Talk:American Enterprise Institute

Article heavily biased and far from neutral

This article is heavily biased and just looks as if it was written by someone of the AEI. Instead of neutral sources or academic research, it relies extremely on statements of the AEI, and even if neutral sources are used, there are lengthy explanations, why those sources have gotten it wrong. That's not how you write an Wikipedia article. For example just read the paragraph "Energy and environmental policy". It uses sources 61 and 69-78. With the exeption of 73 EVERY SINGLE SOURCE is from the AEI! Are you kidding me? Wikipedia is not external webspace nor a propaganda plattform for the AEI! Then of course it is no wonder that the paragraph argues that the AEI is pro-environmental with a bit shaky position on climate change. This is a complete distortion of reality. Because if you look into academic papers, the AEI is regarded as staunch anti-environmental and one of the leading climate change denial organization, which has launched disinformation campaigns for 2-3 decades now. However, if you only read and cite the AEI publications, then it's impossible to correctly or neutrally describe that organization. So I urge you to correct that, even it that could mean writing that article for new. Because in the present state it is a shame for Wikipedia. You cannot write an article about an neutral or correct article about an highly controversial organization, if you only let them speak for themselves and just copy all their talking points uncritically. There is a reason why Wikipedia articles should rely on neutral secondary sources. Andol (talk) 23:18, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

I agree. TrangaBellam (talk) 05:52, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

@Andol: and @TrangaBellam:, I encourage you to make the changes you believe are necessary. Butwhatdoiknow (talk) 06:40, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

By all means, please commence trimming the primary and UNDUE content. SPECIFICO talk 11:19, 30 July 2021 (UTC)

@Andol: wrote "Because if you look into academic papers, the AEI is regarded as staunch anti-environmental and one of the leading climate change denial organization, which has launched disinformation campaigns for 2-3 decades now." It is important that @Andol: edit this article to cite those "academic papers". Thanks for pointing this problem out for the readers. A reason I was looking up the AEI was because I was reading the NYT article "Trump’s Taliban Deal Showed the Folly of Personal Diplomacy", 2021.08.28, by "Ms. Schake, a foreign policy expert who worked for the National Security Council and the State Department during George W. Bush’s administration, is director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute." So if AEI were a conservative organization, as the title of the author indicated, her article, critical of Trump, would be highly valuable. The Brittanica's article American Enterprise Institute states that AEI "supports limited government, private enterprise, and democratic capitalism", which are conservative goals. Egm4313.s12 (talk) 22:46, 28 August 2021 (UTC)

User:SPECIFICO, why not stubify this and start rebuilding with secondary sources? TrangaBellam (talk) 18:02, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

That would be rather draconian. I think it can be improved from what currently exists. SPECIFICO talk 23:00, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

centre-right lol 2601:285:8280:6EC0:7478:9934:A692:761A (talk) 19:08, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

These problems remain. Will add cleanup templates. BobFromBrockley (talk) 11:21, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Have made loads of changes today which editors might want to review. Am stopping there, but think it needs more before removing the template. BobFromBrockley (talk) 14:45, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Request Edits March 2025

Hello, Wikipedia. This page contains inaccuracies and out-of-date information. As an employee of the American Enterprise Institute, I will adhere to COI policies as described here: Wikipedia:FAQ/Article subjects. I consulted with User:Brucemyboy1212 of WhiteHatWiki.

1. What I think should be changed:

In the Personnel section, please update the first paragraph:

Change from:

AEI's officers include Robert Doar, Danielle Pletka, Yuval Levin, Michael R. Strain, and Ryan Streeter.

Change to:

As of 2025, AEI’s officers include Robert Doar, Kori Schake, Yuval Levin, Michael R. Strain, and Matthew Continetti.

Reason:

The suggested update lists the officers as of 2025 per the organization’s website which is an acceptable source in this case under WP:PRIMARY.

