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7/31/2019 Talk of the Tower, Summer 2012
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1ideas defning a ree society
That was the theme of Hoover’s April
Retreat (www.hoover.org/news/115481)
celebrating the centennial of the birth
of Hoover’s distinguished, Nobel Prize-
winning free-market economist.
In a two-and-a-half day retreat attended
by some 320 Hoover supporters, a dozen
heirs to the Friedman legacy explored as
many shades of economic policy, with each
ultimately reaching the same broad-strokes
conclusion: that Milton would say that less
is more:
insideFrom the director’s desk
Page 2
Advancing the
national debate
Page 3
The world according
to Harvey Mansfeld
Page 4
Hail, the ree market
Page 5
John Taylor awarded
prestigious Hayek Prize
Page 7
Leadership Forum
launched
Page 10
In memoriam
Page 11
Research ellow
Kiron Skinner appointedto Pennsylvania
state commission
Page 11
talko f t h E
towera q u a r t e r l y p u b l i c at i o n o f t h e h o o v e r i n s t i t u t i o n , s t a n f o r d u n i v e r s i t y
smm 2012
CELEBRATING A CENTENNIAL
continued on page 8
• Less government spending
• Less intervention
• Less uncertainty
Or, to say it another way, more is more:
• More freedom• More choice
• More rules-based policy
Reminiscing about the personal
inspiration, mentorship, and scholarship
they received at the knee of the renowned
proponent of private enterprise, senior
fellows’ talks were interspersed with video
Faced with the many policy issues arising in the often polarized, unruly, and chaotic
marketplace that characterizes current US economic policy, what would the late great
Milton Friedman say?
What would Milton (Friedman) say?
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2 Hoover Institution
FROM THE
A caravan. It’s a group of travelers journeying together through
deserts or hostile territory.
Hoover recently launched its virtual Caravan (www.advancingafreesociety.org/category/the-caravan/), anticipated
as a periodic online symposium on the contemporary dilemmas of the greater Middle East. Its maiden migration
examines the ordeal of Syria, now a full year into a terrible struggle between a dictatorial regime and a rebellion
determined to overthrow it; a second Caravan “conference” ponders whether the Afghan war can be won.
On The Caravan you can read a range of opinions and preferences on what’s to become of this headline-grabbing,
often notorious region from scholars and statesmen alike: Fouad Ajami, Asli Aydintasbas, Russell Berman, Reuel
Gerecht, Charles Hill, Nibras Kazimi, Habib Malik, Abbas Milani, Camille Pacastaing, Itamar Rabinovich, Joel
Rayburn, and Josh Teitelbaum.
The Caravan draws on the membership of Hoover’s Herbert and Jane Dwight Working Group on Islamism and
the International Order and on colleagues elsewhere who work the same political and cultural landscape. Fouad
Ajami and Charles Hill cochair the project from which this effort originated, and I am pleased to add my own
active engagement.
The Caravan promises a free and candid exchange of opinions. With contention aplenty in the geographical area
under study, we anticipate a proliferation of topics of debate, one leading to the next, over time providing deep
insight into one of the world’s most troubled spots. Although the scholars who post here will not always agree,
they will aim to engage us with topics of urgency and importance. Caravans are full of life, passion, and animated
companionship. Hoover’s virtual Caravan will be no different.
What can be done about Syria? By all indications, President Assad’s demise does not seem imminent. Sadly
for the civilian population of Syria, the internal str ife there is most likely going to fester, with a rise over time in
innocent casualties.
Take a read. You’ll be glad you did.
John Raisian
Tad and Dianne Taube Director
director’s desk
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continued on page 6
Advancingthe national
debate
3ideas defning a ree society
When Mr. Smith went to Washington in the classic 1939 film, it was to
advance the ideals of American democracy. When the Hoover Institution
goes to Washington today, it’s to advance ideas defining a free society.
Hoover’s Public Affairs group capitalizes on the Washington infrastructure—the seat of
federal government, the news media, social media, and policy community—to advance our
fellows’ research and scholarship. We distribute books, arrange meetings with interested
policy makers, and collaborate with Washington-based think tanks to amplify Hoover views.
Hoover’s Washington staff personally delivers our scholars’ books to members of Congress
and their respective committees and staffs; we build relationships with East Coast mediaand policy makers; and we collaborate with other thought leaders and think tanks to bring
Hoover ideas to broader, informed publics.
