Was thinking a bit about the Mercatus Center this morning and stumbled across this Wall Street Journal article detailing the tiny conservative think tank's outsized role in junking regulations:
In 2001, the new Bush White House sought suggestions for government regulations to kill or modify. A small think tank called the Mercatus Center named 44 it didn't like -- among them, rules governing energy-efficient air conditioners and renovations to electric-utility plants.[...]
When it comes to business regulation in Washington, Mercatus, Latin for market, has become the most important think tank you've never heard of. Staffed by veterans of the White House office that reviews and often scales back proposed rules, Mercatus, with its free-market philosophy, has become a kind of shadow regulatory authority. The White House's top regulator, John Graham, was briefly a member of Mercatus's board of advisers before taking the government post.
Also in the article, a liberal counterpart, The Center for Progressive Reform was mentioned. So I checked out their website. Look at that thing -- it's a mess. Even if I saw something I wanted to click on, I wouldn't know how to do it. Now compare that with Mercatus's slick, well-designed page. Any wonder which is the dominant force?
Mercatus's rise owes much to the oil-and-gas company Koch Industries Inc., (pronounced "coke"), a privately owned company in Wichita, Kan., that contributes heavily to Republican causes and candidates. A Koch family foundation has given Mercatus and George Mason University a total of $14.4 million since 1998, according to public documents analyzed by the Public Education Center, a Washington group that tracks environmental issues. A Koch spokesman says about half of the money went to Mercatus. In addition, the company's chief executive, Charles Koch, donated interests in limited partnerships to Mercatus that the think tank sold last year for $6.1 million. Mr. Koch is a Mercatus director.
Meanwhile, CPR explains:
Founded in 2002, CPR is a coalition of university-affiliated academic Member Scholars with expertise in legal, economic, and scientific fields. Scholars are not paid for their contributions to CPR's work, but rather donate their time and expertise to the organization. CPR Member Scholars and staff prepare studies, reports, articles, and other analyses, and participate in educational forums and conferences to promote informed and effective public policy.
Nevertheless, a decent web site doesn't cost more than a couple grand. Someone could raise the money -- or ask their son's best friend -- for some help. I don't know how the left closes the funding chasm with the right -- not when the left tends to harm the interests of the rich folks who could fund it, and the right's funders see their direct interests aligned with the success of their political ideology.
