Featured Stories
YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The Jed Foundation issued the following news release:
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YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
The new national partnership will bring expert technical assistance, coaching, and crisis planning to local YMCAs and their youth through training, resources, and strategic guidance.
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[New York City and Chicago] -- The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults, today announced a new national partnership
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 5 -- The Jed Foundation issued the following news release:
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YMCA of the USA and The Jed Foundation Collaborate on Comprehensive, Community-Based Mental Health Support for Young People
The new national partnership will bring expert technical assistance, coaching, and crisis planning to local YMCAs and their youth through training, resources, and strategic guidance.
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[New York City and Chicago] -- The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults, today announced a new national partnershipwith YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community by empowering young people, improving the health and well-being of people of all ages, and inspiring action in and across communities. The Y now joins a growing network of 22 community-based organizations (CBOs) representing 8.5 million young people, all working alongside JED to improve youth mental health, reduce suicide risk, and foster environments where young people can thrive.
JED's partnership with the Y meets a critical need by reaching young people who may face barriers to care and limited access to resources, and who are at greater risk for suicide. Youth come to the Y and other community-based organizations with a wide variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. By fostering connectedness and belonging within the spaces young people already trust, organizations can help create conditions that support well-being and enable youth to reach their full potential.
For 175 years, the Y has been a cornerstone of community life, creating spaces where meaningful connections help individuals and families flourish, serving more than 18 million members across 2,600+ locations reaching 10,000 communities. Each year, millions of children and teens participate in the Y programs, including early learning, afterschool programs, day and overnight camps, youth sports, teen programs, swim instruction, and more.
"With a presence in communities from coast to coast, the Y has a unique opportunity to support the emotional well-being of young people and their families where they live, learn, and grow," said Ebone' Mitchell, director of teen strategy at Y-USA. "Partnering with JED means investing in a proactive, comprehensive approach to mental health and suicide prevention -- one that equips our staff, volunteers, and leaders to strengthen connections and build environments where every young person feels a sense of belonging, possibility, and purpose."
During the 18-month technical assistance program, JED will collaborate with Y-USA to assess their practices related to mental health and well-being, including existing policies, programs, and practices; identifying strengths and opportunities for growth in mental health promotion and suicide prevention strategies; establishing goals and implementation strategies; and developing measurable benchmarks to track progress and evaluate impact through JED's CBO technical assistance programming.
"For generations, community-based organizations like the Y have been a trusted presence in communities, creating spaces where young people and families can build connection, develop resilience, and thrive," said Kiana Davis, JED's Senior Director of Community Initiatives. "JED is proud to welcome the Y into our community-based programming to further embed mental health and well-being into the Y's existing programs, practices, and systems nationwide. Together, we're building stronger, more connected communities where mental health support is woven into the places people already know and trust."
JED is dedicated to making programming and support accessible to all organizations. Email community@jedfoundation.org to learn more about fee structures and funding opportunities.
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About the Y
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they're from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y's goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across 10,000 communities nationwide. Learn more at ymca.org.
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About The Jed Foundation
JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation's teens and young adults. We're partnering with high schools, colleges, school districts, and youth-serving community-based organizations to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We're equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We're encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.
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Original text here: https://jedfoundation.org/ymca-of-the-usa-and-the-jed-foundation-collaborate-on-comprehensive-community-based-mental-health-support-for-young-people/
'God Front and Center': FFRF Condemns Blanche's Shocking Christian Nationalist Views
MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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'God front and center': FFRF condemns Blanche's shocking Christian nationalist views
A highly alarming aspect of Todd Blanche's record is being overshadowed as he appears headed toward confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege conservative Christianity. Although Blanche's nomination has drawn scrutiny over ethics concerns and his close ties to President Trump, the Freedom
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MADISON, Wisconsin, Aug. 5 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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'God front and center': FFRF condemns Blanche's shocking Christian nationalist views
A highly alarming aspect of Todd Blanche's record is being overshadowed as he appears headed toward confirmation as U.S. attorney general.
Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege conservative Christianity. Although Blanche's nomination has drawn scrutiny over ethics concerns and his close ties to President Trump, the FreedomFrom Religion Foundation warns that his intent to unite religion and government deserves equal attention. It is shocking that Blanche declared, during a July 30 call organized by the White House Faith Office, that his goal is to ensure that "God is front and center again" in America and that "being a Christian in this country ... is actually a benefit." FFRF is urging senators and the public not to ignore Blanche's un-American objective to transform the Justice Department into a vehicle for advancing religion.
"Blanche's words are not those of someone committed to equally serving Americans of every faith -- as well as the nearly one-third of U.S. adults who are free from religion," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "They're the words of a zealot who views the government as a tool to elevate Christianity. The attorney general's duty is to uphold the Constitution and equal justice under the law, not to put God 'front and center.'"
Blanche's rhetoric has already been reflected in his actions, FFRF asserts.
Under Blanche's leadership as acting attorney general, the Justice Department has issued sweeping new guidance on religious liberty. While portrayed as protecting religious freedom, the updated memorandum dramatically expands religious exemptions and privileges while weakening longstanding First Amendment protections.
The guidance embraces a controversial "history and tradition test" for interpreting the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, echoing claims by Christian nationalists that America was founded as a Christian nation. It broadly authorizes religious activity by federal employees in the workplace, rejects efforts to remove government endorsements of religion from public life, expands access to taxpayer funding for religious organizations and significantly strengthens religious accommodation claims against employers and federal agencies.
The guidance also directs federal agencies to proactively advance religious liberty in policymaking, broadens protections for religious organizations that discriminate in hiring and contracting, and threatens government officials with personal liability under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for decisions that allegedly burden religion. According to FFRF, the cumulative effect is to institutionalize Christian privilege while steadily eroding the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
Blanche's public statements reinforce that goal.When the nation's chief law enforcement officer says his goal is to ensure Christians enjoy special favor, Americans should take him at his word.
If confirmed, Todd Blanche would assume enormous authority over civil rights enforcement, constitutional litigation and the federal government's interpretation of religious liberty. His own words make clear that Americans should expect an attorney general committed to advancing a Christian nationalist agenda.
"FFRF has spent nearly 50 years defending the First Amendment against government-sponsored religion, and we will continue to vigorously oppose every unconstitutional effort by the Justice Department to dismantle the wall of separation protecting American freedom of conscience," adds Gaylor.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/god-front-and-center-ffrf-condemns-blanches-shocking-christian-nationalist-views/
[Category: Religion]
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Leading Environmental Groups, and Let's Build Homes Announce Roadmap to Comprehensive Wetlands Reform
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 4 -- Conservation Law Foundation issued the following news release:
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Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Leading Environmental Groups, and Let's Build Homes Announce Roadmap to Comprehensive Wetlands Reform
(Montpelier, VT) - The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC), and Let's Build Homes (LBH) announced a Joint Statement of Commitment laying out a shared roadmap for reforming Vermont's wetlands permitting system. The agreement charts a series
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug. 4 -- Conservation Law Foundation issued the following news release:
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Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Leading Environmental Groups, and Let's Build Homes Announce Roadmap to Comprehensive Wetlands Reform
(Montpelier, VT) - The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC), and Let's Build Homes (LBH) announced a Joint Statement of Commitment laying out a shared roadmap for reforming Vermont's wetlands permitting system. The agreement charts a seriesof short-, medium-, and long-term actions intended to accelerate housing production without compromising the protection of significant wetlands that provide Vermont with flood storage, drought resilience, clean water, and wildlife habitat.
The roadmap includes an impactful immediate change - a new, temporary ANR rule that will reduce the size of wetlands buffers in the state's designated areas starting August 8 - and a commitment to attempt to codify critical elements of the agreement in legislation in 2027.
