Leadership
for America
Fulfilling the mandate of liberty
America is a remarkable nation—a strong, prosperous and good
nation—unique in its dedication to the principles of liberty
and constitutional self-government. It is the hard work of
freedom to perpetually renew this purpose and make it ever
manifest in the politics and public life of our nation.
For more than 30 years, The Heritage Foundation has provided
leadership for America , building a movement that launched
a presidency, defeated a tyranny and turned the course of history.
Now in a new century, the threats to our nation continue to
grow and expand. Yet while the American people increasingly
want better answers and solutions they are getting more slogans
and promises.
It becomes our task, then, to build on our accomplishments,
complete the unfinished work of the day and confront the expanding
challenges before us.
When asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention
had devised, Benjamin Franklin reportedly answered, “A republic — if
you can keep it.” To keep our freedom intact, it is essential
that Americans understand and preserve the underlying principles
of freedom.
But this understanding is jeopardized on many fronts. Students
in our high schools and colleges show a deplorable ignorance
of the most basic facts of America 's founding. Our elected
leaders in Washington routinely support legislation that overreaches
constitutional limits on government. Judges in our courts of
law, especially justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, have increasingly
substituted their personal moral views for constitutional principles.
To shore up the principles that are the very foundations of
American order, Heritage will pursue two broad objectives.
The Founders' conception of a free society and limited government
rested on the strength of institutions that precede our constitutional
order, particularly the family and religion. Through the family,
religious congregations, other forms of association, as well
as education, individuals learn the virtues necessary to sustain
ordered liberty.
Americans have seen these foundations of freedom eroded by
several forces. Family has declined and marriage has weakened
under pressure from policy and cultural changes. The role of
religious freedom in maintaining liberty and the contribution
of faithful individuals and congregations to the common good
are no longer adequately appreciated. Public education, intended
to prepare future citizens for freedom, has become shackled
by government bureaucracy and union power.
Toward restoring the primary institutions of civil society,
Heritage will advance two main objectives.
Americans today enjoy a growing, robust economy, and several
key steps will ensure that our opportunities and prosperity
will continue to flourish. We can achieve these ends by pursuing
four objectives.
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Entitlements. Entitlement
programs — Social Security and Medicare — and even Medicaid
threaten to swamp the federal budget and crowd out other
priorities within two generations. The unfunded obligations
for these programs is $175,000 for every American, these
programs must be reformed so we do not pass along this untenable
birth burden to our children and grandchildren. Moreover,
if spending on these programs is not reined in, they represent
a clear and present threat to low pro-growth taxes.
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Health
care. Health care costs continue to grow at
double the rate of inflation. Our national spending for health
care today is more than four times what we spend on national
defense. As these costs spiral, so do health insurance premiums,
making insurance unaffordable for an increasing number of
Americans.
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Energy
and environment. As demand for oil increases,
Americans must increasingly depend on unstable and unfriendly
foreign nations that supply much of the world's oil. America
is one of the few nations in the world to put known domestic
supplies of oil and gas off limits to exploration. Harsh
restrictions aimed at protecting the environment place coal
out of favor, while viable clean air sources of energy like
nuclear power are also taken off the table.
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Entrepreneurship. The
strength of our economy has always resided in the entrepreneurial
spirit — that peculiar American willingness to dream great
dreams and take great risks to achieve them. But in recent
years this spirit has been stifled by a growing variety of
regulations and taxes, making it ever harder for creative
and inventive Americans to start new businesses and build
them into success stories.
There's no question that rogue states like Iran are making
progress toward building nuclear weapons and missile systems
to deliver those weapons. Success in even one case create a
clear and present danger of nuclear attack on the United States
. In this global environment, the United States must develop
and deploy a ballistic missile defense system that can stop
missiles launched against our homeland.
In the broader war against global terrorism, the United States
needs allies who share our commitment to freedom and democracy.
To attract and keep those allies, we must regain our position
as a respected and responsible leader among nations. Our strategy
for advancing these two broad goals:
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