North Dakota Policy Council
 | This WikiFOIA article is a stub. The organization has not yet joined the WikiFOIA Sunshine League and has yet to update their information on WikiFOIA. If you are a member or representative of this organization please feel free to update your information and delete this stub. If you need help updating it or would like to learn more about the WikiFOIA Sunshine League, please see our WikiFOIA Sunshine League wikiproject page. |  |
| |||||||||||||||||||
The North Dakota Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit liberty minded think tank. It was established in 2002 by Erling “Curly” Haugland [1] and provides expertise and research in order that North Dakotans may be well-suited to advocate for state and local policies based on "individual liberty, individual responsibility, and limited government."[2]
[edit] Mission
[edit] Research
[edit] Transparency projects
The North Dakota Policy Council works with like-minded state and national organizations in order to bring about greater individual responsibility and liberty, and limited government.[2] Current projects include:
[edit] Sunshine on schools
Sunshine on Schools is an interactive website featuring budget data for all of North Dakota's K-12 schools. Current and historical data is available, and users can compare up to 5 school districts at a time.
The aim of the site is to educate citizens on the facts of education funding and property tax debates.[3]
[edit] BS Alerts
BS Alerts are regularly put out by the NDPC to educate citizens on issues which are ignored or not accurately reported - essentially on any topic anytime which the Council sees BS.
[edit] NDPC Investigates
NDPC puts out investigative articles under the section "NDPC Investigates". Recent topics have included property taxes and posting state expenditures online.
[edit] NDPC in the news
Robert Murphy speaks on "green jobs" |
[edit] Land-use restrictions
In a February 2008 press release the NDPC called out the Green Grand Forks committee, a group tasked with making Grand Forks, ND more "green," for advocating policies that would tighten land-use restrictions in Grand Forks and the surrounding area. "Local reports of committee meetings and the influence outside groups have on the Green Grand Forks committee lead one to conclude that the committee will soon attempt to restrict private property rights," the release said.[4]
[edit] Free market forum
The NDPC hosted a forum in May 2009 featuring Dr. Robert Murphy, who spoke on "The Myth Of Green Jobs." Other speakers included Dr. Thomas Woods, the New York Times Best Selling Author of "Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse", and Michael LaFaive, director of the Mackinac Center’s Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative.[5],[6]
[edit] Issues
- Government can only give to one person what it takes away from another, and that the power to give presumes the power to take.
- Policies intended to affect one person or one group can affect all people and all groups, and that these unintended consequences often cause more harm to the many than any good done for the one.
- Freedom requires responsibility: where government largesse replaces individual foresight it destroys responsibility and, therefore, freedom.
- All times matter. Long-term consequences are as or more important than short-term impacts. Emotional reactions are not suitable substitutes for rational solutions.[2]
