Reason Foundation

Last updated
Reason Foundation
Reasonlogo.svg
Founder(s)Robert W. Poole Jr., Manuel S. Klausner, Tibor R. Machan
Established1978;46 years ago (1978) [1]
MissionAdvancing a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law
Focus Public policy
PresidentDavid Nott [1]
Chair Gerry Ohrstrom
Key people Drew Carey, Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch
BudgetRevenue: $10,473,482
Expenses: $9,760,275
(FYE September 2015) [2]
Subsidiariesreason.com
reason TV
Slogan"free minds and free markets"
Location
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Website reason.org

The Reason Foundation is an American libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. [3] [4] The foundation publishes the magazine Reason . Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. According to its website, the foundation is committed to advancing "the values of individual freedom and choice, limited government, and market-friendly policies." In the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania), the foundation was number 41 (of 60) in the "Top Think Tanks in the United States". [5]

Contents

Reason Foundation's policy research areas include: air traffic control, American domestic monetary policy, school choice, eminent domain, government reform, housing, land use, immigration, privatization, public–private partnerships, urban traffic and congestion, transportation, industrial hemp, medical marijuana, police raids and militarization, free trade, globalization, and telecommunications. [6] Affiliated projects include Drew Carey's Reason TV video website. Reason Foundation staff also regularly contribute to the Out of Control Policy Blog.

Reason Foundation cofounder Robert Poole is an MIT-trained engineer and the author of Cutting Back City Hall. [7] The book provided the intellectual support for Margaret Thatcher's privatization efforts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. [8] Poole remains at Reason serving as an officer on the organization's board of trustees and director of transportation. He founded Reason magazine with Manny Klausner and Tibor Machan. [7]

Background

Robert Poole founded Reason Foundation and served as its president from 1978 to 2001. [1] Patricia Lynn Scarlett took over as president in 2001, but soon resigned to join the George W. Bush administration as assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget at the Department of the Interior.[ citation needed ] David Nott, a Stanford University graduate, has served as Reason Foundation's president since 2001. [1]

The foundation is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a U.S. national network of free-market-oriented think tanks. [9]

Funding and partners

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Reason Foundation is supported by donations and sale of its publications. [1] According to 2012 disclosures, [4] its largest donors were the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation ($1,522,212) and the Sarah Scaife Foundation ($2,016,000).

In 2020, the independent rating group Charity Navigator rated Reason with four out of four stars. [10] [11]

Publications

Annual Privatization Report, Privatization Watch, and Innovators in Action

Reason Foundation publishes the Annual Privatization Report, which reports on news and trends in U.S. outsourcing, privatization, and public-private partnerships. Privatization Watch is another of the Foundation's privatization publications published quarterly. Innovators in Action is an annual publication that advocates shrinking the size and scope of government, usually through privatization. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens wrote columns for this publication in 2007.[ citation needed ]

Annual Highway Report

Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Report ranks each state's transportation system on cost-effectiveness and efficiency. [12]

Reason magazine

Reason Foundation's primary publication is the magazine, Reason, which was first published in 1968 by Lanny Friedlander, [1] and was originally an infrequently published mimeographed magazine. In 1970, Robert Poole purchased Reason with Manuel S. Klausner and Tibor R. Machan, who set the magazine on a more regular publication schedule. [13] The magazine covers politics, culture, and ideas through a mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews.

