What are "think tanks"? What do they do or produce? What is their function?

Question

I keep hearing about "Washington think tanks" in the news and was wondering what they do and what their function is.

Answer 1

Think tanks are composed of experts - who do research and make recommendations - They are useful to politicians who want to be able to point to an expert who agrees with the politician's position on an issue. Thank tanks may appear to be academic institutions, but they often have clear biases - For example, the Heritage Foundation is a well known conservative think tank. See http://www.heritage.org

Political contributions are not tax deductible - but a contribution to a think tank probably would be.

Answer 2

A "think tank" is a group of like minded very intelligent thinkers who give their opinions and have a track record at doing it.

The idea of a "think tank" is for original research to be done and some do, but some are just political mills that put out opinions.

Consumer Reports is a famous 'think tank" that tests consumer goods and publishes a nonprofit magazine with the results. Because they are nonprofit they can tell the truth about products that fail, and they do. When a car gets a failure grade from Consumer Reports things in the auto industry happen. Remember, those SUVs and all the roll-overs. Consumer Reports was one of the first "think tanks" to point this out and it caused a major change in the industry.

When you have a record like that then you are a trusted think tank.

The Iowa Caucus is an odd think tank. In every Presidential Election since the Iowa Caucus began the winner was a candidate who was in the Iowa Caucus. We don’t know why the voters in Iowa seem to represent the entire United States so well, or if it is a statistical anomaly. Until then Iowa is the most important first stop of the official campaign trail. Think tanks work like that until they are proved wrong.

Think Tanks are also groups formed by lobbyists to put forth an opinion; like smoking cigarettes is good for you. That was the work of the Tobacco Lobbyists and the salesmen of Madison Avenue. But, they had entire organizations swearing that smoking cigarettes did not harm to your health for years and years.

A think tank is only as good as its source and its goal.

Answer 3

The big growth in think tanks came at the beginning of the 70s when the far right noticed that their ideas had been completely discredited in academia, so they needed parallel institutions to give their ideas an air of legitimacy and seriousness.

While their work is often questionable in terms of scholarship, they do an excellent job of framing issues--or to use the older, less polite term, propaganda.

The right wing think tanks have become so successful at selling their ideas that Democrats are finally catching on and setting up some of their own.

Answer 4

you have some pretty good answers , but I did notice that no one mentioned that there are think tanks that are political and many of them constantly connive and plan how their fellow mainly Zionist will take over the world such as the Bilderburgers , Rothschilds, Rockefeller's. Chase's and several others who are very rich and plan to have you and I as their slaves in the future, they are not planning for a better world for us as they claim, only for them selves,look into the tri lateral comm. the A.D.L. the J,D.L, council on foreign relations, then go on to other sites you will find links to such as the Federal Reserve, etc, with a little research you will be amazed. you will notice they want a one world gov, and who do you think they want to run it,? any one who thinks a one world gov, would be better has not been into any third world countries, and if you want this country to join the ranks of the third world, you are either crazy , or a zionist.

Answer 5

They are groups that brainstorm about things.

Typically what happens is a group of people that have a "specialty" in an area will be gathered together and asked a series of questions. The questions will have to do with them figuring out how to do something, get something to work, or the plausibility of something. The group will then debate, think and calculate if something is able to work, how it is able to work, or if it is something worth doing at all.

Hope this answers your question. . .

Answer 6

Group of people that sit around thinking stuff up. More less five of your buddies think of better ways for the game to play. Tired of seeing the same old tackel, maybe they should invert the guy so that it looks better.

Take a idea or a product and look for ways to improve on it.

Answer 7

Think tank supplies Point of View to decision makers.

Answer 8

They give us new bullsh*t! Smells better and is half the price!