"This agreement strikes an important balance between addressing Vermont's urgent housing shortage and protecting wetlands that are so critical to the state's resilience," said Elena Mihaly, Conservation Law Foundation Vice President for Vermont. "As communities work to build more homes in our downtowns and town and village centers, it's equally important to preserve the natural systems that help reduce flooding and protect Vermonters. Thanks go to the State and Let's Build Homes for working collaboratively with environmental leaders to reach a practical compromise that advances both of these important priorities."
"This roadmap reflects months of hard, honest conversations about how Vermont can balance its urgent housing shortage and the environmental benefits of compact settlement against the need to safeguard wetland functions," said ANR Secretary Julie Moore. "Completing these reforms will provide greater regulatory certainty for builders and municipalities, while ensuring ANR continues to protect wetlands that are critical to flood resilience and clean water. We appreciate Let's Build Homes, VNRC, CLF and LCC working with us to find real, durable solutions."
Vermont faces a well-documented housing shortage that touches nearly every part of the state's economy and civic life, from declining K-12 enrollment to the difficulty employers face in attracting and retaining workers to our strained healthcare system. The parties agree that Vermont's designated downtowns and town and village centers are the most economically and environmentally sound places to grow the state's housing stock quickly.
"This roadmap is an important breakthrough at a time when Vermonters urgently need housing relief," said Miro Weinberger, Executive Chair of Let's Build Homes. "Our wetlands regulations have successfully protected natural resources, but they were not designed to address other critical needs. After years of conflict, there is now a consensus on how to evolve the system to advance both housing and wetlands goals at once. We appreciate the commitment and collaboration of the environmental leaders and Scott Administration that made this breakthrough possible, and are eager to start the hard, urgent work that will be needed to fully implement the changes the agreement envisions."
The agreement affirms that permitting must be administered clearly and consistently, and that better, more accurate wetland mapping is essential to giving landowners, homebuilders, and permitting agencies the regulatory certainty they need.
"This agreement enables all of the parties to work toward shared goals, by increasing clarity on the scope and extent of wetlands within those areas of the state that best support compact development," said Jennifer Patterson, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Committee. "Now we can focus on creating a streamlined project approval process within designated growth areas that avoids unnecessary delay while still promoting clean water and flood resilience by protecting the most important wetlands functions and values."
"Vermonters need more housing, flood-resilient communities, and a healthy environment. We appreciate the collaborative work that went into developing a set of strategies the state can pursue to make it easier to build housing in and near our designated growth areas while also maintaining crucial protections for wetlands that reduce flood risk, filter water, and provide other community benefits," added Lauren Hierl, Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
Key actions in the Joint Statement of Commitment include:
Short-term:
* Set a 25-foot buffers within defined designated growth areas for projects registered with ANR on or before January 1, 2030 as set forth in the proposed amendments to the Vermont Wetland Rules effective August 8, 2026.
Medium-term:
* Develop a general permit to allow fast-tracking for housing and mixed-use development that includes housing with minor wetland impacts statewide.
* Adopt a professional certification program to authorize private consultants to delineate and classify wetlands.
Long-term:
* Continue to improve wetland maps, with the goal of improving mapping to the point where they will serve as the primary basis for regulatory review of wetlands in designated growth areas.
* Establish a streamlined wetland mitigation system for unavoidable buffer impacts resulting from housing and mixed-use development in designated growth areas.
The full Joint Statement of Commitment can be read here (https://www.clf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FINAL-2026-07-30-Wetlands-Housing-Joint-Statement-of-Commitment-Execution-Version.pdf).
Experts are available for further comment.
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Original text here: https://www.clf.org/newsroom/vermont-agency-of-natural-resources-leading-environmental-groups-and-lets-build-homes-announce-roadmap-to-comprehensive-wetlands-reform/
University of Alabama earns FIRE's top rating for free speech after reforming policies
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Aug. 4 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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University of Alabama earns FIRE's top rating for free speech after reforming policies
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Aug. 4, 2026 -The University of Alabama has received a "green light" rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression after recently improving its free speech policies. University of Alabama is one of two schools in Alabama, and one of 75 nationwide, to have earned this rating.
