The Peter G. Peterson Foundation
![]() The foundation's logo | |
Founded | 2008 |
---|---|
Founder | Peter G. Peterson |
Type | foundation |
Focus | Fiscal and economic challenges of the United States[1] |
Location |
|
Key people | Peter G. Peterson, Founder and Chairman[2] Michael A. Peterson, President and Chief Operating Officer[2] |
Revenue (2014) | $95,716,695[3] |
Expenses (2014) | $32,403,596[3] |
Endowment | US$1.0 billion |
Website | pgpf.org |
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is an American billionaire-funded foundation established in 2008 by Peter G. Peterson, former US Secretary of Commerce in the Nixon Administration and co-founder of the Blackstone Group, an American financial-services company.
History
In 2008, Peter G. Peterson committed $1 billion to create the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an organization dedicated to addressing economic and fiscal "sustainability challenges that threaten America's future."[4] Peterson recruited David M. Walker, then-Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office, as the foundation's first president and chief executive officer.
In 2010, the foundation launched an annual Washington, D.C., event aimed to draw attention to America's long-term fiscal issues.
In October 2010, David M. Walker stepped down as President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation to establish his own venture, the Comeback America Initiative with funding provided by the Foundation.
Leadership
Source:[5]
Board of Directors:
- Michael A. Peterson, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer
- Joan Ganz Cooney, Peter G. Peterson's widow, co-founder of Sesame Workshop
Advisory Board:
- Sen. Bill Bradley, Managing Director: Allen & Company LLC; former United States Senator
- Barry Diller, Chairman, IAC/InterActiveCorp
- Harvey V. Fineberg, President: Institute of Medicine
- Sec. Robert Rubin: Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; former United States Secretary of the Treasury
- Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer: Facebook
- Sec. Donna Shalala, President: University of Miami; former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Sec. George Shultz, Thomas W & Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow: Hoover Institution – Stanford University; former United States Secretary of State
Past activities
Solutions Initiative
In January 2011, The Peter G. Peterson Foundation launched the $1.2 million Solutions Initiative grant program. As part of this program, the American Enterprise Institute, Bipartisan Policy Center, Center for American Progress, Economic Policy Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and Roosevelt Institute Campus Network each received grants of $200,000 to develop comprehensive plans for long-term fiscal sustainability. Grantees had complete discretion and independence to develop their own fiscal goals or targets and to propose recommended packages of solutions and timeframes for achieving them.[6]
The six Solutions Initiative plans contained specific policy recommendations, reflecting the groups' unique perspectives and priorities, and looked out 10 and 25 years into the future.[7] To make the plans more easily comparable, the Solutions Initiative program required that they be developed from a common starting point based upon the Congressional Budget Office's long-term projections. The Peterson Foundation also asked the Tax Policy Center and Barry Anderson (former acting director at CBO) to serve as independent scorekeepers, reviewing the plans and applying consistent analytical techniques to all of the proposals.[8]
The six Solutions Initiative plans were released at the 2011 Fiscal Summit.
(2012) Post-Election: The Fiscal Cliff and Beyond
On November 16, 2012, the Peterson Foundation hosted Post Election: The Fiscal Cliff and Beyond, which convened elected officials and policy experts to discuss implications of the impending fiscal cliff and potential paths forward within the context of the nation's political and economic challenges.[9] Participants included former Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling, Representatives Peter Roskam and Chris Van Hollen, former acting Director of the Congressional Budget Office Donald B. Marron Jr., and former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orzag.[10]
(2011) Republican Primary Debate Sponsorship
The Peterson Foundation was the official broadcast sponsor of the 2011 Bloomberg/Washington Post Presidential Debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.[11] The debate, the first of the 2012 presidential election season to focus entirely on the economy and fiscal issues, was moderated in a roundtable format by PBS' Charlie Rose, Washington Post political correspondent Karen Tumulty and Bloomberg TV White House correspondent Julianna Goldman.[12]
As part of its sponsorship, the Foundation aired a series of informational advertisements during the debate.[13] The ads featured children speaking to specific long-term fiscal challenges and the future effects of failing to address the U.S. debt.[14] The final ad concluded with a message from former Sens. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) encouraging congressional leaders to work together and develop a bipartisan plan that addresses the national debt.[15]
OweNo
In November 2010, the Peterson Foundation launched a $6 million national campaign to raise awareness about the U.S. debt titled "OweNo."[16] The campaign featured nationally broadcast television ads starring satirical presidential candidate named Hugh Jidette, (a play on "Huge Debt").[17][18]
I.O.U.S.A.
In August 2008, The Peter G. Peterson Foundation purchased the rights to I.O.U.S.A., a documentary that examined the history and events behind America's rapidly growing national debt.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Issues". The Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ a b "About Us: PGPF Highlights". Peter G. Peterson Foundation. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ a b "The Peter G. Peterson Foundation" (PDF). Foundation Center. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (15 February 2008). "Peter G. Peterson Commits $1 Billion Toward Solving America's Most Significant Economic Challenges" (Press release). New York: PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "About Us". pgpf.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ Paletta, Damian (2011-01-20). "Peterson Foundation Makes $1.2 Million in Grants for Debt-Reduction Proposals". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Wessel, David (2011-05-26). "Plans to Cut Deficit Reveal Varying Visions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Gleckman, Howard (May 25, 2011). "Six Think Tanks Tackle the Budget Deficit". Blog. Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "Peterson Foundation Convenes Nation's Lawmakers and Policy Experts to Discuss Solutions to the Fiscal Cliff and Long-Term Fiscal Challenges". PR Newswire. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ "Peterson Foundation Holds Fiscal Cliff Forum Today – Brings Together Lawmakers and Policy Experts to Discuss Solutions to Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Challenges". The Peter G. Peterson Foundation. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
- ^ "Bloomberg & The Washington Post Present 1st GOP Economic Debate" (Press release). New York: Bloomberg. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Rucker, Philip; Gardner, Amy (2011-10-12). "Mitt Romney solidifies his front-runner status in Republican debate". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "Peter G. Peterson Foundation to be Broadcast Sponsor of Bloomberg/Washington Post Republican Presidential Debate on the Economy, October 11 in New Hampshire" (Press release). New York: Peter G. Peterson Foundation. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Rothstein, Betsy (2011-10-10). "Foundation Uses Kids to Make Pols Feel Dumb – FishbowlDC". Mediabistro.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Peter G. Peterson Foundation (October 8, 2011). "Conclusion". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Wessel, David (2010-11-05). "Peterson Foundation to Launch 'OweNo' Anti-Deficit Ad Campaign". Real Time Economics. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Smith, Donna (2010-11-09). "Peterson Foundation launches OweNo campaign on U.S. debt". Tales from the Trail. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "Hugh Jidette for President". YouTube. 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
Further reading
- Harwood, John (July 14, 2008). "Spending $1 Billion to Restore Fiscal Sanity". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- Strom, Stephanie (November 6, 2008). "Some Philanthropists Are No Longer Content to Work Quietly". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- Peterson, Peter G. (March 29, 2009). "You Can't Take it with You". Newsweek.