Michael D. Tanner

Cato Institute
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Washington, DC 20001-5403
Phone (202) 842 0200
Fax (202) 842 3490
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Michael Tanner heads research into a variety of domestic policies with a particular emphasis on health care reform, social welfare policy, and Social Security. His most recent book, Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution (2007), chronicles the demise of the Republican party as it has shifted away from its limited government roots and warns that reform is necessary to avoid continual electoral defeat.

Under Tanner's direction, Cato launched the Project on Social Security Choice, which is widely considered the leading impetus for transforming the soon-to-be-bankrupt system into a private savings program. Time Magazine calls Tanner, "one of the architects of the private accounts movement," and Congressional Quarterly named him one of the nation's five most influential experts on Social Security.

His other books include, Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It (Second Edition, 2007), The Poverty of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society (2003), and A New Deal for Social Security (1998). Tanner's writings have appeared in nearly every major American newspaper, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. A prolific writer and frequent guest lecturer, Tanner appears regularly on network and cable news programs. Before joining Cato in 1993, Tanner served as director of research of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and as legislative director for the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: mtanner@cato.org

Books and Book Chapters

"Social Security," Chapter 17 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.

Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution, (2007).

Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It, coauthor (2005).

Social Security and Its Discontents, editor (April 2004)

The Poverty Of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society, (August 2003)

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Cato Studies

"Halfway to Where? Answering the Key Questions of Health Care Reform," Policy Analysis no. 643, September 9, 2009.

"Massachusetts Miracle or Massachusetts Miserable: What the Failure of the "Massachusetts Model" Tells Us about Health Care Reform," Briefing Paper no. 112, June 9, 2009.

"Obamacare to Come: Seven Bad Ideas for Health Care Reform," Policy Analysis no. 638, May 21, 2009.

"A Fork in the Road: Obama, McCain, and Health Care," Briefing Paper no. 104, July 29, 2008.

"The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World," Policy Analysis no. 613, March 18, 2008.

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Articles and Newsletters

"Will Obama Raise Middle-Class Taxes to Fund Health Care?," by Michael D. Tanner and Chris Edwards, Tax & Budget Bulletin no. 57, June 2009. (PDF, 38kb., 2 pp)