S. presidential advisor to Bill Clinton and White House Deputy Chief of Staff during the second Clinton administration. She is one of the highest-ranking Latinas to have served in a presidential administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a policy, legislative strategy and advocacy group working with non-profit and corporate clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton body count conspiracy theory</span> Conspiracy theory

The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims. The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."

Douglas Jay Band is an American businessman and lawyer who is a founding partner and former president of Teneo, a multinational C-suite advisory firm and investment bank. Previously he was Deputy Assistant to President Bill Clinton in the White House and later counselor to President Bill Clinton. Band was the "key architect" of the Clinton post-presidency and he created the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). Band later worked for the William J. Clinton Foundation, and also traveled to North Korea to orchestrate the release of the two Americans and to Cuba to help secure the release of another American, Alan P. Gross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas E. Donilon</span> American National Security Advisor

Thomas Edward Donilon is an American lawyer, business executive, and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013. Donilon also worked in the Carter and Clinton administrations, including as chief of staff of the U.S. State Department. He is now Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute, the firm's global think tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Donilon</span> American government officer (born 1958)

Michael C. Donilon is an American attorney and campaign consultant who is a longtime advisor to Joe Biden, the current President of the United States. He was the chief strategist of Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and served in the same capacity in the 2024 presidential campaign before Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024. He was a senior advisor to Biden during the first three years of his presidency. Prior, Donilon was working as a partner at AKPD Message and Media. Between 2009 and 2013, he served as Counselor to Vice President Biden in the Obama administration. Before his White House appointment, Donilon worked with the vice-presidential candidate to help him prepare for the debates and as a traveling advisor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Daniels</span> American philosopher and political theorist (born 1942)

Norman Daniels is an American political philosopher and philosopher of science, political theorist, ethicist, and bioethicist at Harvard University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Before his career at Harvard, Daniels had built his career as a medical ethicist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and at Tufts University School of Medicine, also in Boston. He also developed the concept of accountability for reasonableness with James Sabin, an ethics framework used to challenge the healthcare resource allocation in the 1990s.

The post-presidency of Bill Clinton began on January 20, 2001 following the end of Clinton's second term as president. Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. After he left office, he continued to be active in the public sphere, touring the world, writing books, and campaigning for Democrats, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as the junior U.S. senator from New York between 2001 and 2009 and the 67th United States Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013, on her presidential campaigns in 2008, in which she was runner-up for the Democratic nomination, and in 2016, when she lost the election to Donald Trump. After Clinton left office, he ended up forming a close friendship with George H. W. Bush and later, with George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Magaziner</span> American politician (born 1983)

Seth Michael Magaziner is an American investment professional and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 31st General Treasurer of Rhode Island from 2015 until 2023. Magaziner won the November 2022 election to succeed retiring representative James Langevin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann O'Leary</span> American lawyer

Ann M. O'Leary is an American political advisor, attorney, and nonprofit leader, who served as Chief of Staff to California Governor Gavin Newsom and as co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is now a partner at the international law firm Jenner & Block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governorships of Bill Clinton</span> Political history of Bill Clinton (1978–1992)

Bill Clinton served two tenures as governor of Arkansas. Elected in 1978, Clinton first served as governor for a single term from 1979 until 1981, losing his bid for reelection in 1980. After a two-year interregnum, Clinton returned to the governorship after winning the 1982 election. Clinton would be elected to five further terms, serving until mid-December, 1992, when he resigned amid his transition into the U.S. presidency after having been elected president in the 1992 presidential election. Clinton was the second-longest serving governor in the state's history, after Orval Faubus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Klein (public official)</span> Member of the Gender Policy Council

Jennifer Lynn Klein is the Director of the Gender Policy Council and Assistant to the President in the Biden-Harris Administration. Director Klein was politically appointed to the role on the Gender Policy Council in 2021. She is well known for her work that has focused on protecting women's rights and advancing gender equality in the United States and around the world. Prior to her role in the Biden-Harris Administration, Klein served in the Clinton and Obama Administrations, taught courses on gender policy issues at Georgetown University and Brown University, and served as Chief Strategy and Policy Officer at TIME'S UP.

References

  1. ↑ "Ira Magaziner Profile". NNDB . Retrieved 2006-10-12.
  2. ↑ Sternlight, Judy, ed. (2014). "Talkin' bout my generation". The Brown Reader. Simon & Schuster.
  3. ↑ Feldman, Allan. (1984) Rhode Island: Sunset for Industrial Policy. Policy Review No. 30(Fall 1984):84-86. pdf version Archived 2010-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Economist Brad DeLong's Fair, Balanced, and Reality-Based Semi-Daily Journal
  5. ↑ Pear, Robert (1997-12-19). "Judge Rules Government Covered Up Lies on Panel". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Neil A. (1999-08-25). "Court Clears Clinton Aide In Lying Case". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  7. ↑ "Seth Magaziner '10 Elected General Treasurer of Rhode Island | Yale SOM Alumni". alumni.som.yale.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  8. ↑ Seth Magaziner announces run for governor, slamming 'old-time politicians' Providence Journal , Katherine Gregg, September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  9. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Sexual Predator Epstein Tied to RI's Ira Magaziner, Father of General Treasurer UPDATED".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.