Talk:Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

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The Manhattan Institute (MI) is a right-wing 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank founded in 1978 by William J. Casey, who later became President Ronald Reagan's CIA director.[1] It is an associate member of the State Policy Network, and has received millions of dollars from the Koch brothers, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and other right-wing funders.

On its website, the Manhattan Institute calls itself "an important force in shaping American political culture and developing ideas that foster economic choice and individual responsibility."[2]

According to the New York Times, the Institute helped foment a "revolution" in New York City government in the 1990s, "when it served as an informal brain trust for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's efforts to reduce crime, overhaul the welfare system and fix city schools."[3] The Times reported that "elements of the institute's gospel, from creating workfare to combating serious crime by pursuing minor offenses, have since taken root in cities from Miami to Oakland, Calif., spreading something that hardly existed three decades ago: an identifiably conservative brand of thinking on cities."

CounterPunch wrote in 2002 that "The Manhattan Institute concerns itself with such things as 'welfare reform' (dismantling social programs), 'faith-based initiatives' (blurring the distinction between church and state), and 'education reform' (destroying public education)."[4]

Koch Wiki

The Koch brothers -- David and Charles -- are the right-wing billionaire co-owners of Koch Industries. As two of the richest people in the world, they are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on the Kochs include: Koch Brothers, Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity, American Encore, and Freedom Partners.

Ties to the Koch Brothers

The Manhattan Institute has received funding from the Koch brothers. The Claude R. Lambe Foundation, one of the Koch Family Foundations, reported giving $2,075,000 to the Manhattan Institute between 2001 and 2012, the last year for which data is available. The Charles G. Koch Foundation gave $100,000 to the Institute in 2012.

Controversies

Support for Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk Policing

The Manhattan Institute has been a proponent of the controversial "stop and frisk" police strategy,[5] calling it "an essential part of the New York policing revolution."[6] The practice had been heavily used in New York City, where according to the New York Times, it had "been widely cited by city officials as a linchpin of New York’s success story in seeing murders and major crimes fall to historic lows." However, a federal judge ruled in August 2013 "that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of minorities in the city," calling it a "policy of indirect racial profiling."[7]

Advising Detroit Police on Stop-and-Frisk, 2013

Just days after a federal judge ruled unconstitutional New York City's "stop and frisk" police program, the Detroit News reported that the Detroit Police Department was "working in consultation with the Manhattan Institute and the Bratton Group, two of the architects for New York stop-and-frisk, to train Traffic Unit officers" in Detroit.[8] After the New York ruling, the Detroit police chief said that his department's stop-and-frisk program would continue.[9]

Cutting Ties over Pension Plans, 2013

Cliff Asness, Henry Kravis, and Thomas McWilliams said they would cut ties with the Manhattan Institute in 2013 over the organization's calls to abolish defined benefit public pension plans. According to the New York Post, "The moves come after the American Federation of Teachers in April (2013) called out 33 top money managers for backing efforts to eliminate public pensions -- while soliciting their investment dollars."[10]

Asness, who is the founder of AQR, said he would not renew his term on Manhattan's board of trustees when it expires in 2014, and McWilliams, who is a managing partner at Court Square, resigned from the Institute's board.[10]

Meanwhile, one hedge-fund manager and Institute board member, Dan Loeb, refused to back down or give in to calls from the AFT to resolve his apparent conflict of interest -- that is, his position at Third Point, which wants access to pension fund investments, and his position at Manhattan, which supports privatization of pension funds and government services.[10]

Opposition to, and Support for, Immigration Reform, 2007

In 2007, the New York Times reported, "In the think-tank world, a leading advocate of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is Tamar Jacoby..., an expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute. One of the most implacable voices against any such 'amnesty' is Heather Mac Donald -- also of the Manhattan Institute."[11]

While many of the Institute's fellows do not hold an anti-immigration stance, they do oppose "government programs intended to accommodate immigrant concerns, such as bi-lingual education."[12]

"The organization has attacked . . . immigrant support programs as obstacles to full social integration and to the benefits of the market system."[12] However, the Institute is in favor of reforming the U.S. immigration system and has written of the economic benefits of migration.[13]

