HISTORY
OF PUBLIC INTEREST INSTITUTE

Dr. Don Racheter, professor of political science, envisioned a research organization in Iowa that would offer positive solutions and alternatives to state and local officials, encourage economic freedom and opportunity, and promote the role of the private sector in providing services economically and efficiently. With the support of David M. Stanley and E&M Charities, Public Interest Institute was incorporated in 1989 as Iowa’s only state-level, independent, public-policy research organization.

Public Interest Institute began operations in August, 1991 on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in a temporary office with one employee, Dr. Racheter, while renovations on our current site were completed.

The Institute was established as a support organization for Iowa Wesleyan College and Tax Education Foundation. To ensure this cooperation, Public Interest Institute’s By-Laws require that a majority of the Institute’s Board of Directors must be officers, directors, or trustees of Iowa Wesleyan or Tax Education Foundation, with at least one Board member from each of the supported organizations.

The first event held by Public Interest Institute was a conference in February, 1992, "Making Iowa a Growth State." Conference speakers explored why Iowa’s population had not increased during the 1980s; why Iowa was losing jobs, factories, and people during that time; and solutions to Iowa’s population and job loss.

On May 22, 1992 an open house and ribbon cutting officially welcomed Public Interest Institute to the campus, community, and its present location, the Hershey Hall Annex at Iowa Wesleyan College. Dr. Racheter spoke of his satisfaction of seeing his idea finally come to fruition, and highlighted the Institute’s goal of becoming a nationally-recognized source of ideas and policy alternatives. Following the open house, the Institute expanded its staff and began to distribute the first of many publications.

Public Interest Institute hosted a Privatization Conference in Des Moines, Iowa on February 5, 1993. The audience heard several experts on privatization discuss the possibilities for a partnership between government and the private sector to reduce the cost of services for citizens.

Also in 1993, Public Interest Institute’s logo first appeared on publications and correspondence. The logo, which incorporates the initials of the organization into a classical Greek pillar, was designed by Susan Meierotto, an Iowa Wesleyan student majoring in commercial art who served as a graphics intern at Public Interest Institute.

In 1994, Public Interest Institute sponsored a two-day conference in Des Moines, "Health Care Issues and Alternatives." Conference attendees looked at various health care reform proposals at the state and national levels and examined government-oriented vs. market-oriented reforms.

Public Interest Institute hosted the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists in November, 1995. An audience of political science professors, government teachers, and students heard panels discuss the upcoming Iowa legislative session, methods of teaching political science, politics and the media, and international politics. The guest speaker at this event, Bill Eggers of the Reason Foundation, shared his thoughts on downsizing government and devolving government to the state and local level.

In 1995 and 1996, Public Interest Institute published STATISTICAL PROFILE OF IOWA, a factual overview of Iowa covering topics such as population, education, quality of life, transportation, business climate, economy/income, and government finances/taxes. The cover of the 1996 STATISTICAL PROFILE OF IOWA was designed by Gabe Sojka, an Iowa Wesleyan College student.

In 1996, the Institute established a national Academic Advisory Board chaired by Dr. Richard E. Wagner, Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University. Current Advisory Board members are Dr. Robert Bish of the University of Victoria, Dr. Edgar Browning of Texas A&M University, Dr. Richard McKenzie of the University of California at Irvine, Dr. William Peirce of Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Randy Simmons of Utah State University, Dr. Eugenia Toma of the University of Kentucky, Dr. Gordon Tullock of George Mason University, Dr. Richard Vedder of Ohio University, and Dr. Bruce Yandle of Clemson University.

In March, 1996 Public Interest Institute hosted a two-day Leadership Iowa seminar for professional people from all over the state, exploring the topic of education and career opportunities and how they are related.

On Sunday, October 6, 1996, Public Interest Institute and KBUR Radio of Burlington sponsored a debate between Leonard Boswell and Mike Mahaffey, candidates for Iowa’s Third District U.S. Congressional seat. The debate was another Institute effort to educate the public about the critical issues facing citizens.

Public Interest Institute distributed copies of THE IOWA CIVICS PROJECT, a twelve-unit curriculum on Iowa state and local government, to government teachers across the state beginning in the fall of 1996. The chapters explore the historical development of government in Iowa; the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of state government; county and city government; civil and criminal justice; the rights and responsibilities of citizens; school administration; other boards and commissions; and state government finances.

Also in the fall of 1996, Public Interest Institute began its A.B.D. Scholar-in-Residence program, which brings a Ph.D. student to the Institute for a school year to teach classes at Iowa Wesleyan College and assist the Institute with research. The Institute’s first visiting scholar, Anthony Santelli, taught a Labor economics course at Iowa Wesleyan College in the 1996-1997 school year and authored three INSTITUTE BRIEFS. Daniel Primbs, the scholar for the 1997-1998 year, taught an Austrian Economics course and authored six INSTITUTE BRIEFS.

On September 2, 1997, Public Interest Institute sent out our first weekly newspaper column, IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, to seven Iowa newspapers. Our circulation has grown to over 160 newspapers around the state.

Public Interest Institute’s staff displayed publications and visited with those attending the Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant in 1997, 1998, and 1999. The Institute’s booth featured the Iowa Quiz, testing participants knowledge of Iowa’s history and government.

