Another Cabal Think Tank Exposed
- Thursday, 02 January 2014
Report criticizes conservative Nebraska think tank
A conservative Nebraska think tank — the Platte Institute for Economic Research — has been labeled by two watchdog groups as a so-called “stink tank” that is part of a nationwide network promoting an extreme right-wing agenda.According to a report by the Center for Media and Democracy and Progress Now, the Platte Institute is aligned with the State Policy Network, or SPN, “an $83 million web of right-wing think tanks ” in every state across the country.
“These organizations present themselves as nonpartisan, objective and
“SPN and its affiliates push an extreme right-wing agenda that aims to privatize education, block healthcare reform, restrict workers’ rights, roll back environmental protections and create a tax system that benefits most those at the very top level of income,” the report said.
SPN officials did not respond to a request for comment, but Jim Vokal, executive director of the Platte Institute, dismissed the report.
“Our group and SPN are being attacked based on our philosophy and our
The Platte Institute was established in 2007 by Omaha businessman Pete Ricketts, the former chief operating officer for Ameritrade who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006 and is seeking next year’s GOP gubernatorial nomination. He resigned from the institute’s board of directors in August, Vokal said.
The Platte Institute identifies itself as “a research and educational organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Nebraska by advancing sensible, well-researched solutions to state and local economic policy issues.”
Its website says: “The Platte Institute’s scholars study public policy problems
“The Platte Institute is founded on the belief that the freedom and quality of life that Nebraskans deserve is best achieved by promoting free-enterprise, limited government and personal responsibility. Our scholars move beyond the mindset that every problem has a government solution,” the website says. “Instead, we propose policy alternatives that respect the rights of the individual and encourage hard work and perseverance.”
The Platte Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization privately funded through contributions made by individuals, businesses and foundations.
The Center for Media and Democracy and Progress Now report notes that the SPN and most of its affiliates do not post their major donors on their websites.
“The identities of the donors we have discovered reveal that SPN is largely funded by global corporations — such as Reynolds American, Altria, the e-cigarette company NJOY, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon, Facebook, the for-profit online education company K12 Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft Foods, Express Scripts, Comcast, Time Warner, and the Koch- and tea party-connected DCI Group lobbying and PR firm — that stand to benefit from SPN’s destructive agenda,” the report said, “as well as out-of-state special interests like the
The report said that while SPN’s affiliates are registered as educational nonprofits, “several appear to orchestrate extensive lobbying and political operations to peddle their legislative agenda to state legislators, despite the IRS’s regulations on nonprofit political and lobbying activities.
“SPN and many of its affiliates are some of the most active members and largest sponsors of the controversial ALEC, where special interest groups and state
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All illustrations were added by this editor.
This article is written by and is published by the (Lincoln, Nebraska) JournalStar.com at http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/report-criticizes-conservative-nebraska-think-tank/article_7d1c8cd6-5561-5993-87cc-fbdfc68f494f.html
This article is written by and is published by the (Lincoln, Nebraska) JournalStar.com at http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/report-criticizes-conservative-nebraska-think-tank/article_7d1c8cd6-5561-5993-87cc-fbdfc68f494f.html
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