Manhattan Institute Trustees Finance Neo-Conservatism, 2003

The "financing of neo-conservatism doesn't come from D.C.", Mark Gerson is quoted as saying in the April 27, 2003, New York Observer. "Instead, said Mr. Gerson, it comes from New York moneymen like Bruce Kovner, chairman of the Caxton Corporation, and Roger Hertog, the vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management. Last year, both financiers helped fund a new newspaper, The New York Sun, now fighting its anti-liberal battle with its New York Times –counterprogrammed slogan, 'A Different Point of View.' Both Mr. Kovner and Mr. Hertog also chipped in to join neoliberal Martin Peretz as co-owners of The New Republic. Mr. Kovner and Mr. Hertog, as enlightened neoconservative businessmen-intellectuals, are also on the board [of trustees] of the Manhattan Institute, where Mr. Gerson and William Kristol are also trustees, as well as the Washington, D.C.–based American Enterprise Institute."[14]

Fmr. Manhattan Institute Scholar Coins "Axis of Evil," 2002

In 2001, David Frum left the Manhattan Institute "to join the Bush administration as a speechwriter. It was there that he coined the term "axis of evil" to describe Iraq, Iran and North Korea. This became the signature phrase of President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union speech and shorthand for Bush's war on terrorism."[15]

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

The Manhattan Institute's Senior Fellow and Director of its Center for Medical Progress, Paul Howard, spoke at the 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference in a Workshop titled "Rationing By Any Other Name: Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board." He co-led the panel with the Pacific Research Institute's Director of Health Care Studies, John Graham (the Pacific Research Institute is also a State Policy Network member).[16]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Ties to Big Tobacco

Tobacco industry documents reveal relationships between the Manhattan Institute and tobacco companies. The Institute sought funding from tobacco companies, including Brown & Williamson,[17] and has received funding from R.J. Reynolds.[18] In 1991, Lorillard, Inc. budgeted a $4,000 contribution to the Manhattan Institute[19] and the same amount in 1996.[20] Philip Morris budgeted $25,000 for the Institute in 1995.[21]

A 1997 R.J. Reynolds memo reveals RJR's intent to use the Manhattan Institute as a third party to help the company reduce the public's perception of danger from exposure to secondhand smoke:

"Devise ways to educate the public about epidemiology and put risk in perspective. For example, work with Steven J. Milloy, Michael Fumento, CEI Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Manhattan Institute and others to put together a 1/2-hour or 1-hour TV show explaining epi[demiology] and risk. Create an epi/risk website to educate the general public, maybe working with the Harvard School of Public Health. Do the same for journalists."[22]

History

The Institute describes its policy agenda over its 25-year history as having spanned "taxes, welfare, crime, the legal system, urban life, race, education, and many other topics. We have won new respect for market-oriented policies and helped make reform a reality."[23]

In 1997, the New York Times reported that the Manhattan Institute had "done as much as any group in recent years to challenge the rules by which New York was governed, and Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has done as much as any politician to move its ideas from the margin to the mainstream."[1]

In its publication Buying a Movement, People for the American Way describes the Manhattan Institute's agenda as advocating for "privatization of sanitation services and infrastructure maintenance, deregulation in the area of environmental and consumer protection, school vouchers and cuts in governmental spending on social welfare programs; it is a preferred source of information'" for then-New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.[24]

The organization describes its communication strategy as being based around the strengths of its "senior fellows": "Their provocative books, reviews, interviews, speeches, articles, and op-ed pieces have been the main vehicle for communicating our message."[23]

Charles Murray -- an author whom CounterPunch calls "a far right ideologue who wrote The Bell Curve in 1984, a book that essentially argues black people are genetically and intellectually inferior to white people" -- was based at the Manhattan Institute while writing the book Losing Ground.<name="Nimmo"/>[1]

Funding

Between 2001 and 2010, the Manhattan Institute received more than $3 million from the conservative Bradley Foundation[25].

Between 1985 and 2005, the Institute received $20,579,883 (unadjusted for inflation) in a total of 294 grants from a small group of right-wing foundations.[26]

The following organizations had given donations to the Manhattan Institute as of 2005:[26]

Other Affiliations

Personnel

Board of Trustees

As of June 2014:[32]

Staff

Key staff as of June 2014:[33]

Fellows and Scholars

As of June 2013:[34]