Reason and Reason Online are editorially-independent publications of the foundation. [14] Reason magazine won three Los Angeles Press Club awards in 2008. [15]

Policy areas

Privatization

Reason Foundation cofounder Robert Poole "is credited as the first person to use the term 'privatization' to refer to the contracting-out of public services and is the author of the first-ever book on municipal privatization, Cutting Back City Hall, published by Universe Books in 1980." [7] The book was very influential, notably, by providing the intellectual support for Margaret Thatcher's privatization efforts in the United Kingdom. [8] Thatcher wrote in the foundation's Annual Privatization Report 2006, "State control is fundamentally bad because it denies people the power to choose and the opportunity to bear responsibility for their own actions. Conversely, privatisation shrinks the power of the state and free enterprise enlarges the power of the people." [16]

The Reason Foundation supports the privatization of (or public-private partnerships for) almost all government functions. Leonard Gilroy, Reason Foundation's director of government reform, describes privatization as "a strategy to lower the costs of government and achieve higher performance and better outcomes for tax dollars spent." [17] Gilroy also notes that "If badly executed, privatization like any other policy can fail. Taxpayers are no better off, and may be worse off, if a service is moved from a government agency to an incompetent or inefficient private business." [17]

Transportation

Reason is engaged in several transportation policy endeavors. (Foundation cofounder Robert Poole serves as the director of transportation policy.[ as of? ]) According to the New York Times, "[f]or 17 years, Mr. Poole has been the chief theorist for private solutions to gridlock. His ideas are now embraced by officials from Sacramento to Washington." [18]

The Galvin Mobility Project has led to the production of studies on the causes of congestion, such as the book "Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive Twenty-First Century" by Reason Foundation's director of urban growth and land use policy, Sam Staley.

Education

Reason Foundation advocates for education reform through expanded school choice initiatives. Reason's director of education and child welfare, Lisa Snell, authored a study in 2009 entitled Weighted Student Formula Yearbook 2009, which examined school districts using student-based "backpack funding." [19] Snell is also: "an advisory board member to the National Quality Improvement Center for the Children’s Bureau; on the charter school accreditation team for the American Academy for Liberal Education; and serves as a board member for the California Virtual Academy." [20]

Municipal broadband

In 2006, Reason Foundation issued a report criticizing a municipal Wi-Fi project iProvo in Provo, Utah as financially unstable and ineffective at lowering Internet costs or raising broadband use. [21] iProvo proponents responded vigorously with a white paper rebutting Reason's conclusions. [22]

In 2008, Reason issued a follow-up report entitled, iProvo Revisited: Another Year and Still Struggling. According to Reason, the predictions in its first report had proven true: "iProvo's total losses are likely to exceed $10 million by the end of this fiscal year – and that figure doesn't include the $39.5 million borrowed to launch the project, most of which still needs to be paid back." [23] Reason called for the city to "cut its losses" and sell the network to a private company. Shortly after the 2008 report was issued, the mayor of Provo, Lewis Billings, who had been highly critical of the Reason reports, announced that iProvo would in fact be sold to a private enterprise, Broadweave, for $40 million. [24]

Climate change

In 2005, Reason magazine's science writer Ronald Bailey wrote a column declaring that climate change is both real and anthropogenic. He wrote, "Anyone still holding onto the idea that there is no global warming ought to hang it up. All data sets – satellite, surface, and balloon – have been pointing to rising global temperatures." [25]

In 2006, Bailey wrote an article entitled "Confessions of an Alleged ExxonMobil Whore: Actually no one paid me to be wrong about global warming. Or anything else." [26] In the article Bailey explains how increasing public rebuff changed his mind on climate change.

War in Iraq

The Reason Foundation was critical of the cost of the war in Iraq. Reason magazine's May 2008 cover story, "Trillion Dollar War", [27] discussed what it viewed as the dubious ways in which the war in Iraq and Afghanistan have been funded by Congress, the military–industrial complex, and the Bush administration.