The Washington-based group arranges for fellows to provide policy briefings on Capitol
Hill, including, for example, a briefing the Koret Task Force on K–12 Education recently
provided to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the task force’s
recent publication, Choice and Federalism. In the past year our fellows have testified nearly
twice a month on Capitol Hill—some twenty times in all. The US Congress Joint Economic
HOOVER IN WASHINGTON
Eric Hanushek, Hanna Senior Fellow and a member of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education,
offered expert testimony to the US Congress on public education reform measures.
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4 Hoover Institution
Pc psper hrvey C. Msfed, e Cr G.
Sm Ser ew hver d e Wm R. Ke
Jr. Pressr Gverme hrvrd Uversy, ws
resdece hver recey cer w cegues
e Byd d J Sm tsk rce Vrues
ree Scey. a recpe e 2011 Brdey Prze,
Pressr Msfed s ed Guggeem d n
Edwme r e humes ewsps, s bee
ew e n humes Ceer, d 2004
receved e n humes Med. he k me
u dscuss cservsm, s resp e
Repubc Pry d Repubc pcs, d e
edurg vrues wc ur bery depeds.
on ConSERVatiSM
“It’s important to distinguish between Republicans and conservatives. The two are not the same. Republicans look or
the best terms on which they can win the next election; conservatives are willing to lose the next election and win
ater that. I call mysel a conservative Republican because I like to win sooner rather than later.”
“Conservatism is a reactive movement. It starts rom something it doesn’t like. It was born in response to the French
Revolution and today takes as its oil progressive liberalism.”
“Conservatism seeks what needs to be done to stop things or at least slow them down. The goal is a return to a previous
time when things were better. The goal is going back or, at least, going slow.”
on ValUES VERSUS ViRtUES
“Values are arbitrarily chosen, whereas virtues have defnition. Virtues are closer to reason than values are.”
”Liberals conuse rights with the exercise o rights. For example, the government protects a right o ree speech, but it
shouldn’t tell people how to exercise it, with certain exceptions such as inciting violence. But liberals want to defne hate
speech and oensive speech so as to prohibit certain exercises o speech, and they try to indoctrinate and intimidate
people to make them politically correct. It’s as i the only ree speech is speech they approve o.”
“In rejecting convention—because it’s traditional or based on authority—the liberals have let us claim virtue.”
The world according toHarvey Mansfeld
continued on page 7
p h o t o c o u r t s y a m r c n e n t r r s i n s t t u t
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Top row (left to right) Bob Brink, overseers Vic Trione and Ambassador Barbara Barrett; Connie Mitchell; fellows Abraham D. Sofaer and Abbas Milani.
Center row (left to right) TV journalist John Stossel, Fred and Deborah Concklin; Chuck Thornton and Scott Brittingham; Peter Gerber and Miriam Goldberg, senior fellow Tom Moore,
TV journalist John Stossel. Bottom row (left to right) Jean Wren; research fellow Kori Schake, Gabrielle Davis and overseer Jamie Carroll; overseer Walter Hussman.
Hail,the free market!
5
The Hoover Institution remembered senior fellow Milton Friedman on the occasion
of his hundredth birthday this spring with a conference devoted to his life, learning, and legacy
TV journalist John Stossel delivered pre-dinner remarks.
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6 Hoover Institution
advncing the ntionl debte
(continued rom page 3)
Committee invited some Hoover economists to analyzethe Sound Dollar Act and then invited them back to
testify formally. Additionally, the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs recently invited Hoover research fellow
Kori Schake to brief key staff on the findings from her
recent book, State o Disrepair : Fixing the Culture and
Practices o the State Department.
More and more Hoover fellows are called on and cited
by key policy makers and thought leaders. During the
past year, for example, House Speaker John Boehner,
House majority leader Eric Cantor, and House budgetcommittee chairman Paul Ryan have invoked Hoover
research and scholarship in their speeches, on their
websites, in their blogs, and in press releases. Senator
John McCain recently tweeted to his 1.7 million Twitter
followers that senior fellow Fouad Ajami’s Washington
Post piece on the Arab Spring was a “must read.”
Since the historic passage of the 2010 health care
legislation, Hoover fellows Scott Atlas, MD, David
Davenport, Richard Epstein, Michael McConnell, and Ed
Meese have been on the frontlines discussing the issues,questioning the law’s constitutionality, and spurring the
debate forward with new ideas. When the US Supreme
Court decided to hear arguments on the landmark
case, Politico—an influential beltway publication—put
together a special section that featured Scott Atlas as
a contributor, along with Health and Human Services
secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Pam Bond, one of the
state attorneys general challenging the new law.