  • Brian C. Anderson, Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Rick Baker, Adjunct Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (St. Petersburg, Florida)
  • Michael Knox Beran, Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Claire Berlinski, Contributing Editor, City Journal (Istanbul, Turkey)
  • Ben Boychuk, Associate Editor, City Journal (Cailfornia)
  • Lester Brickman, Visiting Scholar, Center for Legal Policy (New York City)
  • Robert Bryce, Senior Fellow, Center for Energy Policy and the Environment (New York City)
  • James R. Copland, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Legal Policy (New York City)
  • Theodore Dalrymple, Contributing Editor, City Journal
  • Daniel DiSalvo, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (New York City)
  • Richard C. Dreyfuss, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (Pennsylvania)
  • Stephen D. Eide, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (New York City)
  • Richard A. Epstein, Visiting Scholar, Manhattan Institute (New York City)
  • Andrew C. von Eschenbach, Chairman, Project FDA (New York City)
  • Ted Frank, Adjunct Fellow, Center for Legal Policy (New York City)
  • Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute (Washington, D.C.)
  • Nicole Gelinas, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Edward Glaeser, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (Boston)
  • Richard Greenwald, Adjunct Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (Newark, NJ)
  • Victor Davis Hanson, Contributing Editor, City Journal (California)
  • Stephanie Hessler, Adjunct Fellow, Manhattan Institute (New York City)
  • Paul Howard, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Medical Progress (New York City)
  • Peter W. Huber, Senior Fellow, Center for Medical Progress , Center for Energy Policy and the Environment, Center for Legal Policy (Hanover, NH)
  • Howard Husock, Vice President, Policy Research, Manhattan Institute (New York City)
  • Kay S. Hymowitz, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Stefan Kanfer, Contributing Editor, City Journal
  • George L. Kelling, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (New York City)
  • Andrew Klavan, Contributing Editor, City Journal (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Joel Kotkin, Contributing Editor, City Journal (California)
  • John Leo, Senior Fellow, Center for the American University (New York City)
  • Herbert London, Senior Fellow, Center for the American University (New York City)
  • Heather Mac Donald, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Myron Magnet, Editor-at-large, City Journal (New York City)
  • Steven Malanga, Senior Fellow and Senior Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • James Manzi, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute (Boston, MA)
  • Edmund J. McMahon, Senior Fellow and Director, Empire Center for New York State Policy (Albany/New York City)
  • John H. McWhorter, Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Judith Miller, Adjunct Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Mark Mills, Senior Fellow, (New York City)
  • James Piereson, Senior Fellow, Director, Center for the American University (New York City)
  • Avik Roy, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute (New York City)
  • Fred Siegel, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Guy Sorman, Contributing Editor, City Journal
  • Harry Stein, Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Sol Stern, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • William J. Stern, Contributing Editor, City Journal (New York City)
  • Jacob Vigdor, Adjunct Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (North Carolina)
  • Marcus Winters, Senior Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership (New York City)
  • Luigi Zingales, Contributing Editor, City Journal (Chicago, IL)

See also: Manhattan Institute senior scholars

Contact Information

Manhattan Institute
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212 599-7000
FAX: 212 599-3494
E-mail: mi AT manhattan-institute.org
Web: http://www.manhattan-institute.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ManhattanInst
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ManhattanInst

