Non-profit

American Prospect

Cover of the February 1, 2006 issue of the political magazine The American Prospect (link)
Website:

prospect.org/

Location:

WASHINGTON, DC

Tax ID:

52-1617061

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $1,548,270
Expenses: $1,809,282
Assets: $314,277

Type:

Left-of-center publicaton

Formation:

1989

Co-Founders:

Robert Reich

Robert Kuttner

Paul Starr

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $1,548,270
Expenses: $1,809,282
Assets: $314,277

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The American Prospect is a publication that promotes left-of-center public policy through articles on its website and in print. Founded in 1989 by Robert Kuttner, Paul Starr, and former Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, the Prospect has received grants from a number of left-of-center organizations, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, William and Florda Hewlett Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 1

History

Founded in 1989 following the Democratic Party’s loss of three successive presidential elections, the American Prospect was created with the intention of restoring “plausibility and persuasiveness to American liberalism” by addressing national economic and social policy issues. 4 Shirley Williams, a prominent left-wing politician in the United Kingdom;10 In the article, Kuttner accused President Donald Trump and technology entrepreneur Elon Musk of efforts to allegedly cut funding for federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF). He later claimed in the article that “Even Hitler did not trash German science.” 10 A portion of his article stated:

“Hitler did seek to turn science to his own ends, to promote research on eugenics, new technologies for blitzkrieg war, sick medical experiments, and more efficient ways for the mass killing of Jews. Yet civilian German science, long a mark of German pride, also thrived. During the Nazi era, German scientists and engineers invented the first electron microscope, industrial-scale production of artificial fiber, pharmaceuticals such as advanced sulfa drugs, artificial rubber, and much more. Trump, in short, is even more nihilist than Hitler.” 10

Political Stances

In January 2024, the American Prospect claimed that the rise of companies like Uber was due to the “underinvestment” in public services and instead advocated more spending on things such as mass transit. 28 In 2015 and 2016, the Prospect reported about $1.9 and $1.7 million in total revenue each year, respectively. 29

In 2023, Prospect reported  $1,548,270 in revenue, $1,809,282 in expenses, and $205,409 in net assets. 32 In 2018, the Hewlett Foundation provided a $150,000 grant for a series of articles on neoliberalism. 32

Leadership

The Prospect was founded by Robert Reich, Robert Kuttner, and Paul Starr. After co-founding the Prospect, Reich served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. He co-founded Inequality Media Civic Action, a left-leaning digital media company, and is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Reich is also the chairman of Common Cause, a left-of-center advocacy group focused on advancing left-of-center policies. 0){ let parent=divs[divs.length-1].parentNode; let footer=divs[divs.length-1]; delete divs[divs.length-1]; for (let i=2; i