Also in Washington, Hoover partners with other think
tanks to extend its reach and amplify its voice. Inrecent months, for example, we partnered with the
Brookings Institution on a conference focusing on
energy and defense issues that drew officials from
the US Departments of Defense and Energy. We also
partnered with the Heritage Foundation to showcase
John Taylor’s book First Principles, which drew a
number of key media, Hill staffers, economic experts,
and scholars. Hoover Clubs highlight renowned Hoover
fellows and their most recently published books,drawing attendance by the press corps, congressional
staff members, and policy experts. Recent clubs have
featured Hoover Press books by senior fellows Amy
Zegart, Scott Atlas, and Peter Berkowitz. A new pilot
initiative will bring fellows to Washington on a monthly
basis for events ranging from briefings and receptions
to dinners.
Our fellows’ analytic and thoughtful research takes
a long-term, big-picture approach to public policy.
Although there is much work ahead, Hoover fellowscontinue to move policy discussions forward with
fresh ideas on today’s most pressing questions. With an
expanded presence on both coasts, Hoover delivers
ideas defning a ree society to interested policy makers,
publics, and media. Like Senator Smith in the classic
movie, Hoover aims to support our great nation by
providing a scholarly basis for sound public policy.
Hoover fellows David Davenport and Scott Atlas have been
on the front lines of the national health care debate as
President Obama’s proposed new law is challenged in the
US Supreme Court.
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ideas defning a ree society 7
John Taylor awarded
prestigious Hayek Prize
te wrld ccrdg hrvey Msfeld
(continued from page 4)
on aMERiCa’S UtURE
“Democrats established entitlements
to provide social security against the
risk that people would not save enough
voluntarily to provide or their retirement.
This was security against our citizens’
lack o the virtue o thrit.”
“A big choice lies ahead or America, in
which the entitlements we have voted
or ourselves now threaten us as ithey were our unchosen ate. They are
called entitlements because they were
supposed to have been chosen or good,
past recall, and thus put beyond politics.
What you are entitled to will no longer
be subject to dispute. Now it appears
we cannot pay or them, and not just
arguably but indisputably. Democrats,
who rst proposed them, are beginning
to agree on this point with Republicans,
who at rst opposed them.”
“A controllable government needs to be
both limited and energetic: limited to
benets that do not make dependents o
our people and energetic when it must
act. With this goal we can reasonably
look to America’s uture with hope.”
New York’s Manhattan Institute has awarded its
prestigious Hayek Prize to Hoover’s John Taylor,
George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics, or his
book First Principles: Five Keys to Restoring America’s Prosperity.
The prize honors the book that best refects the vision o
economist and Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek, who advocated
or economic and individual liberty.
“John Taylor has long advanced bold reorms that apply our
nation’s timeless principles to the challenges o today,” said
US House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan. “Taylor’s
latest contribution to the national debate could not come at a
more important moment. First Principles is an important guide
or policy makers and the citizens we serve, as Americans
work together to restore the promise and prosperity o this
exceptional nation.”
In this book, Taylor oers solutions to the current economic
crisis that involve returning to America’s ounding principles.
He argues that to restore prosperity America should return
to economic and political reedom—a predictable policy
ramework, rule o law, strong incentives, reliance on markets,
limited government. He demonstrates that when we embrace
these rst principles, the economy prospers. When we abandon
them, the economy alters. In a masterul sweep through history
he identies those key policy makers who stuck to, ignored,
or compromised on the principles, drawing lessons rom the
mistakes and the successes.
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8 Hoover Institution
clips o Friedman, demonstrating his adage that “the basic principles we
believe in are going to stay the same or the next thousand years,” as research
ellow Russell Roberts quoted Hoover’s most-quoted scholar.
Illustrating the late scholar’s generous spirit, his scholarly contributions, his
role as a public intellectual, and his inuence on the Hoover Institution, senior
ellow Michael Boskin recalled his pleasant surprise at receiving a detailed,
seven-page, handwritten reection on the undergraduate honors thesis a
young Boskin sent to Friedman on a lark … while attending another university!
Boskin went on to credit Friedman with fve major policy contributions with
living legacies at Hoover:
• The fat tax—now pursued by senior ellows Robert Hall and Alvin Rabushka
• The negative income tax—now studied by Michael Boskin and Martin Anderson
• The all-volunteer army—now ederal policy
• School choice and school vouchers— advocated by Eric Hanushek , Caroline Hoxby, and the Koret Task
Force on K-12 Education
• Money supply growth rule—now most closely associated with John Taylor and known as the Taylor Rule
Distinguished ellow George Shultz, who met Friedman years ago when both
were proessors at the University o Chicago, called his colleague “very
generous, always available, supporting, arguing, giving me the courage o my
convictions.”
