A Think Tank of Our Own

The very term “Think Tank” makes many working people feel a little queasy.

In the 1970s, wealthy individuals began setting up institutes across the country to promote their own neo-conservative agenda. That agenda included cutting taxes on wealth, doing away with regulations on corporations and cutting public services. These kept Think Tanks specialized in producing research and publications to back up a right-wing political movement.

But, imagine a Think Tank dedicated to promoting fair and progressive taxes, adequate funding for schools and other public services and educating and organizing the public – a Think Tank for working people.

Well, you don’t have to imagine it, because we have the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future.

IWF began in 1994 as a non-profit and non-partisan research group dedicated to “compassionate public policies related to excellent schools, quality public services, a fair tax system and family-friendly initiatives.”

But, who are we kidding? “Non-partisan?” Sure, their research meets the highest standards and their reports are well researched, expertly written and authoritative. But when you set out to promote the public good over private greed, the results are bound to be anything but “non-partisan.”

The main way IWF differs from their neo-con counterparts is that they ask different questions.

So, for example, when earlier this year corporate executives at Mercury Marine were citing Wisconsin’s crushing business climate as the reason for demanding take-backs from employees and shaking down local governments for more tax concessions, IWF examined the real tax “burden” on the company. What they found was a highly profitable operation whose parent company paid no taxes in Wisconsin.

And while the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce churned out their perennial report that appeared to show Wisconsin to be a “Tax Hell,” IWF reported on corporations that paid no state taxes because they were shifting income to paper operations in states with no corporate tax.

And, when looming state budget deficits threatened huge cuts in public services, IWF published a polished study with 30 tax reform options that would increase revenue, including ways to more effectively collect taxes that are owed and ways to close tax loopholes that allow wealthy individuals and corporations to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.

IWF would be partisan enough if it just asked the right questions and provided good accurate information, which could then be used by unions and other working class organizations. But part of its mission is to educate and organize advocates for low- and middle-income families. So you may have run into one or more of the IWF staff (they’re called “fellows” in some circles) at your union meeting or community organization, presenting data, explaining issues and answering questions.

As Deep Throat once advised, “follow the money.” The right-wing CATO Institute, for example, receives something like $40 million each year from Coors and Bradley family foundations and from Wal-Mart, Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds and the American Petroleum Institute. And their governing board includes several CEOs of financial services and manufacturing corporations. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that CATO’s research tends to support the privatization of Social Security, denies global warming and supports an aggressive military policy.

IWF, on the other hand, survives on rather modest grants from the Mott and Ford Foundations and small contributions from some unions and community-based organizations. And the IWF Board includes Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby and South Central Federation of Labor’s President Jim Cavanaugh. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that IWF’s research tends to support tax fairness and adequate public services.

IWF’s reports and recent press releases are available for free at their website www.wisconsinsfuture.org.

If you want a speaker to give a presentation to your union or community organization meeting, contact them at iwf@wis