"Protecting the free exchange of ideas is core to our mission,
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Aug. 4 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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University of Alabama earns FIRE's top rating for free speech after reforming policies
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Aug. 4, 2026 -The University of Alabama has received a "green light" rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression after recently improving its free speech policies. University of Alabama is one of two schools in Alabama, and one of 75 nationwide, to have earned this rating.
"Protecting the free exchange of ideas is core to our mission,and we remain committed to policies that reflect that value for every student on our campus," said UA President Peter J. Mohler.
With consultation from FIRE, UA updated two policies to better reflect the Supreme Court's definition for peer harassment, thus safeguarding protected speech. The university also removed an IT guideline referencing campus network email distribution and workstation use to avoid confusion.
"Even small policy changes can make a big difference to students' quality of life and conversation on campus," said FIRE Director of Policy Reform Laura Beltz. "We urge other schools in the state to follow suit and make free speech protections one of their highest priorities."
Over 65,000 students now attend green light schools in Alabama. FIRE is eager to help schools around the country earn green light ratings. We regularly work with colleges and universities, free of charge, to revise their policies to ensure they meet First Amendment standards. More information about how FIRE determines speech code ratings can be found here. Contact FIRE's campus Policy Reform team today at speechcodes@thefire.org.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought -the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.
The University of Alabama is the future-ready flagship. UA develops leaders and a workforce for a changing world, advances research and innovation that solve real problems and strengthens communities across Alabama and beyond. Part of The University of Alabama System, UA holds a global reputation for excellence and offers more than 200 degree programs. Through more than 30 research centers, the University leads creative inquiry and discovery that fuels economic growth and opportunity.
CONTACT:
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
Alex House, Associate Director of Communications, University of Alabama: 205-348-8323; alex.house@ua.edu
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Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/university-alabama-earns-fires-top-rating-free-speech-after-reforming-policies
Southeastern Legal Foundation Files Amicus Brief Defending Family Farm Against U.S. Department of Labor's Massive Overreach With Ruinous Fines
ROSWELL, Georgia, Aug. 4 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release on Aug. 3, 2026:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation files amicus brief defending family farm against U.S. Department of Labor's massive overreach with ruinous fines
Today, the Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights, filed an amicus brief (https://slfliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260731-SLF-NCAE-Amicus-Brief.pdf) on behalf of the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) and over a dozen national
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ROSWELL, Georgia, Aug. 4 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release on Aug. 3, 2026:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation files amicus brief defending family farm against U.S. Department of Labor's massive overreach with ruinous fines
Today, the Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights, filed an amicus brief (https://slfliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260731-SLF-NCAE-Amicus-Brief.pdf) on behalf of the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) and over a dozen nationaland state agricultural associations to help combat a massive overreach by the U.S. Department of Labor against America's farms.
The Department of Labor accused one-such farm, Sun Valley Orchards, of wrongdoing and imposed $550,000 in ruinous fines, mostly for a single violation. When the farmers disagreed and sought a resolution, they were deprived of their day in court and forced to take their case to the Department's unilaterally created and self-run in-house court, where all presiding judges are employed by the Department itself. After a four day trial, judges ruled in favor of their employer.
In their amicus brief, SLF and NCAE argue that the Department of Labor's self-created in-house court system is a blatant violation of our Constitution. If a farmer disagrees with an agency imposed fine, the Constitution demands that he have the opportunity to go to an independent court and challenge the fine. Robbing farmers of that opportunity, the Department of Labor embarked on a massive power grab and unilaterally decided it was going to act as legislator, executioner, and judge - creating the fines, imposing the fines, and enforcing the fines when challenged.