“It was always great to have Milton on your side,” he said. “He always had good
ideas, and he could articulate them in a way that was persuasive and helpul.”
Friedman ground his theories in act, Shultz said, so, on the occasion o
Friedman’s ninetieth birthday, Shultz wrote a little song or him, “A Fact
without a Theory,” which he perormed to the great delight o all the guests.
Other highlights o the retreat included a special presentation by television
journalist John Stossel entitled “No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails—but
Individuals Succeed”; a wide-ranging conversation between senior ellow
Condoleezza Rice and research ellow Peter Robinson; and a live taping o
The John Batchelor Show (www.acebook.com/pages/Hoover-Institution/30
0992409852?sk=photos) on the economy in crisis, eaturing Hoover ellows
Boskin, Roberts, and Taylor moderated by Batchelor and Mary Kissel, editorialdirector o The Wall Street Journal.
“Milton Friedman was a cheerul man, and when he criticized (economist John
Maynard) Keynes, he was cheerul,” radio host Batchelor recalled.
“He was always kind and generous,” Taylor said. “He answered every e-mail. He
was genuinely concerned about people.”
What would Milton (friedman) say?
(continued from page 1)
Radio host John Batchelor taped his show live from
Hoover; Distinguished fellow George Shultz reminisced
about his friend and colleague Milton Friedman;
Stephenson Senior Fellow Condoleezza Rice and
research fellow Peter Robinson held a wide-ranging
discussion of public policy.
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9ideas defning a ree society
Jo Sosse, fox news
No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails—
but Individuals Succeed
Mce Bosk, seor eow
Beyond Remarkable: Milton Friedman as Scholar
and Public Intellectual
Erc husek, Pu d Je h Seor feow
Has the Time Come for School Choice?
Jo Cog, leord d Srey Ey Seor feow
A Tale of Two Budgets: Obama versus Ryan
te hoorbe George P. Suz, toms W. d
Sus B. ford Dsgused feow
Reminiscences on Milton Friedman
A Conversation between Codoeezz Rce,
toms d Brbr Sepeso Seor feow,
and Peer Robso, reserc eow
foud ajm, seor eow
The Arabs and Freedom’s Ride: To Ride or to Walk?
Sepe hber, Peer d hee Bg Seor feow
Where Does Democracy Thrive? Climate, Technology,
and the Evolution of Political Institutions
Mce McCoe, seor eow
Health Care in the Courts
lve tpg o The John Batchelor Radio Show
An Economy in Crisis: Looking to Historic Figures
to Save the Present
Jo Bceor d Mry Ksse, cooss
Mce Bosk, seor eow
Russe Robers, reserc eow
Jo tyor, George P. Suz Seor feow
Ecoomcs
ncos Wpso, uor, Keynes/Hayek:
The Clash That Defned Modern Economics
Pe Dscusso w e 2011–12 no
Secury ars feows
The American Military: Today’s Circumstances and
Tomorrow’s Challenges
toms herkse, seor eow, moderor
Mrk Cssyre, US Deprme o Se
leue Cooe Mce Cder, US army
leue Commder Mue herdez,
US nvy
leue Cooe Jo howrd, US ar force
Cooe (seec) Meo Mremucc, US ar force
leue Cooe Josep Russo, US Mres
Vcor Dvs hso, Mr d ie aderso
Seor feow
The American Ways of War
Russe Robers, reserc eow
Milton Friedman on the Crisis
Edwrd lzer, Morrs arod d no Je Cox
Seor feow
Taxes and Economic Growth
Croe hoxby, seor eow
How Government Policy Is Creating Winner and
Loser Generations—or What Young People Ought to
Be Protesting
Jo tyor, George P. Suz Seor feow
Ecoomcs
Government Policy and the Delayed Recovery
April retreat program
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10 Hoover Institution
Following on the heels o a successul pilot project, Hoover’s Leadership Forum has ormally launched,with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and House Speaker John Boehner
among the frst policy makers to stop by or a consult.
Leadership Forumlaunched
Following on the heels o a successul pilot project,
Hoover’s Leadership Forum has ormally launched,
with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Newark
Mayor Cory Booker, and House Speaker John Boehner
among the frst policy makers to stop by or a consult.
