Martin Anderson (economist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Martin Anderson
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Anderson in January 1981
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| Born | August 5, 1936 Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | January 3, 2015 (aged 78) |
| Occupation | Economist, advisor |
| Years active | 1961–2015 |
Martin Anderson (born August 5, 1936 – died January 3, 2015) was an American expert in economics, an author, and an important advisor to U.S. leaders like Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
During the Nixon's time as president, Martin Anderson helped end the military draft. This meant that people no longer had to join the armed forces by law. Instead, the U.S. military became an all-volunteer force. When Ronald Reagan was president, Anderson helped create the first economic plan that became known as “Reaganomics.” He believed strongly in free-market capitalism, which means businesses should operate with very little government control. He was also influenced by libertarianism, a belief that people should have a lot of individual freedom.
Anderson wrote many books about topics like how cities are rebuilt (called urban renewal), military staffing, and changing welfare programs. He also wrote about his experiences advising presidents Reagan and Nixon. Later, he helped edit books about Reagan's writings and co-wrote books about Reagan's efforts to reduce nuclear weapons with the Soviet Union.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Martin Anderson was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 5, 1936. He was the only child of Ralph, a dairy farmer, and Evelyn, a nurse. He was a top student in school and even became student body president.
In 1953, he received a special scholarship to Dartmouth College to study engineering. He graduated in 1957 with summa cum laude honors, which means he finished with the highest possible grades. He stayed at Dartmouth to earn two master's degrees, one in business and one in engineering.
In 1958, Anderson met Annelise Graebner, who would later become his wife in 1965. They both cared about conservative politics and worked together on the campaign for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. They also became friends with the famous writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. Through Rand, they met economist Alan Greenspan, who later started his career in the U.S. government.
Career Highlights
Starting in Academia
In 1959, Anderson became an assistant to the dean at the Thayer School of Engineering, and that summer, he even became the acting dean. Later that year, he received a special grant to study economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, he became very interested in urban renewal, which is about rebuilding and improving city areas. This became the topic of his advanced degree.
In 1962, he earned the first Ph.D. (a very high academic degree) in industrial management ever given by the MIT Sloan School of Management. After graduating, he started his career teaching and writing.
On July 1, 1962, Anderson began working as a professor of finance at Columbia Business School. That same year, his important paper, The Federal Bulldozer: A Critical Analysis of Urban Renewal, 1949–1962, was published. In this paper, he argued that urban renewal programs were not working well. He said they didn't get rid of slums (poor, crowded city areas) or create affordable housing. Instead, they often replaced slums with more expensive homes, forcing poor people to move somewhere else.
His book caused a lot of debate and was even criticized by some of his professors at Columbia University. However, it also made Martin Anderson known as an expert on urban renewal. This attention led him to meet Richard Nixon. In 1965, Anderson became an associate professor at Columbia, one of the youngest teachers to earn a permanent position there at age 28.
Advising President Nixon
Martin Anderson played a key role as an advisor during the 1968 Nixon presidential campaign. He also helped Nixon's team get ready for the White House and served in the Nixon administration. He was also the head of a special group that looked into creating an all-volunteer armed force.
Working on Nixon's Campaign
In 1967, Nixon's staff invited Anderson to join the presidential campaign as a policy advisor. He wrote a paper about ending the military draft and creating an all-volunteer army. Nixon liked these ideas and talked about them in interviews. Along with other experts, Anderson is given credit for helping to end military conscription (the draft) in the United States.
In 1968, Anderson joined Nixon's campaign, focusing on issues within the U.S. and the economy. He was Nixon's main advisor on urban affairs, helping to create plans for low-income neighborhoods. He supported the idea of "Black capitalism," which encouraged African Americans to own more businesses.
Anderson's wife, Annelise Graebner Anderson, also worked on the campaign. During this time, Anderson met important economists like Milton Friedman and Arthur F. Burns, who became his lifelong mentors.
In the Nixon White House
Martin Anderson became a special assistant to the president and worked closely with Arthur F. Burns. They wrote a guide for the new government leaders (called cabinet secretaries) to help them understand the administration's goals.
During Nixon's first year as president, Anderson focused on welfare policy. In 1970, his role changed to special consultant to the president for systems analysis. In 1968, Richard Nixon had promised to end the draft. After becoming president, he formed a special group to study an all-volunteer military. In 1970, this group recommended replacing the draft. Nixon then asked Anderson's team to review these findings and check the costs.
In March 1971, Anderson left the White House to return to teaching and research. The national draft officially ended on January 27, 1973.
Advising Ronald Reagan
Anderson was the only full-time economic policy advisor for both the 1976 and 1980 Reagan presidential campaigns. After Reagan won, Anderson advised during the White House transition. In the Reagan administration, he was an assistant to the president for policy development. After leaving the White House in 1982, he continued to advise Reagan on various important boards.
Working on Reagan's Campaigns
In 1975, Anderson was invited to join the Reagan presidential campaign as an advisor on foreign policy, defense, and economic issues. He traveled with Reagan and was present at many key moments.
Anderson set up meetings between Reagan and the country's top economists. These meetings led to the creation of six economic policy groups with 74 economists. Between the 1976 and 1980 campaigns, Anderson continued to find experts and introduce them to Reagan. By the 1980 campaign, there were 329 advisors in 23 different groups.
In March 1979, Anderson took a break from his research job to join the Reagan campaign full-time. He was in charge of developing and coordinating policy ideas. In August 1979, Anderson wrote three important papers on economic policy, energy policy, and foreign and defense policies.