LIMITING LEVIATHAN, a book from Public Interest Institute, was published in May 1999. The collection of chapters make a case for limited government and discuss the types of limitations that are appropriate and necessary. LIMITING LEVIATHAN was edited by Dr. Don Racheter, Public Interest Institute President, and Dr. Richard E. Wagner, Public Interest Institute Senior Fellow and Academic Advisory Board Chairman.

Public Interest Institute began an Op-Ed series, OF PUBLIC INTEREST, in August 1999. This column is sent to over 100 media outlets around the nation. Authors of this column, which features commentary on timely issues, are Dr. Richard E. Wagner, Public Interest Institute Senior Fellow and Academic Advisory Board Chairman and Dr. Don Racheter, Public Interest Institute President.

The Iowa Straw Poll was held in Ames, Iowa on August 14, 1999 and Public Interest Institute was there. Just prior to the Straw Poll, the Institute co-hosted, with the Cato Institute, a debate entitled Is There a Future for Social Security? A distinguished panel of policy experts, who specialize in Social Security issues, took part in the debate. The panel included Lisa Davis, Senior Policy Analyst with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security; Scott Hodge, Senior Fellow for Tax and Budget Policy at Citizens for a Sound Economy; Dr. James Hutter of the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists; and Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies at the Cato Institute. The debate was moderated by Dr. David Roe, President of Central College, Pella, Iowa. Immediately following the debate, presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Alan Keyes presented statements of their perspectives on the Social Security crisis.

During the Iowa Straw Poll activities, Public Interest Institute staff set up a table to provide information on public policy issues and handed out copies of the Iowa Constitution, U.S. Constitution, and other publications from Public Interest Institute, the Cato Institute, and Heritage Foundation to the thousands of Straw Poll participants.

On December 10, 1999 Public Interest Institute hosted an environmental education conference in Des Moines. The purpose of the conference was to initiate discussion about the extent to which environmental education curricula are science- and economics-based. Public Interest Institute saw a need for this type of discussion in the findings of a joint policy study, Status of Environmental Education in Iowa and America, by the Institute and the Center for Environmental Education Research. Featured speakers at the conference were Dr. Michael Sanera, Director of the Center for Environmental Education Research at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.; State Senator Kitty Rehberg, Vice Chair of the Iowa Senate Education Committee and member of the Iowa Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee; and Duane Toomsen, Policy Consultant for the Iowa Department of Education.

Public Interest Institute welcomed intern Adam Streetman for the Spring Semester 2000. Adam, a history/political science major at Iowa Wesleyan College, authored three INSTITUTE BRIEFS, produced an issue of FACTS & OPINIONS, and assisted in office projects.

Public Interest Institute President Dr. Don Racheter and Pat Soldano of the Center for the Study of Taxation headed a July 20, 2000 press conference in Washington, D.C. to announce the release of a Public Interest Institute study on the negative effects of the death tax. The study, A Declaration of Independence from Death Taxation: A Bipartisan Appeal, is authored by Edward J. McCaffery of the University of Southern California Law School and Richard E. Wagner of the Department of Economics at George Mason University. The press conference included remarks by Senator Charles Grassley, Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, Congressman Christopher Cox, and the authors of the study, Dr. McCaffery and Dr. Wagner.

Public Interest Institute’s second book, FEDERALIST GOVERNMENT IN PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE, was published in October 2000. The twelve chapters in FEDERALIST GOVERNMENT IN PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE look at the relationship between federalism and liberty and explore the substantive practice of federalism, particularly the centralizing processes at work and the opportunities for decentralization. The book was edited by Dr. Don Racheter, Public Interest Institute President, and Dr. Richard E. Wagner, Public Interest Institute Senior Fellow and Academic Advisory Board Chairman.

In July 2002, Public Interest Institute published our third book, Politics, Taxation, and the Rule of Law: The Power to Tax in Constitutional Perspective, again edited by Dr. Don Racheter and Dr. Richard E. Wagner. Politics, Taxation, and the Rule of Law looks at the balance between providing government with the power to operate while preserving and protecting our rights of person and property.

Intern Ilya Filimonov joined Public Interest Institute for the Spring 2002 semester. The Iowa Wesleyan College history major authored an INSTITUTE BRIEF on health care reform. Brian DePriest, also an Iowa Wesleyan College student, interned at the Institute during the Spring 2004 semester. Brian assisted Institute Analysts with various research projects.

Effective June 1, 2005, Dr. Donald P. Racheter assumed the duties of President of Public Interest Institute on a full-time basis. Racheter originally had the idea to create the Institute in the late 1980s, serving as the Institute’s initial Executive Director, and later on the Institute’s Board of Directors. He returned ten years ago to serve as the Institute’s part-time Executive Director, and was later promoted to President. Public Interest Institute Chief Executive Officer David Stanley said of Dr. Racheter’s new status “Don is eminently well qualified by both education and experience for this position, and has been producing excellent work for us on a part-time basis. We are very pleased that we will now be the sole focus of his professional efforts.”

Ongoing publications include FACTS & OPINIONS, IOWA ECONOMIC SCORECARD, LIMITS, and INSTITUTE BRIEFS. FACTS & OPINIONS consists of short articles of public interest with emphasis on current events, and is published in January, April, July, and October. IOWA ECONOMIC SCORECARD provides an analysis of and statistics on Iowa’s economy, and is published in February, May, August, and November. LIMITS includes information on limiting government for the protection of human rights, and is published in March, June, September, and December. INSTITUTE BRIEFS are short articles or summaries on timely topics, published monthly.

As of April 2008, Public Interest Institute has seven staff members and one IWC student intern.