November 05, 2015
We at CEPR have been asked, “How is the Center for Economic and Policy Research different from the other progressive economic policy think tanks?” and, perhaps more importantly, “Why should anyone fund CEPR when it would be easier to consolidate giving and support one or two larger groups?”
We didn’t need to think long about how to answer these questions. We have consistently been out front of other think tanks and have staked out positions that others in the progressive community came to follow. This has happened on most of the major issues on which CEPR has worked, including promoting financial transactions taxes, protecting Social Security against cuts (as opposed to limiting the size of cuts), pointing out that the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other pending trade deals are more about protecting patents than promoting trade, looking at how private equity is often a tax avoidance scheme that hammers workers, holding the Federal Reserve accountable, showing that paid leave programs don’t hurt business and how “neoliberal” economic policies led to a decades-long economic growth failure in Latin America. We accomplished all this — and much, much more — on a budget that is a fraction of that of the major progressive think tanks.
Being smaller than the others allows us to move quickly, which is in large part why we were able to be out front on these and other issues. Our reputation for accuracy is also an invaluable asset. That Dean Baker was one of the only economists to clearly warn of the housing bubble (in 2002) and the disaster that would follow its collapse gives CEPR a degree of credibility that few others can match in debates on macroeconomic policy.
While we may be small, we have an outsized presence in the media. An analysis that calculated the number of media hits per budget dollar for major think tanks showed CEPR again coming out on top in 2012 (we have consistently ranked number one). And our social media reach far surpasses that of other groups. Combined, CEPR’s various twitter accounts have over 50,000 followers, tens of thousands more than our “rivals.” This is important, as more and more people look to social media for a quick digest of the days’ news.
We’re proud of these and other accomplishments. But guess what? Being first doesn’t always get you the prize. There are some institutional funders out there who see CEPR’s small size as a liability rather than an asset. There are others who might support our policy positions, but give to other groups they perceive to be “safer” (i.e., they don’t rock the boat as much as we do). And others just give to the biggest name in the game. Just as income is not closely related to contributions to the economy, foundation giving does not necessarily correspond to performance. That’s not a complaint; it’s just the reality of the funding world. And it’s why we really need you, our individual donors — now more than ever.
As The Guardian once said, CEPR is the David of the think tank world. We don’t want to be taken over or swallowed up by the Goliaths. So please help us, especially this coming year. CEPR’s donations often fall off in an election year. Please give what you can, so that we can be assured to be around to hold all of those newly elected officials’ feet to the fire come 2017.
Thanks for your support,
Mark, Dean and CEPR staff