Health care

On August 25, 2010, ReasonTV published a video entitled, "Wheat, Weed and Obamacare: How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful", as part of an effort to question the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare. [4] The video has been credited with popularizing the argument in conservative circles that PPACA's individual mandate to buy health insurance is constitutionally equivalent to requiring consumers to buy particular types of fruits or vegetables. [4] This argument was ultimately articulated by Justice Antonin Scalia, who suggested during oral argument of the PPACA cases that if Congress has the power to require Americans to buy health insurance, then "Therefore, you can make people buy broccoli." [4]

Bastiat Prize

Reason Foundation issued an annual Bastiat Prize (named after Frédéric Bastiat) to recognize writing that “best demonstrates the importance of freedom with originality, wit and eloquence”. Awardees include Bari Weiss, Radley Balko, Daniel Hannan, Robert Graboyes, Ross Clark, Virginia Postrel, Tom Easton, Bret Stephens, Amit Varma, Jamie Whyte, Tim Harford, Robert Guest, Brian Carney, and Amity Shlaes. [28]

Drew Carey Project and Reason TV

Comedian and The Price Is Right host Drew Carey serves on the board of trustees at Reason Foundation. According to an interview by Katherine Herrup of The New York Sun with Nick Gillespie (current editor-in-chief of Reason TV), Carey initially proposed the idea for Reason TV after reading Reason magazine for years. He then both appeared in and narrated many videos produced by Reason TV. [29]

One of the collaboration's first projects, Carey's video criticizing the Drug Enforcement Administration's medical marijuana raids, received significant national attention, [30] Some of his other videos for the foundation have promoted free trade; criticized the government's raids of local poker games and an Arizona attempt to ban dancing in a family restaurant (Footloose in Arizona); [31] highlighted a ban on bacon-wrapped hot dogs in Los Angeles; detailed abuse of eminent domain laws; called for more toll roads to relieve congestion; argued for deregulation of organ donation (including kidneys and other organs); and called for immigration reform. [32]

Reason TV produced a full-length documentary entitled Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey applying success stories from around the United States to "save Cleveland." The documentary was awarded "Best Advocacy Journalism" at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club. [33]

Oath of Presidential Transparency

Reason Foundation and a bipartisan group of more than thirty other organizations asked all of the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates to sign a pledge promising that, if elected, they would deliver the most transparent presidency in history and guaranteeing the executive branch would adhere to the concepts of open government. The candidates who signed the oath were: Sen. Barack Obama (D–Illinois), Rep. Ron Paul (R–Texas), Sen. Sam Brownback (R–Kansas), former Sen. Mike Gravel (D–Alaska), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D–Ohio), Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, and John Cox.

Reason Foundation's vice president of research Adrian Moore said of the oath, "The next president should be committed to transparency and accountability. Redesigning the federal government, so that it is more accountable to taxpayers and businesses, is a nonpartisan issue. Transparency will help produce a government focused on results instead of our current system, which is plagued by secrecy, wasteful spending and pork projects." [34]

Then-Senator Barack Obama echoed those sentiments saying, "Every American has the right to know how the government spends their tax dollars, but for too long that information has been largely hidden from public view. This historic law will lift the veil of secrecy in Washington and ensure that our government is transparent and accountable to the American people." [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think tank</span> Organization that performs policy research and advocacy

A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cato Institute</span> American libertarian think tank

The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries. Cato was established to focus on public advocacy, media exposure and societal influence.

The Heritage Foundation is an activist American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies were taken from Heritage Foundation studies, including its Mandate for Leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookings Institution</span> American think tank

The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global economy, and economic development.

<i>Reason</i> (magazine) American libertarian monthly magazine

Reason is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation, with the tagline "Free Minds and Free Markets". The magazine aims to produce independent journalism that is "outside of the left/right echo chamber." The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Policy Studies</span> Think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is an obscurely funded right-wing think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independence, self determination and responsibility. While being independent, the centre has historical links to the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Smith Institute</span> British neo-liberal think tank and lobby group

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is a UK-based neoliberal think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The Institute advocates free market and classical liberal ideas, primarily via the formation of policy options with regard to public choice theory, which political decision makers seek to develop upon. ASI President Madsen Pirie has sought to describe the activity of the organisation as "[w]e propose things which people regard as being on the edge of lunacy. The next thing you know, they're on the edge of policy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Institute</span> Canadian public policy think tank

The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has links to think tanks worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network and is a member of the free-market Atlas Network. Fraser describes itself as independent and non-partisan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Economic Education</span> Libertarian education organization

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas Network</span> Free market American think tank support group

Atlas Network, formerly known as Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking, and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups around the world.

