About PPI
Who are you?
PPI has been a force for modernizing center-left thinking since its founding in 1989 as “Bill Clinton’s idea mill.” Today, we’re crafting a new generation of ideas for helping working families adapt to technological change, rebuild civic unity, repair a broken government, and defend America’s true national interests in a changing world. The Institute is also spearheading efforts to revive center-left parties across liberal democracies. You can find our experts working in Washington, the U.K., Brussels, and beyond.
What sorts of ideas do you support?
The title of this substack, Radically Pragmatic, has been our longtime motto because we believe it is possible to pursue sweeping change while still working within the realities of public opinion and enduring American values. We believe in the power of economic competition, trade, and entrepreneurial innovation, refereed impartially by government, to expand economic opportunity and raise living standards for all. We advocate for an all-of-the-above energy policy as well as a strong national defense and an active role in promoting freedom and democracy.
In our early days, we were a driving force behind ideas like Clinton’s massive expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has become a cornerstone of American social policy, and AmeriCorps, the first voluntary national service program. We’ve been consistent champions of the country’s charter school revolution, and today, we are pressing for a national commitment to foster social cohesion and patriotism by teaching children what it means to be American.
You won’t find us playing loose with the basic laws of economics. We don’t tolerate populist slop, even if it polls well. Instead, you’re going to find us tackling topics like unconventional ways to save Social Security and end politicized prosecutions. We produce in-depth reports on topics like how Mississippi really fixed its schools that we think hold national lessons, as well as wonky but important issues like how hospital takeovers of doctors’ practices have hurt American health care.
What will you be writing here?
Expect regular, mid-length articles on policy issues on and off the news. This isn’t going to be academic writing, but we are a think tank, so we expect our readers to demand empirical evidence rather than gauzy arguments. You’ll find us rolling out new governing ideas, breaking down and critiquing legislation, and engaging in back-and-forths with critics (who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned blog fight?). We’ll be running work from PPI’s in-house experts, as well as occasional outside contributors who do work in our orbit.
How often will you send out articles?
Expect something from us once or twice a week. We know you get a lot of newsletters — we don’t want to add to the pile unless we really have something interesting.
I already get email updates from PPI. Does this replace your old mailing list?
Nope. We’ll still be sending out announcements about events and news through our old email list. But we signed you up for this Substack because we know you already enjoy our work. But if you decide to unsubscribe, we won’t be offended — everyone’s inbox is pretty full these days.
