Think Tanks
Dateline: 06/13/99
Right after the end of World War II, Americans wanted the Goverment to think very hard about things like national defense and atom bombs. We needed a place where collective minds could be directed toward developing exotic, futuristic military and political systems. In 1945, U.S. Air Force (then the Army Air Corps) attacked the issue by contracting with the Douglas Aircraft Company to create Project RAND.
RAND: A Solutions Think Tank
RAND (a contraction of "research and development") released its first report in
1946. "Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship" suggested
designs and uses for artificial satellites. Next thing you knew, America had Air
Superiorority, Moon Walks, and a Think Tank.
Chartered as a private corporation in 1948, RAND
Corp. continues today conducting studies in areas typically associated with
the work of a think tank.
Project Air Force
National Defense Research Institute
Arroyo Center (U.S. Army)
In the area of national defense alone, RAND studies have saved the U.S. billions of dollars through increased efficiency and elimination of waste.
RAND also conducts research in education and training, health care, criminal and civil justice, labor and population, science and technology, community development, international relations, and regional studies. (All areas of RAND research)
Brookings: A Public Policy Think Tank
Hundreds of other organizations
classified as "think tanks" support special interest or advocacy groups
promoting certain social, economic, or political policies at local to global levels.
Generally, they conduct research, gather opinion, formulate proposed policies and develop
and distribute supportive information.
The Brookings Institue, the oldest and best known public policy think tank, states that through research it, "functions as an independent analyst and critic, committed to publishing its findings for the information of the public." and that "In its conferences and activities, it serves as a bridge between scholarship and public policy, bringing new knowledge to the attention of decisionmakers and affording scholars a better insight into public policy issues."
Brookings' research and reports focus on areas of the economy, foreign policy, and U.S. Government.
Noted for the rather liberal slant of most of its publications, Brookings has been a hot target of conservatives for years. In 1971, President Nixon became convinced that papers proving President Johnson had manipulated the Vietnam War in order to win votes were locked in a vault at Brookings. On the infamous "Watergate Tapes," Nixon is heard in a June 30, 1971, Oval Office conversation telling then White House Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman how to get the papers. According to the published partial transcript, Nixon tells Haldeman, "The way I want that handled, Bob, is through another way. I want Brooking - just to break in. Break in and take it out! You understand?"
To be sure, conservative think tanks also exist. Take the Cato Institute, for example. Cato (for Cato's Letters) studies promote public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. On June 1, 1999, Cato's feature commentary article, "Loaded Guns Can Be Good for Kids," opposes laws requiring trigger locks on guns stored in homes. They also promote privitization of Social Security.
Who Pays Them?
Tank brains do not think cheap. Most of RAND's research is done for government
agencies who supply the majority of the think tank's support. Additional funding for RAND
comes for corporate and indiviual donations, charitable foundations, and income from
endowments.
Brookings, like most other think thanks, gets most of its funding form endowments, charitable foundations and individuals and from book sales.