The International Policy Network (IPN) was a think tank based in the City of London, founded 1971, and closed in September 2011. It was a non-partisan, non-profit organization, but critics said it was a "corporate-funded campaigning group". IPN ran campaigns on issues such as trade, development, healthcare and the environment. IPN’s campaigns were pro-free market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Bailey</span> American libertarian science writer

Ronald Bailey is an American libertarian science writer. He has written or edited several books on economics, ecology, and biotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libertarianism in the United States</span> Origin, history and development of libertarianism in the United States

In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. According to common meanings of conservatism and liberalism in the United States, libertarianism has been described as conservative on economic issues and liberal on personal freedom, often associated with a foreign policy of non-interventionism. Broadly, there are four principal traditions within libertarianism, namely the libertarianism that developed in the mid-20th century out of the revival tradition of classical liberalism in the United States after liberalism associated with the New Deal; the libertarianism developed in the 1950s by anarcho-capitalist author Murray Rothbard, who based it on the anti-New Deal Old Right and 19th-century libertarianism and American individualist anarchists such as Benjamin Tucker and Lysander Spooner while rejecting the labor theory of value in favor of Austrian School economics and the subjective theory of value; the libertarianism developed in the 1970s by Robert Nozick and founded in American and European classical liberal traditions; and the libertarianism associated with the Libertarian Party, which was founded in 1971, including politicians such as David Nolan and Ron Paul.

The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. The Mercatus Center is located at the George Mason University campus, however the organization is privately funded and its employees are independent of the university. It is directed by Daniel M. Rothschild and its board is chaired by American economist Tyler Cowen. The Center works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning with real-world practice. Taking its name from the Latin word for market, the center advocates free-market approaches to public policy. During the George W. Bush administration's campaign to reduce government regulation, The Wall Street Journal reported, "14 of the 23 rules the White House chose for its 'hit list' to eliminate or modify were Mercatus entries".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Institute for Economic Research</span> Free-market think tank

The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is a conservative libertarian think tank known for spreading climate and health misinformation, located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1933 by Edward C. Harwood, an economist and investment advisor. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Carey</span> American actor, comedian and game show host (born 1958)

Drew Allison Carey is an American comedian, actor, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and as host of the U.S. version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC. He then appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. Carey has hosted the game show The Price Is Right since October 15, 2007, on CBS.

The New Economic School – Georgia (NESG) is a free market think-tank, non-profit organisation, NGO based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Its main mission is education of young people in free market ideas. It organizes seminars, workshops and conferences for education and exchanges of ideas. NESG was founded by Georgian individuals to fill the gap of the market economy knowledge in the country and the deficit of good teachers and economics textbooks. According to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, NESG is number 22 "Top Think Tanks in Central Asia".

Making Our Economy Right (MOER) is a free market think tank in Bangladesh. Headquartered in Dhaka, the institute was established in 1991 by Nizam Ahmad. MOER is sponsored by the Atlas Foundation in the United States. Deroy Murdock, an American libertarian syndicated columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service, is an advisory board member of MOER.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Future of Freedom Conference</span> Series of libertarian conferences in the US

The Future of Freedom Conference is regarded as the first explicitly libertarian conference series ever held in the United States. Debuting in 1969, the conference's keynote speaker was Austrian economist Prof. Ludwig von Mises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Policy Review Foundation</span> Free market think tank

