The intellectual landscape of Washington, D.C. feels a bit emptier these past six months. We’ve lost two true pioneers, two giants in the world of ideas, both friends who dedicated their lives to shaping our nation’s policy debates.
First, we mourned Ed Feulner, the visionary co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, which rose to become the defining policy institute for conservative thought in America. And now, just last week, we said goodbye to another titan: Ed Crane, the co-founder of the Cato Institute.
Ed Crane wasn’t just a founder; he was an architect. He meticulously built Cato into a major force in the nation’s capital, giving libertarian ideas and policy a formidable voice. His passing leaves a significant void.
My own journey with Cato began in 1996. I was honored to join the national advisory board for their ambitious project: transforming Social Security from a government tax-and-spend scheme into a system of individually owned personal retirement accounts. It was a revolutionary concept then, and remains a vital conversation today.
When I first ventured into the challenging world of policy reform, a wise friend shared a crucial insight from futurist John Naisbitt: “Don’t get so far ahead of the parade that no one knows you’re in it.” Ed Crane embodied this perfectly. His extraordinary skill lay in bringing much-needed, truly revolutionary ideas for change to the marketplace of ideas. But he was also keenly sensitive to the ‘when’ and ‘how’ – ensuring these powerful concepts remained relevant and impactful within the policy discussions of the day.
Challenging the Status Quo: The Social Security Debate
Social Security was broken back then, and frankly, it remains broken today. What Cato brought to the table was far more than a discussion about technical fixes. They presented a profound perspective: the problem wasn’t a glitch; it was fundamentally flawed in its very conception. Without changing the underlying principles, true reform was impossible.
Cato argued that Social Security violated the most fundamental of American principles: the freedom of every individual to take responsibility for their own life, and to retain control over their own property and the fruits of their own labor. It marked the insidious beginning of Americans buying into the premise that government could somehow do a better job of taking care of them than they could themselves.
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, Social Security flung open the door to America’s modern welfare state. It was an idea not of American pedigree, but a foreign import from Europe. This wasn’t merely a philosophical debate; it was a constitutional one. Roosevelt’s Supreme Court ultimately sanctioned its constitutionality, alongside the unprecedented idea that taxes could be levied on one group of citizens and those funds simply transferred to others. This was a first for America, and our nation was changed forever.
Consider the scale of this shift: when Social Security became law, the federal government consumed just 10% of the national economy. Today, it approaches 25%. This massive expansion of government was, in large part, enabled by that changed understanding of the U.S. Constitution, which found Social Security permissible. With the birth of the American welfare state, the core principles of our nation’s founding – that the role of government is to secure our personal freedom – were tragically marginalized.
For those who still believe they are better off under government control, consider this compelling marketplace comparison: at the beginning of 1996, when Cato launched its project to champion ownership-based Social Security, the Dow Jones average stood just over 5,000. Today, it flirts with 50,000. Imagine the wealth forgone by generations forced to pay Social Security taxes rather than being empowered to invest long-term in America’s vibrant capital markets.
Ed Crane’s Legacy: A Fight for Principles
Ed Crane dedicated his life to restoring America’s lost founding principles. He had a playful way of nudging me, always insisting I wasn’t a libertarian. And I always agreed with him! I would tell him that I believed in freedom every bit as much as he did, but that I am also a Christian. So, while I deeply believe in the sacredness of private property and ownership, I also hold firm to the sanctity of life and marriage between a man and a woman.
The recent loss of these two Eds – Ed Feulner and Ed Crane – is a profound loss for our nation. What we desperately need today is a renewed commitment to, and a restoration of, the fight for America’s founding principles – the very ideals that defined both of my remarkable friends.
Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, “What Is the CURE for America?” is available now.
Source: Original Article
