Matt Harrison
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As a high school student Matt Harrison acquired a strong desire to encourage citizens to become engaged in the democratic process in such a way as to make government more efficient, beneficial and responsive.
As a 19-year-old college sophomore Harrison organized the Prometheus Institute (www.ThePrometheusInstitute.org) to discover independent policy solutions to reduce the burden of government on the people and to creatively market these ideas to citizens in order to create the political demand for positive change.
Harrison is founder and director of the institute, a tax-exempt nonprofit entity that employees between three and 10 full-time and part-time staff and is funded by private donations and foundation grants. He has written more than 200 articles for Prometheus, has been a guest on several talk radio shows, and has guest blogged for CNN.
As part of his mission to engaged an informed citizenry as a force for change, Harrison wrote The American Evolution: How America Can Adapt to the Political, Economic and Social Challenges of the 21st Century. The book is a guide to help citizens understand and work through the challenges that face those who are helping transition onto the path of being a fulfilled American and to step up to a greater vision of their future.
Harrison was honored with the 2008 Freedom Award by the John Templeton Foundation for his work with the DIY Democracy and People for the American Dream projects. DIY Democracy is an iphone application that allows citizens to communicate with local, state and federal officials on issues that impact their lives and to network with other concerned citizens. People for the American Dream is a special initiative to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs by modeling successful entrepreneurs and by offering resources and support.
A native of California, Harrison graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Political Science and this year will complete requirements for a joint law degree (JDD) and Master of Public Policy degree at University of Southern California.
Recent Activity
A new movie on Charles Darwin was released in February 2010 while November 24, 2009 was the 150th anniversary of Darwin's publication of "The Origin of Species". The writings of Darwin have important applications to Americans as we face difficult challenges in health care, education, alternative energy, and coping with a sick economy.
Kids may think that going to school is like spending time in prison, but most adults don't think that way. For those adults, here's 10 reasons why public schools are like prisons.
In this panoramic landscape of abject government failure, political liability should spread across the generations. Intransigent leaders from the Silent Generation have delayed social and political progress. The apathy of voters from Generations X and Y has entrenched the power of reckless and incompetent politicians. But given their power, influence and rhetoric, the leaders hailing from the Baby Boomer generation have been the most disappointing in their contributions to our current mess.
The difficulty in determining who is an enemy combatant in this 21st century war is exactly why we need review of the clearly imperfect decisions of our military and Commander in Chief. The new battlefield is not static, its soldiers are not uniformed, and as I'm sure we'd all concede, neither Congress nor George W. Bush is omniscient.
Recognizing America's foreign policy mistakes is not letting the terrorists win. It is simply an intelligent recognition of reality and our own limitations. We should learn from history and ensure that unlike Rome, France, and Great Britain, our glorious empire will not buckle under the weight of ill-advised imperial ventures.
For conservatives to still whine about media bias is laughable. Yes, CNN probably is and was always slightly biased toward the Democrats. So the solution is and was always to let the market create a pro-Republican news channel, and let the two compete for viewers. Now that the Republicans have Fox News, can we shut up about media bias, already?
Allow cities to implement local socialism and you achieve two things to fix this quandary. a) You make progressives stop whining on National TV, since they finally can create the Worker's Paradise they so desire in their own backyard, and b) You prove the superiority of market capitalism, once the local tax base in Progressivopolis collapses down to nothing, Atlas Shrugged style. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Despite the attempt of the American car lobby to convince us otherwise, the laws of the universe apply to them as much as everyone else. The evolutionary selection process of the marketplace must be heeded. To survive, Detroit doesn't need the sympathy of patriotic Americans or the fiscal coddling of Congress. They just need to make good cars again.
The Bush Administration's blind allegiance to aggression over knowledge perverts not only the lessons of Sun Tsu, but also the American Founders' original vision of a nation seeking only peaceful trading ties, the avoidance of entangling political alliances, and a national defense to respond powerfully only when directly provoked.
Rather than punish the wealthy, America should be concerned with helping the poor meet these challenges and become rich themselves. To do so will require education. But to ensure the education is up to the task, competition and free choice must triumph over bureaucracy and regulation.
