John Locke Foundation
Encyclopedia
The John Locke Foundation is a free market
think tank
in North Carolina
started in 1990. Its mission statement says the "John Locke Foundation employs research, journalism, and outreach programs to transform government through competition, innovation, personal freedom, and personal responsibility. JLF seeks a better balance between the public sector and private institutions of family, faith, community, and enterprise." The organization advocates lowering taxes, decreasing spending on social welfare programs, and encouraging free market
s. John Hood is its current president.
It is named after the philosopher John Locke
, who was a primary contributor to what we understand as the idea of classical liberalism
.
The Foundation is concerned primarily with state and local issues. The greater part of its funding comes from North Carolina and national conservative grant making foundations, some led by Republican party
activists. The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy was in its initial stages a project of the John Locke Foundation. A co-founder is Art Pope
.
In 1991, JLF’s first alternative state budget addressed the state’s economic downturn and the state’s nearly $1 billion budget hole. Hood walked the halls of the North Carolina General Assembly, passing out the budget and explaining its components.
One of JLF’s earliest public fights over policy came with Republican Gov. Jim Martin, who championed the Global TransPark in Kinston, N.C. JLF criticized the project as a misguided use of public funds. Martin stood his ground and defended the TransPark before a JLF audience.
Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt stood before a Locke Foundation gathering shortly after Republicans won control of the N.C. House in 1994. Members of Hunt’s cabinet watched from the audience as the governor made front-page news by embracing tax cuts.
The Locke Foundation’s flagship publication, Carolina Journal, has developed a “reputation as a relentless government watchdog that invests time and resources into investigative journalism,” according to the JLF history. Executive Editor Don Carrington’s 1997 expose on a $21 million legislative slush fund used for pork-barrel projects was the first in a line of consequential stories about misuse of public funds and conflicts of interest.
Every two years, the John Locke Foundation produces an agenda document that focuses on key issues North Carolina state and local governments must address. The latest version of that document is Agenda 2010.
In addition to the print publication, CarolinaJournal.com provides news stories and commentary each weekday. Carolina Journal Radio offers a weekly hourlong news and public affairs program. CarolinaJournal.tv features video clips with interviews of John Locke Foundation staff, highlights from JLF events, JLF appearances on broadcast and cable television programs, and full-length videos of press conferences, presentations, and public meetings.
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
started in 1990. Its mission statement says the "John Locke Foundation employs research, journalism, and outreach programs to transform government through competition, innovation, personal freedom, and personal responsibility. JLF seeks a better balance between the public sector and private institutions of family, faith, community, and enterprise." The organization advocates lowering taxes, decreasing spending on social welfare programs, and encouraging free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
s. John Hood is its current president.
It is named after the philosopher John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, who was a primary contributor to what we understand as the idea of classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
.
The Foundation is concerned primarily with state and local issues. The greater part of its funding comes from North Carolina and national conservative grant making foundations, some led by Republican party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
activists. The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy was in its initial stages a project of the John Locke Foundation. A co-founder is Art Pope
Art Pope
James Arthur "Art" Pope is a North Carolina political figure, businessman, attorney and philanthropist. He is CEO and Board Chairman of Variety Wholesalers, Inc and President and Chairman of the John William Pope Foundation....
.
History
Current John Locke Foundation President John Hood helped open the foundation’s doors with founding president Marc Rotterman in 1990. The following year, Marilyn Avila signed on as bookkeeper and administrator, and the trio formed the “intellectual firepower and energy behind the state’s outspoken voice on behalf of conservative principles and free-market economics,” according to the official JLF history.In 1991, JLF’s first alternative state budget addressed the state’s economic downturn and the state’s nearly $1 billion budget hole. Hood walked the halls of the North Carolina General Assembly, passing out the budget and explaining its components.
One of JLF’s earliest public fights over policy came with Republican Gov. Jim Martin, who championed the Global TransPark in Kinston, N.C. JLF criticized the project as a misguided use of public funds. Martin stood his ground and defended the TransPark before a JLF audience.
Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt stood before a Locke Foundation gathering shortly after Republicans won control of the N.C. House in 1994. Members of Hunt’s cabinet watched from the audience as the governor made front-page news by embracing tax cuts.
The Locke Foundation’s flagship publication, Carolina Journal, has developed a “reputation as a relentless government watchdog that invests time and resources into investigative journalism,” according to the JLF history. Executive Editor Don Carrington’s 1997 expose on a $21 million legislative slush fund used for pork-barrel projects was the first in a line of consequential stories about misuse of public funds and conflicts of interest.
Research publications
The John Locke Foundation's research staff regularly publishes scholarly articles and reports on topics such as budget and tax policy; regulatory, legal, and environmental policy; education policy; and county and local government, including transportation and land-use policies. Those reports are available for review online.Every two years, the John Locke Foundation produces an agenda document that focuses on key issues North Carolina state and local governments must address. The latest version of that document is Agenda 2010.
Carolina Journal
Started in 1991, Carolina Journal is a monthly John Locke Foundation publication. "With a statewide readership of nearly 130,000 — through mail circulation, boxes, and partnerships with local newspapers in Greensboro, Asheville, and Hendersonville — Carolina Journal covers state government and the legislature while also offering special sections on education, books and culture, higher education, and local government," according to the JLF website.In addition to the print publication, CarolinaJournal.com provides news stories and commentary each weekday. Carolina Journal Radio offers a weekly hourlong news and public affairs program. CarolinaJournal.tv features video clips with interviews of John Locke Foundation staff, highlights from JLF events, JLF appearances on broadcast and cable television programs, and full-length videos of press conferences, presentations, and public meetings.