His first paper on economics argued that inflation (when prices go up and money buys less) was the biggest problem for the country. He said that the main cause was the government spending more than it earned (the deficit). He suggested that the best way to fix this was to slow down government spending and help the economy grow.
Anderson's third paper on foreign policy suggested a new missile defense system. This idea later became known as Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.
In the Reagan White House
After Reagan won the 1980 election, Anderson helped with many important decisions. He created a detailed process for new government leaders to make sure they followed the policies Reagan had promised during his campaign. He also gave each leader a notebook with policy positions for their area.
In the White House, Anderson was appointed assistant to the president for policy development, focusing on domestic and economic policy. He became known as the "conscience of the administration" because he insisted that policy decisions matched Reagan's campaign promises and personal beliefs. Anderson said his goal was "to keep the policy effort focused on those things that Reagan wanted done."
Anderson also helped create the President's Economic Policy Advisory Board. This board included famous economists like Arthur F. Burns, Alan Greenspan, and Milton Friedman. While some thought the board had little influence, Anderson believed it was important in pushing the administration to cut taxes and reduce government rules (called deregulation).
In 1981, President Reagan formed the Military Manpower Task Force, and Anderson was a member. This group looked at how the all-volunteer armed force was working. After 14 months, they concluded that the all-volunteer military was successful.
In March 1982, Anderson left the White House to return to his work in academia and writing.
Hoover Institution
In 1971, after leaving the Nixon administration, Anderson joined the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Here, he researched economic and political topics. In 1976, he published a book about military conscription. He also became a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Anderson left both in 1975 to join the Reagan presidential campaign.
When he returned to the Hoover Institution in 1976, Anderson helped put together a book of essays and policy ideas called The United States in the 1980s, published in 1980. This book was even called "the real blueprint" of the Reagan administration by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Anderson also published Welfare: The Political Economy of Welfare Reform in the United States (1978), which used his experiences working on President Nixon's and President Gerald Ford's welfare plans. In 1979, Anderson left the Hoover Institution again to work on the Reagan campaign and in his administration.
When Anderson returned to the Hoover Institution in 1982, he still had influence in the Reagan administration through his work on various boards and his writings. He published several more books, including The Military Draft: Selected Readings on Conscription (1982) and An Economic Bill of Rights (1984).
In his later years, Anderson focused on writing and editing books about Ronald Reagan. With his wife, Annelise Graebner Anderson, and another co-editor, he used Reagan's many writings to publish a series of books about Reagan's ideas. As more secret documents became available, Anderson and his wife published two more books about Reagan's efforts to negotiate with the Soviet Union to prevent nuclear war.
In 1998, Anderson was named the Keith and Jan Hurlbut Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Death
Martin Anderson died on January 3, 2015, in Portola Valley, California, at the age of 78.
Republican National Conventions
Between 1968 and 2004, Martin Anderson attended every Republican National Convention, which is where the Republican Party officially nominates its presidential candidate and sets its platform. He played important roles in several of them. In 1972, he was the main writer for the Republican Party's official platform (their list of beliefs and goals). In 1976 and 1980, he advised Reagan and helped oversee the platform committee. He helped write compromise language for the Equal Rights Amendment part of the party platform in 1980. He was a consultant for the Republican Platform Committee in 1984 and 1988. He was also a delegate (a representative) in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. In 2000, he was the chairman of a subcommittee that worked on the internet parts of the party platform.
Other Important Roles
Martin Anderson served on many other important groups and committees throughout his career:
- From 1972 to 1975, he was a Public Interest Director for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
- From 1973 to 1976, he was a member of the Rockefeller Commission on Critical Choices for Americans.
- In November 1974, Anderson led a special White House group that reviewed President Ford's plan for welfare reform.
- From 1974 to 1976, he was a member of the Council on Trends and Perspectives, an advisory group for the US Chamber of Commerce.
- From 1985 to 1992, he was a trustee and secretary of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. This group was in charge of choosing a location and architect for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
- In February 1993, he was appointed to the California Governor's Council of Economic Advisers, which helped pass welfare reforms and crime bills.
- In July 1997, he was appointed to the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, which studied why college education was becoming more expensive.
- In 1998, the Congressional Policy Advisory Board was formed at Anderson's request, with him as chairman. This board connected members of Congress with non-government policy experts.
- In 2001, he was appointed to the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, which advised the Secretary of Defense.
- In September 2004, he became a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Council of Economic Advisers.
- From 2005 to 2006, he was a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation.
Selected Writings
Martin Anderson wrote and edited many books:
- The Federal Bulldozer: A Critical Analysis of Urban Renewal: 1949–62 (1967)
- Conscription: A Select and Annotated Bibliography (1976)
- Welfare: The Political Economy of Welfare Reform in the United States (1978)
- The Military Draft: Selected Readings on Conscription (1982)
- An Economic Bill of Rights (1984)
- Revolution: The Reagan Legacy (1988)
- Impostors in the Temple (1992)
He also coauthored books with Annelise Graebner Anderson:
- Reagan's Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster (2009)
- Ronald Reagan: Decisions of Greatness (2015)
He edited:
- Registration and the Draft (1982)
And coedited with Annelise Graebner Anderson and Kiron Skinner:
- Reagan, in His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America (2001)
- Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan (2001)
- Reagan: A Life in Letters (2003)
- Reagan's Path to Victory: The Shaping of Ronald Reagan's Vision: Selected Writings (2004)