The Department of Labor is abusing its power and imposing destructive fines on farmers, who are some of the hardest working people in America. SLF explains, "The Department's reading amounts to a broad, undefined, and unchecked delegation of legislative power -- violating basic principles of constitutional interpretation. The Court would be obliged to confront that enormous grant of power, not construe around it. And it would be unconstitutional."
SLF President Kim Hermann said, "Farming is the backbone of the American economy. These hard workers face some of the most grueling and challenging physical labor just to provide the groceries that we all purchase with ease. Why a government agency would choose to make life harder for these people and impose truly ruinous fines is completely beyond me. We cannot take their hard work for granted, and that's why we must fight to make sure the government isn't making their lives harder by enforcing random fines."
NCAE President & CEO John Hollay said: "American farmers have been subjected to a disciplinary system that has turned the Department of Labor into judge, jury and executioner in the H-2A program. Our amicus brief makes the case for why employers should not relinquish their constitutional rights just because they rely on the H-2A visa program to keep their farms in business. We remain confident the Justices will protect the rights of the American farmer."
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Original text here: https://slfliberty.org/southeastern-legal-foundation-files-amicus-brief-defending-family-farm-against-u-s-department-of-labors-massive-overreach-with-ruinous-fines/
Lumina Foundation Issues Commentary: Why is Applying to College So Complicated? How to Simplify It
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Aug. 4 -- The Lumina Foundation issued the following commentary by President and CEO Jamie Merisotis:
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Why is applying to college so complicated? How to simplify it
Not everyone has to go to college, but everyone should know if they could.
Across the country, thousands of students are finding out about their college options without having to apply. They're already in, based on how they do in high school.
Direct admission programs are clearing the way to college, instead of hoping students will choose to apply and figure out the complicated process. It's a no-brainer
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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Aug. 4 -- The Lumina Foundation issued the following commentary by President and CEO Jamie Merisotis:
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Why is applying to college so complicated? How to simplify it
Not everyone has to go to college, but everyone should know if they could.
Across the country, thousands of students are finding out about their college options without having to apply. They're already in, based on how they do in high school.
Direct admission programs are clearing the way to college, instead of hoping students will choose to apply and figure out the complicated process. It's a no-brainergiven that the economy is increasingly demanding more skilled workers, and bachelor's degrees remain the strongest engine for helping people achieve good jobs and good lives.
So why not make good decisions easier? Save the tedious paperwork for the IRS, and leave the mysteries, suspense, and plot twists to Agatha Christie.
Direct admission is just one piece of the puzzle, and it reflects a larger shift toward designing higher education for students, rather than for institutions. Higher ed leaders are looking for more places to smooth the path--or find new ways that work better for students.
Could an approach like direct admission help the 43 million Americans with some college experience see a path for returning to finish their credentials? Could more seamless transitions exist for working adults who want to continue their education?
With today's focus on value, American higher education is facing questions beyond who gets into college and whether they finish credentials. Access used to be mostly about opening doors to more people. Now the defining access challenge is about making higher education simpler to enter, easier to navigate, and more flexible to return to throughout life.
Simplifying college admissions
The college application process is notoriously complicated and opaque. As families carefully weigh the value of college, direct admission programs give them concrete options to consider. In an increasing number of states, this will include not just which colleges students could attend, but what financial aid will cover and what their cost will be.
Despite popular narratives, just a small number of colleges are so selective that they only admit a narrow fraction of their applicants. In fact, 84% of undergraduate students attend colleges that accept all or most applicants.
But many students don't realize that. Most students have a clear vision of where they want their career to go, but half don't know the best next step for their education, according to a 2023 survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
So let's show them what's possible. In San Bernardino, the local California State University campus' direct admission website says: "You've Earned Your Spot."
In high school, Milana Waggoner wasn't sure she fit the college mold but was directly admitted to Cal State San Bernardino. She still wasn't sure about going there but settled in on campus. "I was like OK, so, not everything's against me. I'm going to be fine," Waggoner said. "I am very grateful that people are believing in me, or the world believes in me, so it's easier."
