Corporate Money and Politics The fact that corporate money is seeking to influence public policy is nothing unusual. From the different ways of how private money helps to shape politics the first, and most familiar is direct campaign contributions to political candidates and parties, which is especially widespread in the United States. While the second great river of money goes to underwrite lobbying apparatus in diverse state capitals, the third form of attempts to influence public policy making is less well-known, but nearly as wide and deep as the two others - it is money which underwrites a vast network of public policy think tanks and advocacy groups. Although tried to be labeled in another way, unmistakably, these donations are naked attempts by corporations and other donors, to influence the political process. |
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American Enterprise Institute Based in Washington D.C. the AEI is dedicated to preserving and strengthening the "foundations of freedom" - limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong foreign policy and national defense. The Institute publishes dozens of books and hundreds of articles and reports each year, and an influential policy magazine, The American Enterprise. AEI publications are distributed widely to government officials and legislators, business executives, journalists, and academics. The Institute is a nonprofit organization supported primarily by grants and contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. |
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Hoover Institution Founded in 1918 as a war library by Herbert Hoover, the Institution today is a center of scholarship and public policy research, committed to generating ideas that define a "free society". The defining principles of individual, economic and political freedom, private enterprise, and representative government were fundamental to Hoover's vision. Hoover described the mission as contributing to the pursuits of securing and safeguarding peace, improving the human condition, and limiting government intrusion into the lives of individuals. |
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Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation was created as "a think tank for liberty." Its initial mission was to publish a national magazine on current issues (Reason magazine) and to conduct conferences and seminars on classical-liberal ideas. Over time, its mission has broadened to include public policy research, via the Reason Public Policy Institute division. The Foundation is now a national research and educational organization that explores and promotes the twin values of rationality and freedom as the basic underpinnings of a good society. The Foundation supports the rule of law, private property, and limited government, and promotes voluntarism and individual responsibility in social and economic interactions, relying on choice and competition to achieve the best outcomes. |
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