THINK TANKS

...are "idea people" for the system. Their job is to invent new ideas and, like speech writers for politicians, 'spin' them into policies the public will like, even if they'll actually be harmful. They make undemocratic policy look like democracy, racism look like justice, destroying the environment look like progress, weapons & abuses of our Rights look like our "protection." "Zero Tolerance," "Welfare Reform," "Urban Revitalization" & others were invented by think tanks like the Manhattan Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council & the Reason Public Policy Institute. Owned by weapons builders, prison builders, privatizers & real estate developers, they lead the way in mass imprisonment, the War on Drugs & the War on Terrorism; militarizing borders & criminalizing immigrants; gentrifying cities & driving out the poor; destroying welfare & privatizing everything from health care to prisons & schools. They push for corporate welfare, deregulation & anything to help big business monopolize our resources, labor & political system.