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Michael D. Tanner
Senior Fellow
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 electoral defeat in 2008.
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)
Cato Studies
"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.
"No Miracle in Massachusetts: Why Governor Romney's Health Care Reform Won't Work," Briefing Paper no. 97, June 6, 2006.
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)
Opinion and Commentary
"The Dangers of a "Public Plan"," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 2009
"No, Really, It's Not Government-Run!," TownHall.com, June 22, 2009
"Intensive Obamacare," National Review (Online), June 17, 2009
"Paying for Obamacare," TownHall.com, June 11, 2009
"How Not to Reform Health Care," National Review (Online), June 9, 2009
Cato @ Liberty Blog Posts
"My $1 Trillion vs. Your $1 Trillion," June 26, 2009
"Remember When $1 Trillion Was Real Money?," June 25, 2009
"If You Have Health Insurance Today, You Can Keep It (or Not)," June 16, 2009
"Obama's Health Care Speech," June 15, 2009
"The Co-op Cop-out," June 12, 2009
Events
"What Government-Run Health Care Really Means," July 15, 2009 [Policy Forum]
"To Reform Health Care, Don't Increase Taxes, Cut Them," June 26, 2009 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Massachusetts — Three Years Later," June 22, 2009 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Cato Institute Conference on Health Care Reform," June 17, 2009 [Conference]
"The Welfare State We're In," May 18, 2009 [Book Forum]
Speeches and Testimony
"Reforming Health Care in Arkansas," Arkansas House Insurance and Commerce Committee, February 25, 2009.
"Reforming Health Care in Utah," Health System Reform Task Force Testimony, September 25, 2008.
"Reforming Health Care in Wisconsin," Congressional Testimony, October 2, 2007.
"Reforming Health Care in Alaska," Congressional Testimony, September 10, 2007.
"Reforming Health Care in Kansas," Congressional Testimony, January 13, 2007.
Multimedia
Michael D. Tanner & Michael F. Cannon dissect Obama's health care plans. June 25, 2009 [Flash Video, 05:25]
Michael D. Tanner discusses health care on WOOD Radio's West Michigan's Morning News June 25, 2009 [Flash Audio, 05:59]
Michael D. Tanner discusses the Massachusetts health care plan on the Talk Radio News Service June 23, 2009 [Flash Audio, 00:22]
Michael D. Tanner discusses health care on WIBA's Upfront with Vicki McKenna June 23, 2009 [Flash Audio, 16:09]
Michael D. Tanner discusses the Massachusetts universal health care plan on FOX's America's Newsroom June 22, 2009 [Flash Video, 04:28]