Seeded with pilot support rom overseer Dr. Gail
Jaquish and Steve Kenninger, the Leadership Forum
is designed to engage in more direct outreach to
current and aspiring political leaders, creating one-
or two-day visits to Hoover that oer pragmatic and
thoughtul ideas to beneft the course o public policy.
We target governors, members o Congress, members
o the administration, mayors and candidates or
elected ofce—both Republican and Democrat.
Visits oten culminate in a public address to which
key Hoover stakeholders and the press are invited.
The topical ocus on pragmatic and thoughtul
ideas to beneft the course o public policy dictates
which Hoover ellows will participate in the intimate
roundtable discussions, with policy makers calling on
Hoover expertise in such areas as economic recovery,
health care and entitlement reorm, and national
security, to name a ew. As an unanticipated side
beneft, ellows hear each other’s ideas, strengthening
relationships among them and beneftting the
Institution as a whole. Other recent visitors have
included House majority leader Eric Cantor,
US Army General HR McMaster, and Congressman
Dan Lipinski.
The Leadership Forum also encompasses topical
workshops involving high-ranking sta and municipal
government leaders. For example, a workshop on
state and municipal fscal deault brought together
experts rom the felds o public policy, economics,
fnance, law, and state and local politics to consult
about the nature o the problem, the current legal
structures, and the possibility o legislative or
other reorm to avert the need or ederal bailouts.
Participants rated it one o the highest quality
programs they had ever attended, or both quality o
content and quality o ellow participants.
Also being considered as part o the Leadership
Forum down the line are summer “boot camps” or
key legislative staers—chies o sta, deputy chies o
sta, and directors o communication, or example—
to learn rom Hoover scholars about public policy
options that could advance our national interests.
Let: New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie visited Hoover
as part o the Leadership
Forum.
Right: Director John Raisian
and Edward Lazear, the
Morris Arnold and Nona Jean
Cox Senior Fellow, fank US
Senator Rob Portman o Ohio,
who visited Hoover as part o
the Leadership Forum.
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11ideas defning a ree society
In memoriam:
Hoover overseer
Donald P. Kennedy
Hoover overseer Donald P. Kennedy, who grew his
amily business into one o the world’s largest title
insurance companies and helped transorm the
title insurance industry, has died. He was 93.
A Stanord graduate and member o the 1939 gol
team that won an NCAA Division I Championship,
Kennedy served in the US Navy during World War
II and then earned a law degree rom the University
o Southern Caliornia.
He joined the amily rm, Orange County Title,
now First American Financial, and held the
position o chairman emeritus until 2010, when
First American spun o into two separate publicly-
traded companies.
During his distinguished career, Kennedy received
numerous honors. Orange Coast Magazine named
him Man o the Century; he was inducted into the
Caliornia Building Industry Association Hall o
Fame; and he received the Real Estate Sumigarden
Award rom the University o Caliornia at Irvine.
A past president o the Caliornia Land Title
Association and the American Land Title
Association, Kennedy was deeply involved in
community aairs, serving as vice chairman o the
Board o Trustees o Chapman University and as a
member o Stanord University’s Athletics Board.
He had served on Hoover’s Board o Overseers
since 2006.
Research fellow Kiron Skinner
appointed to Pennsylvania state
commission
W. Glenn Campbell Hoover Research Fellow
Kiron Skinner has been named to the Governor’s
Advisory Commission on Arican American Aairs
or the State o Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett selected
Skinner as well as seventeen other distinguished
leaders to serve on the new commission,
representing Pennsylvania’s 1.4 million Arican
American citizens. The commission advises and
makes recommendations to the governor on
policies, procedures, legislation, and regulations
that aect Pennsylvania’s Arican American
community, articulating and addressing the
community’s unique needs and issues o concern.
“As a political scientist and historian o
the American experience, I am honored to
bring my academic perspective to Governor
Corbett’s commission on Arican Americans in
Pennsylvania,” Skinner said.
“The history o Arican Americans in Pennsylvania
refects a diverse and unique blend o cultural,
social and economic infuences which have had
and continue to have a benecial impact on lie in
the commonwealth,” Corbett said in making the
appointments.
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Hoover Institution
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© 2012 Board of Trustees
of the Leland Stanford Junior
University
National Security Affairs
Fellow Lieutenant Commander
Manuel Hernandez, US Navy,
welcomed 23 students from
Mountain View High School to
Hoover, to encourage them to
work hard and go to college.
Stephenson Senior Fellow
Condoleezza Rice came by to
offer special inspiration to the
ninth graders, all learning Englishas a second language.
Inspiring the next generation