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation(IPR) is an Indiana fusion conservative and libertarian, free market think tank. According to its web site, the IPR’s mission is to "marshal the best thought on governmental, economic and educational issues at the state and municipal level." The IPR publishes the Indiana Policy Review. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, it is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About the Reason Foundation". Reason Foundation. 2008-04-03. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Reason Foundation" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Abrams, Garry (June 25, 1986). "The Coming of Age for the Reason Foundation: Libertarian Think Tank Is Relocating Here in Bid for a Higher Profile and Greater Clout". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Stewart, James B. (June 13, 2012). "How Broccoli Landed on Supreme Court Menu". New York Times.
  5. ↑ McGann (Director), James G. (February 4, 2015). "2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report" . Retrieved February 14, 2015..
  6. ↑ "Reason Foundation". 29 April 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "Robert Poole". Reason Foundation. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 John Blundell, "Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of an Iron Lady", 100.
  9. ↑ "Directory SPN Members". State Policy Network. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Charity Rating". Charity Navigator. Also see "GuideStar Summary". GuideStar.
  11. ↑ Smith, Julia; Thompson, Sheryl; Lee, Kelley (2016-01-01). "The Atlas Network: a "strategic ally" of the tobacco industry". The International Journal of Health Planning and Management. 32 (4): 433–448. doi:10.1002/hpm.2351. ISSN   1099-1751. PMC   5716244 . PMID   27125556.
  12. ↑ Almendrala, Anna (July 3, 2013). "2013 Highway Report Reveals Worst State Highway Systems In U.S." The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Gabree, John (May 5, 1988). "20 Years on Battle Lines for Reason". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  14. ↑ Warren, James (June 17, 2016). "Reason's new editor on politics, intern life and leading the magazine into its next 50 years". Poynter. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "50th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards". Los Angeles Press Club. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ↑ Margaret Thatcher, "Rebuilding An Enterprise Society Through Privatisation", Annual Privatization Report 2006, p. 7 (http://reason.org/files/d767317fa4806296191436e95f68082a.pdf).
  17. 1 2 Leonard Gilroy and Adrian Moore, "Ten Principles of Privatization"
  18. ↑ Egan, Timothy (April 28, 2005). "Paying on the Highway to Get Out of First Gear". New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  19. ↑ Lisa Snell, Weighted Student Formula Yearbook 2009
  20. ↑ "Reason Foundation". Reason Foundation Expert.
  21. ↑ Titch, Steven (1 December 2006). "Spinning its Wheels". Reason Foundation.
  22. ↑ Tad Walch, Deseret News, "Provo lashes iProvo critics"
  23. ↑ Reason Foundation Press Release: "iProvo Losses at $8 Million and Counting" http://www.reason.org/news/iprovo_municipal_wifi_broadband_update_041608.shtml Archived 2008-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ Deseret News. "iProvo, Broadweave Nearly Close Deal" http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700239528,00.html
  25. ↑ Bailey, Ronald (11 August 2005). "We're All Global Warmers Now". reason.com.
  26. ↑ Bailey, Ronald (22 September 2006). "Confessions of an Alleged ExxonMobil Whore". reason.com.
  27. ↑ "Trillion Dollar War" by Veronique de Rugy in Reason magazine http://www.reason.com/news/show/125438.html
  28. ↑ "The New York Times' Bari Weiss Wins the 2018 Bastiat Prize". 17 July 2018.
  29. ↑ McIntyre, Michael (March 14, 2010). "Drew Carey explains why he wants to help save Cleveland and how he proposes to do it". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  30. ↑ Associated Press and USA Today: "Drew Carey Defends Medical Marijuana" https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-11-01-carey-marijuana_N.htm
  31. ↑ Arizona Republic: San Tan Flats Wins Dance Duel http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2008/04/30/20080430santanflat0430-on.html
  32. ↑ Archive of Videos Produced by Drew Carey for Reason TV http://reason.tv/featuredvids
  33. ↑ "2011 Southern California Journalism Awards Winner" (PDF). Los Angeles Press Club. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  34. 1 2 "Reason Foundation". 2007-08-24.

33°59′03″N118°23′58″W / 33.9842°N 118.3995°W / 33.9842; -118.3995

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.