The Independence Institute (II) is a

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The group's stated mission "is to empower individuals and to educate citizens, legislators and opinion makers about public policies that enhance personal and

economic freedom Economic freedom, or economic liberty, is the ability of people of a society to take economic actions. This is a term used in economic and policy debates as well as in the philosophy of economics. One approach to economic freedom comes from the l ...

History

The Independence Institute was founded in 1985 by John Andrews, a former Republican state legislator from Colorado. Since 1999, Independence Institute has been led by Jon Caldara. File:Independence Institute (Denver, Colorado).jpg, A view of the entrance, including the sign and the statue of Jefferson.

Policy positions

The Independence Institute is a proponent of

educational choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to Public school (government funded), public schools. The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number o ...

and

charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

, as well as the right to bear arms in accordance with the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

. II supported school board members in

Douglas County, Colorado Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 357,978. The county seat is Castle Rock. Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, metropolitan statistica ...

who became the majority there in 2009 and subsequently curtailed the power of the teacher's union, expanded school choice, and attempted to initiate a voucher system. However, a new school board majority elected in 2017 has promised to reverse many of these policies. Prior to winning election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

as a Democrat,

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 200 ...

wrote a white paper for the institute about privatizing the U.S. Postal Service. Because of the Institute's pro Second Amendment stance, it supports

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

, including the right of

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pre ...

. In 2013, II opposed Amendment 66, an unsuccessful ballot measure which would have increased the state's income tax by $950 million (which would have begun the hollowing out of Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR)). The organization supported the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), which was passed by Colorado voters in 1992. II opposed the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

. The Institute supports the use of

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website

Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops st ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

)
EDIRC listing
(provided by RePEc) Think tanks established in 1985 Political and economic think tanks in the United States Libertarian think tanks Libertarian organizations based in the United States 1985 establishments in Colorado

History

Policy positions

See also

References

External links