Redesigning higher ed for students, not bureaucracy
Today's students have enough to worry about. They don't need the burden of having to navigate every step of an unwieldy system.
Think about it: A student might receive an acceptance letter from one office, financial aid information from another, register for classes through a third system, and seek academic advising from yet another office.
It might make sense to the college, but to a student, particularly one who might be first in their family to go to college, it often feels like being stuck in a maze.
Higher ed is shifting toward more integrated, simplified systems. If we can move to a system where students are automatically on a path to education after high school unless they opt out, it could go a lot further in making sure people have the skills they need to flourish.
That's not to push a "college for all" agenda--currently a hot topic of debate--but college should work better for everyone who wants to go. The process should never be the barrier.
Banks pre-approve loans. Doctors send appointment reminders. Airlines tell you when it's time to check in for a flight. So it's not too far to suggest that higher education could be more a lot more consumer-minded, too.
People will likely make many educational decisions throughout their lives. They'll change careers, earn new credentials, and adapt to new technologies. If every one of those transitions requires navigating a maze, upskilling will remain an aspiration instead of reality.
Direct admission is one solution among many for the challenges facing higher education. But it points toward an important philosophy: Design systems that help people succeed rather than testing how well they navigate bureaucracy. That's one step in delivering the value people expect and deserve from higher education.
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About the Author
Jamie Merisotis, an international leader in higher education, human work, philanthropy, and public policy, has been Lumina's president and CEO since 2008.
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Original text here: https://www.luminafoundation.org/news-and-views/why-is-applying-to-college-so-complicated-how-to-simplify-it/
Foundation for Economic Education Posts Commentary Entitled 'What Is a Think Tank?'
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 4 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Douglas Carswell, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy:
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What Is a Think Tank?
Generating ideas for real change.
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"What is a think tank?" is a question I get asked all the time.
The job of a think tank is to generate the ideas that politicians implement in office. If politics were the movie industry, those we elect would be the stars on the big screen; think tanks help write the script.
"But don't politicians have ideas of their own?" I hear you ask.
Of course
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 4 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Douglas Carswell, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy:
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What Is a Think Tank?
Generating ideas for real change.
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"What is a think tank?" is a question I get asked all the time.
The job of a think tank is to generate the ideas that politicians implement in office. If politics were the movie industry, those we elect would be the stars on the big screen; think tanks help write the script.
"But don't politicians have ideas of their own?" I hear you ask.
Of coursethey do (though having spent 12 years in the House of Commons before running a think tank, I'd suggest they have them less often than you might imagine). Even with a clear goal--cutting taxes, improving childcare, encouraging growth--elected leaders often need help with the details of how to make it happen.
Free-market think tanks have been enormously influential. Think tanks--or at least the free-market version of them--were more or less invented by an Englishman called Antony Fisher. He founded, among other institutions, the Institute of Economic Affairs in Britain in 1955, the Fraser Institute in Vancouver in 1974, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York in 1977, and the Atlas Network in 1981.
Fisher was famously advised by Friedrich Hayek that, instead of seeking elected office in the House of Commons, he would have a greater impact if he shifted public opinion so that even the wrong people had to do the right thing.
It was think tanks--Fisher's own IEA prominent among them--that made the case for privatization and helped Britain roll back the state (remember when Britain used to do that?). They drew up the blueprints for Reaganomics and Thatcherism, drove the sweeping welfare reforms of 1996, popularized school choice--now spreading across America--and powered the state-by-state push to abolish the income tax (Americans for Tax Reform, in particular).
Several decades on, the liberty movement has built a myriad of institutions--from giants like Heritage and AEI to state-based minnows such as MCPP in every US state. The left has, of course, followed suit with its own think tanks (although progressive think tanks strike me as comparatively inert--perhaps because the left already owns so much of academia).
