Edward H. Crane

In a recent speech, Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist George F. Will referred to the Cato Institute as “the foremost upholder of the idea of liberty in the nation that is the foremost upholder of the idea of liberty.” Under the leadership of Edward H. Crane, the Cato Institute has become one of the most respected and thought-provoking public policy research institutions in the country. In this exceptional presentation, Crane—Cato’s founder and president—focuses his years of experience on the contemporary political landscape, starting with the key question: Whatever happened to the Goldwater-Reagan philosophy of limited government? Through Crane’s compelling analysis, audiences learn how Reagan himself began the decline by promoting the nomination of George H. W. Bush. Crane demonstrates how the so-called supply-side revolution and the growth of neoconservatism accelerated the rise of big-government conservatism. Crane then provides audiences with concise analyses of what this all means for the country—how we have arrived at this point in our political and national history—and outlines the practical steps we can take to remedy this very dangerous status quo. Crane’s presentation offers audiences the rare opportunity to hear from one of today’s most insightful public policy analysts, who is respected nationwide for his pioneering work and political vision.

Under the leadership of its founder and president Ed Crane, the Cato Institute has grown to become one of the nation's most prominent public policy research organizations. Crane has been a pioneer in framing the political debate as one, not between liberal and conservative, but rather between civil society (the voluntary sector) and political society (government power). He was at the forefront of promoting personal accounts in lieu of the current Social Security system, and was one of the first national leaders of the term limits movement. Crane is the coeditor of several books, publisher of Regulation magazine, serves on the Board of U.S. Term Limits, and is a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. He is a chartered financial analyst and former vice president at Alliance Capital Management Corp. Crane's writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times and Forbes. He has been interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition and Talk of the Nation, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and other media. Crane holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.