Williams, Have You Lost Your Marbles?

Dr. Walter Williams is my all-time favorite columnist, which is one reason I’m very pleased to report that he has agreed once again to deliver the keynote address at a Heartland annual benefit. The last time he spoke was five years ago, when he received standing ovations both before and after he spoke!

But before I say anything more about Williams (or his missing marbles), I should tell you that on October 6, The Heartland Institute is celebrating fifteen years at the cutting-edge of state and local public policy! Please plan to join us at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago for an evening of fine food, a truly great speaker, a very funny comedian, and a chance to visit with old acquaintances.

How This Thing Got Started

Back in 1984, when I was a wee lad of 26 and didn’t know any better, I sort of fell into this business of promoting individual liberty and limited government. I had nary a clue that I’d still be here fifteen years later, still plugging away.

The old fellow who recruited me–well, he seemed old at the time, but I guess he was only 55–was the remarkable Dave Padden. A business owner and entrepreneur, Dave was (and still is) an apostle of what the Foundation for Economic Education calls “the freedom philosophy.” It’s a marvelously deep and positive philosophy that boils down to this:

Man was meant to live free. Governments have historically been the greatest threat to that freedom, while free markets have been their most vital expression. In order to survive, freedom needs to be defended from its intellectual and political foes in the court of public opinion. Those who benefit most from freedom–businessmen and entrepreneurs–have a special responsibility to come to its aid.

Dave preached this gospel to friends and colleagues at monthly meetings at the Union League Club (which is where we first met), on the golf course, in classrooms, in the back room of the Italian Village restaurant on Monroe Street, and even in the dentist’s chair. (Dave’s dentist was one of Heartland’s first donors, and remains a donor to this day.)

Dave rounded up the first twenty donors who agreed to pledge $100 a month to launch a new organization that “would do for state and local policy what the Cato Institute does for national policy.” Bob Jackson, an investment manager and another founding member of the Board of Directors, came up with the new organization’s name: The Heartland Institute.

Mark Ferdinand and his law partner, Lewis Shapiro, donated use of a room in their suite on the 55th floor of the Mid-Continental Plaza building in downtown Chicago. (I still remember the views!) Dave Padden donated a desk and chair. Everett Moffat, another director, signed the lease for a personal computer–a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. We were off and running.

Fast Forward to 1999

I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow account of what happened to The Heartland Institute during the past fifteen years. But I assure you, as the guy sitting in the front seat of the first car for the entire trip, it has been one heck of a ride.

We helped deregulate taxicabs in Chicago in the late 1980s, helped defeat tax increases in Illinois and three other states, and introduced Chicago to privatization. Our research has been used by grassroots activists dozens of times to defeat sport stadium subsidies around the country.

We played important roles in stopping “ClintonCare” in 1993, in developing the intellectual case against state subsidies to big businesses, and in building popular support for the recent victories for school choice and vouchers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, and elsewhere.

Along the way we’ve published a dozen books, nearly one hundred policy studies, and countless shorter essays. Our work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and virtually every major daily newspaper in the U.S.

Definitely Worth Celebrating

Besides marking Heartland’s 15th anniversary, 1999 also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Friedrich Hayek, and the 50th anniversary of the publication of two key libertarian books, George Orwell’s 1984 and Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action.

To celebrate all four events we’ve produced a dramatic poster featuring a brooding Walter Williams along with smaller images of Hayek, Orwell, and Mises. “Freedom 1999” is emblazoned along the left edge. This limited-edition poster is 17” x 11” in size and is definitely suitable for framing. A free rolled poster in a protective cardboard tube will be given to each person who attends the October 6 Benefit. Dr. Williams has agreed to sign posters at the end of the evening.

This year we continue our practice of featuring a leading spokesperson for the freedom philosophy before dinner, followed by a sumptuous meal, and ending with a presentation by a comedian who shares our libertarian perspective. The formal program ends no later than 9:30 p.m. (kick-backs from babysitters are an important source of income for The Heartland Institute), while those who wish to stay later can enjoy fine cigars, compliments of Philip Morris Companies, and traditional jazz by the legendary John Wright Trio.

This year’s comedian is Tim Slagle, a professional stand-up comic who has been called “a libertarian Lenny Bruce.” Slagle’s hilarious take on everything from taxes and gun control to fireworks and flag burning are sure to entertain as well as inform. As one reviewer puts it, “whether you think Slagle is pushing incendiary ideas intelligently expressed, or hilarious hogwash, you’re almost guaranteed a good time.”

(I saw Tim Slagle perform his “flag burning” bit in front of a libertarian crowd last year. As the critical moment approached, the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. So captivated was the ordinarily boisterous crowd that you could have heard a pin drop. Moments later, at the end of the bit, Slagle received a roaring standing ovation.)

Walter Williams’ Marbles

Walter Williams, as I mentioned earlier, is this year’s keynote speaker. He is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of six excellent books, the most recent one titled More Liberty Means Less Government. (Can you tell that he’s real big on the freedom philosophy?)

Williams is also chairman of the economics department at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA. Despite all these accomplishments and distinctions, Williams may be best known as a radio talk show host who frequently substitutes for Rush Limbaugh.

So what about Williams’ marbles? In a column published in early August of this year, Williams urges states to establish federal-tax escrow accounts in which they would deposit and hold federal taxes collected from their citizens. Then, if the federal government threatens to cut off highway funds or Medicaid reimbursements to the state, the state could refuse to forward to the feds an offsetting amount of federal taxes. If Congress resorts to “armed force,” Williams implies the states should prepare to match it blow for blow.

This is pretty radical stuff, but Williams defends it eloquently:

You say, “Williams, have you lost your marbles, challenging a powerful federal government?” I haven’t lost my marbles anymore than James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and others lost theirs. After all, in 1776 when our Founders handed King George III the Declaration of Independence, Britain was the mightiest power on the face of the Earth. They knew that if they lost they’d be hanged as traitors.

Thanks for reminding us of how important freedom was to our Founding Fathers, Dr. Williams. I can hardly wait to hear what you have to say on October 6.