Manhattan Institute Websites

Resources and Articles

Related SourceWatch Articles

External Articles

2013

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1990s

External Resources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Janny Scott, "Promoting Its Ideas, the Manhattan Institute Has Nudged New York Rightward," New York Times, May 12, 1997. Accessed July 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Manhattan Institute, About, organizational website, accessed July 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Nicholas Confessore, "Giuliani Guide Is Bloomberg Gadfly," New York Times, October 25, 2005. Accessed July 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ Kurt Nimmo, "What She Really Said. Condoleezza Rice at the Waldorf Astoria," CounterPunch, October 10, 2002.
  5. ↑ Heather MacDonald, "To See Its Value, See How Crime Rose Elsewhere," New York Times, July 22, 2013. Accessed July 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ Manhattan Institute, "Stop and Frisk, organizational website, accessed July 9, 2014.
  7. ↑ Joseph Goldstein, "Judge Rejects New York’s Stop-and-Frisk Policy," New York Times, August 13, 2013. Accessed July 9, 2014.
  8. ↑ Ned Resnikoff, "‘Stop-and-frisk’ expands to Detroit," MSNBC, September 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ Gus Burns, "Detroit Police Chief James Craig: Department stop-and-frisk policy will proceed," Detroit News, August 21, 2013. Accessed July 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Michelle Celarier, "Hedgies cut ties with think tank," New York Post, June 10, 2013.
  11. ↑ Jeff Jacoby, "The fight is on the right," New York Times, June 20, 2007.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 People for the American Way, "Manhattan Institute for Policy Research", Right Wing Watch organizational website, accessed June 2013.
  13. ↑ Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, "The Economic Benefits of Immigration", organizational article, February 18, 2013.
  14. ↑ Joe Hagan, "President Bush's Neoconservatives Were Spawned Right Here in N.Y.C., New Home of the Right-Wing Gloat," The New York Observer, April 27, 2003.
  15. ↑ Joshua Brustein, "Think Tanks," Gotham Gazette, March 29, 2003.
  16. ↑ [American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Workshops, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011]
  17. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: Hammett W., Manhattan Institute, Letter to Prichard R., B&W, August 20, 1986.
  18. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: RJ Reynolds, "Corporate Contribution to the Manhattan Institute", Letter to Haver DG, August 19, 1998.
  19. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: Stevens AJ, Lorillard, "Budget", October 19, 1990.
  20. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: Stevens AJ, Lorillard, "Budget - Dues and Donations", October 25, 1995.
  21. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: Phillip Morris, "Public Policy Grants", October 18, 2001.
  22. ↑ Legacy Tobacco Documents Library: Moskowitz SW, "Here's a summary of the ideas we discussed yesterday at the first legal/legislative/science brainstorming session", January 15, 1997.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Manhattan Institute, About, organizational website.
  24. ↑ Media Transparency, Recipient Profile: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc., organizational website, last accessed August 16, 2007.
  25. ↑ Daniel Bice, Bill Glauber, Ben Poston. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 28, 2011.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Media Transparency, Recipient Grants: Manhattan Institute, organizational profile, data updated August 16, 2007, archived by the WayBack Machine May 4, 2008.
  27. ↑ Research and Evaluation - Grant: Manhattan Institute, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, August 5, 2004.
  28. ↑ Grant Recipients: Manhattan Institute from the Randolph Foundation, Media Transparency: $128,375 - 6 grants between 1999 and 2005.
  29. ↑ Grant Recipients: Manhattan Institute from the Carthage Foundation, Media Transparency: $693,000 - 15 grants between 1985 and 2002.
  30. ↑ Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, ITFIAF, organizational website.
  31. ↑ State Policy Network, Directory: Manhattan Institute, organizational website, accessed 2012.
  32. ↑ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, "Manhattan Institute Board of Trustees", organizational website, accessed June 3, 2014
  33. ↑ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, "Manhattan Institute Staff Directory", organizational website, accessed June 3, 2014
  34. ↑ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, "Manhattan Institute Experts", organizational website, accessed June 2013
  35. ↑ Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel), "Judy Finally Gets Her Wingnut Welfare!!" The Next Hurrah Blog, July 22, 2007: Miller is "a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute's City Journal".

<tdo>resource_id=13451 resource_code=manhattan_inst search_term=Manhattan Institute</tdo>


Talk pages notes

No reference in support of statement that Charles Murray's book Losing Ground was Bradley funded so have removed for the moment - --Bob Burton 19:28, 27 Jan 2005 (EST)

The following is no longer supported by an active link: Artificial Intelligence 03:19, 16 August 2007 (EDT)

The conservative Capital Research Center lists financial support for the Institute from corporations as having included contributions from: [1]

It also includes an extensive list of contributions from corporate foundations too long to include here. However the funders listed for 2002 alone (the most recent year CRC list data for) included:

  • Lilly Endowment ($200,0000}
  • Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation ($200,000)
  • William & Flora Hewlett Foundation ($150,000)
  • F. M. Kirby Foundation $25,000
  • Fannie Mae Foundation $25,000
  • Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund $20,000 [2]

Neutral POV?

Quoting what Kurt Nimmo stated concerning this organization in the beginning of this article is not informative of basic information about this organization. It should be moved to a later part of the article in a section concerning dissent/disagreement/controversy, or something of the like. Putting this quote at the beginning of this article lacks just as much credibility as quoting the birthers stating that Obama is not a natural born citizen at the beginning of an article about President Obama. Furthermore, is Kurt Nimmo an expert on the subject matter that the Manhattan Institute claims to research? Is he an expert concerning the workings of the Manhattan Institute? If either one of these statements are true, it needs to be stated in the article, otherwise Kurt Nimmo is a completely unreliable source for this article, unless his comments are moved to a "controversy" section of this article, in which case his opinionated statements would be completely valid. Rlee1185 17:54, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Dear Rlee: I think the comparison is inaccurate but, leaving that aside, the article is fair, accurate, and documented. You may disagree with Mr. Nimmo, but that does not mean that his assessment is inaccurate. Having been a close of observer of MI's various pieces of work over the years I am confident that it is accurate. Lisa

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