Latest news with #thinktank
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Edwin Feulner, ‘Heritage Foundation's George Washington,' Dies at 83
Edwin J. Feulner Jr., a right-wing congressional aide who felt himself in the ideological 'wilderness' in the 1970s, but who, as the co-founder of the Heritage Foundation and its leader for most of its existence, became one of the most influential figures of a resurgent conservative movement, died on Friday. He was 83. The Heritage Foundation announced his death in a statement that did not specify where he died or the cause. Mr. Feulner (pronounced FULL-ner) created Heritage with a friend, Paul Weyrich, in 1973. They wanted to go beyond informing public debate, as other think tanks did at the time, to influencing votes on legislation. Heritage would produce its work before big bills were introduced in Congress distill its findings into easily digestible blurbs, called 'backgrounders,' for harried politicians and their aides. Mr. Weyrich went on to found several other conservative groups. Mr. Feulner ran Heritage from 1977 until 2013, and he became interim head again for a brief period in 2017. Two years ago, during a 50th anniversary celebration at Mount Vernon, the organization's current president, Kevin Roberts, called Mr. Feulner 'the Heritage Foundation's George Washington.' As Mr. Feulner described it, the foundational principles of Heritage included 'free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional values and a strong national defense,' The New York Times reported in 2018. The group was in the news during the last presidential election, when Kamala Harris and other Democrats argued that a Heritage document called Project 2025 would become a shadow agenda for Donald Trump's second term. Mr. Trump strenuously sought to disassociate himself from the nearly 900-page list of policies, which included doctrinaire right-wing positions on such politically delicate subjects as abortion. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Heritage Foundation founder Feulner dies at 83
(Corrects spelling of Reagan in third paragraph) (Reuters) -Edwin Feulner, founder and longtime president of the influential U.S. conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, has died at age 83, Heritage said in a statement. The Friday statement did not say when Feulner died or the cause. Feulner, a Chicago-born political scientist, founded Heritage in 1973 and became its president in 1977, a position he held until 2013. Republican President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989. Current Heritage president Kevin Roberts and Board of Trustees Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby, wrote in a joint statement that Feulner founded Heritage to plant "a flag for truth in a town too often seduced by power." "What started as a small outpost for conservative ideas became - under Ed's tireless leadership - the intellectual arsenal for the Reagan Revolution and the modern conservative movement," they wrote. Heritage continues to deeply impact American conservatism - including being the institution that created Project 2025, widely considered the policy blueprint of President Donald Trump's quick-moving second term. Senator Mitch McConnell, a longtime leader of Congressional Republicans, wrote on social media that Feulner "was a great man" and that "his dedication to promoting peace through strength at the end of the Cold War offers a particularly enduring lesson." Representative Steve Scalise, a Republican and majority leader in the House of Representatives, wrote on social media that Feulner "was one of the architects who built the conservative movement in this country."
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Millions of UK drivers could benefit from Rachel Reeves' policy
Rachel Reeves is reportedly set to freeze fuel duty again this autumn to help drivers struggling with the cost of living. The decision will maintain the current 5p per litre cut introduced in 2022, despite calls to increase the tax to address public finance shortfalls. Maintaining the freeze and the existing cut is estimated to cost the Treasury around £5 billion annually. Treasury sources indicate that a hike in fuel duty will not be part of Ms Reeves' Autumn Budget, as she believes it would be the 'wrong choice' for working people. Analysis by a think tank suggests that continuous freezes and cuts to fuel duty since 2012 will have cost the government over £200 billion by 2028.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
UK ‘long overdue' a conversation about NHS funding, says Javid
Former chancellor Sir Sajid Javid has said that the UK is 'long overdue' a 'serious conversation with taxpayers about how we continue funding' the NHS, as he introduced a report that backs a shift towards a social insurance model. Sir Sajid, also a former health secretary, said the country 'cannot afford' to 'bury our heads in the sand' when it comes to how the UK pays for healthcare. His comments are part of the foreword for the PolicyExchange's report The NHS – A Suitable Case For Treatment. The centre-right thinktank suggests that 'better quality healthcare' could be delivered 'by moving from our present entirely socialised model to a hybrid model with a significant social insurance component'. They also advocate changes such as removing free prescriptions for over-60s, but the report says that 'under no circumstances' should the UK try to replicate the US model of healthcare. Introducing the paper, Sir Sajid described the NHS as 'one of our country's most treasured and beloved national institutions'. 'We've come to a crossroads. A serious conversation with taxpayers about how we continue funding their favourite national institution is long overdue,' he said. He said that the UK is left with the options of putting more money into healthcare through tax rises or 'reforming' the system. 'What we cannot afford to do is to bury our heads in the sand,' he added. 'The responsible politician, the one who is concerned with the national interest, must look at every option for reform,' Sir Sajid said. The PolicyExchange report says that 'under no circumstances should the UK consider moving towards the US model', but that other countries 'with some sort of insurance-based model do much better' such as France, Germany and Singapore. 'We believe that better quality healthcare with universal coverage and improved long-term funding sustainability could be secured by moving from our present entirely socialised model to a hybrid model with a significant social insurance component,' the report says. Alongside a shift towards a 'social-insurance based system of financing healthcare', the thinktank made a number of recommendations for reforms that could be made within the existing NHS model. Among the changes the PolicyExchange suggest are a £20 charge for visiting a GP, with low-income groups exempt. They also say that people over 60 should no longer be universally eligible for free prescriptions, and the exemption should be determined by your income. They also advocate charges for 'more luxurious hospital accommodation', which they say could raise £700million. PolicyExchange advocate a system where universal healthcare coverage is available, and a basic model can be supplemented by other policies. The Government would regulate insurers and healthcare providers, and they say the system should still be called the NHS, with the main change being the way it is financed.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Racist, xenophobic': Alicia slams JD Vance's narrow definition of ‘American'
Vice President Vance spoke at the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, where he seemed to call for a vision of citizenship where people whose ancestors have been here longer have more of a claim to being American.