Given that ideas can change the world, I've never understood why some think-tankers feel the need to brand their organizations "do tanks" rather than think tanks. Done well, ideas possess such extraordinary agency that there is never any need to half-apologize for the suggestion that thinking alone is not enough. (If no one is reading the ideas in your research papers, it might be because the research papers are the problem, not the ideas.)
To be effective, a think tank, like a good journalist, should be friendly toward elected officials without becoming their friend. Never join the political club in the belief that doing so will buy you influence. Being friends with everyone might get you to the bill-signing ceremony; pushing hard is what ensures that the bill being signed actually advances liberty.
Having spent over a decade in the House of Commons, I think that it is rare for a politician to adopt the right policies because he sees the light. More often it is because he feels the heat. A policy is taken up when it is presented in the right place at the right time and offers elected leaders a solution to a pressing problem.
Unless a think tank has a clear sense of mission, there is always a risk that it begins to claim credit for things that would have happened anyway. Like a shaman performing a rain dance and then pretending to have produced the precipitation, it simply looks daft.
Alongside Fisher, few have done more to shape how think tanks work than Joe Overton. His great insight was that, at any given moment, there exists a range of politically acceptable policy options. Those we elect operate within that window of acceptable opinion--the Overton window--and think tanks should aim to shift it: making the once-unthinkable debatable, then sensible, and finally what everyone insists they always believed.
Over the past two decades, the digital revolution has made Joe Overton's insights even more salient, as the established media has lost ground and think tanks have gained the means to reach people directly. Think tanks adapted to the advent of the Internet, but that change will be as nothing compared with the transformation we are about to see with AI.
Consider, for a moment, policy research--a vital part of what a think tank does (in my view, a think tank that produces no original research is not thinking, but I digress). Next month, here at MCPP, we will publish our annual Fat Cat report--a list of the highest-paid public officials in Mississippi. AI's significance has little to do with using it to help write the report (we write it; AI polishes and edits it). Nor does its real importance lie in turning what was once a dry PDF printout into an interactive web tool (if no one is reading your research-paper PDF, take note).
What truly changes is that, once a report like our annual Fat Cat has been published, AI allows us to transform it into a self-regenerating report that "lives" online. The 2027 version will almost literally update itself as new data becomes available.
Two decades ago, when most people listened to music, they used CDs. It wasn't that there was a shortage of digital music plastered all over the Internet by the early noughties. It was just that you needed the technical know-how to find it (or a willingness to break copyright law). Then along came Spotify and others, and that sea of digital music could suddenly be accessed by everyone.
That is what is happening in the policy world. There is an ocean of digital data placed on servers by public bodies every day, but until now you needed to be a spreadsheet obsessive to make use of it.
One of our jobs as think tanks is to build the policy equivalent of an MP3-player interface--like the OpenData tools we are creating at MCPP--so that the public can finally see what has long been there but remained inaccessible.
Will AI transform think tanks? I'm certain of it. In a world where a handful of people with laptops can do extraordinary things, the size of your payroll is no longer a reliable proxy for output--if it ever was. Done competently, the bang for the donor's buck will be extraordinary.
AI is going to allow think tanks to reaffirm their founders' original vision. After decades of growth, it is only natural that some institutions may have drifted a little from that vision; the day-to-day pressures of running a large organization can take on a logic of their own. Perhaps if just occasionally the metrics some folk report have something of the old Soviet tractor production targets about them, now might be the time to change.
Freed from the need to grow simply for the sake of growth (or one might say the need to be seen to be growing for the sake of growth), we can stay sharply focused on what has always mattered most: generating the ideas that shift the Overton window and advance liberty.
The tools are here. The data is waiting. In a world where we can act almost as fast as we can think, the opportunities for idea-rich think tanks are without limit. The only constraint is the quality of our thinking--and for think tanks, that ought not to be much of a problem.
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Douglas Carswell is President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/what-is-a-think-tank/