2. What I think should be changed:

In the Board of Directors section, please update the citation at the end of the first paragraph:

Change from:

AEI's board is chaired by Daniel A. D'Aniello. Current notable trustees include:

Change to:

AEI's board is chaired by Daniel A. D'Aniello. As of 2025, notable trustees include:

Reason:

Replacing with an updated citation of the existing source to reflect the current board of directors. The updated citation will support the changes requested in items 3 and 4.

3. What I think should be changed:

In the Board of Directors section, please remove the following names from the list:

• Dick Cheney, former U.S. vice president
• John V. Faraci, chairman and CEO, International Paper
• Robert F. Greenhill, founder and chairman, Greenhill & Co.
• Bruce Kovner, chairman, Caxton Alternative Associates (former AEI chairman)
• Mel Sembler, chairman emeritus, Sembler Company

Reason:

The names are no longer listed as current members of the board of trustees per the organization’s own website, which is an allowable use of a primary source to confirm basic information [1], and is the same source currently used on the page, which I have updated with a new URL in citation #2.

4. What I think should be changed:

In the Board of Directors section, please add the following names to the list:

• Robert Doar, president, American Enterprise Institute
• Behdad Eghbali, managing partner and cofounder, Clearlake Capital
• Pat Neal, chairman of the executive committee, Neal Communities
• Ross Perot Jr., chairman, Hillwood Development Company
• Will Weatherford, managing partner, Weatherford Capital

Reason:

This list reflects an up-to-date list of notable trustees as established by the organization’s website, which is an allowable source under WP:PRIMARY and the same source currently used on the page, which I have updated with a new URL in citation #2.

Thank you for taking the time to review these requested edits. Purpletree34 (talk) 18:25, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

 Go ahead: I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page. Rusalkii (talk) 23:12, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

Request edits for March 2025

Hello, Wikipedia. I have suggestions to improve the accuracy of this page by clarifying that the AEI doesn’t take institutional positions. As an employee of the American Enterprise Institute, I will adhere to COI policies as described here: Wikipedia:FAQ/Article subjects. I consulted with User:Brucemyboy1212 of WhiteHatWiki.

1. What I think should be changed:

In the Research programs section, under the Economic policy studies subsection, please rewrite the fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences of the first paragraph:

Change from:

AEI supported President Bush's tax cuts in 2002 and claimed that the cuts "played a large role in helping to save the economy from a recession". AEI also suggested that further taxes were necessary in order to attain recovery of the economy. An AEI staff member said that the Democrats in congress who opposed the Bush stimulus plan were foolish for doing so as he saw the plan as a major success for the administration.

Change to:

In 2002, John H. Makin, an AEI resident scholar, published a report supporting President Bush’s tax cuts, writing that the cuts "played a large role in helping to save the economy from a recession". In the report, Makin suggested that further taxes were necessary in order to attain recovery of the economy and that Democrats in congress who opposed the Bush stimulus plan were foolish for doing so.

Reason:

The existing sentences are cited to a single primary document on the Wayback Machine called AEI's Organization and Purposes that gives a general overview of the organization. It doesn’t contain any information about Bush or tax cuts. Through a search, I found the quoted source and rewrote the sentences to attribute the claims to the author of the report, rather than to AEI as an institution. This is a common mistake throughout the article. AEI is a research institute that supports the works of hundreds of scholars. Just as a Harvard professor who publishes a paper is not speaking for Harvard as an institution, neither are the scholars at AEI speaking for it.

2. What I think should be changed:

In the Research programs section, under the Energy and environmental policy subsection, please remove the first sentence of the second paragraph:

When the Kyoto Protocol (designed to reduce carbon emissions globally) was approaching in 1997, AEI was hesitant to encourage the U.S. to join.

Reason:

The entire paragraph cites a single primary source, which does not support the sentence. The source is a 2007 essay written by AEI fellows and scholars that says nothing about the institution's position on the Kyoto protocol in 1997 or anytime thereafter. So not even the authors of the report are saying it, let alone AEI.

Thank you for taking the time to review. Purpletree34 (talk) 17:13, 27 March 2025 (UTC)