The foundation's logo |
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| Founder(s) | Peter G. Peterson |
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| Type | Political and economic think tank |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Location | 1383 Avenue of the Americas New York City, New York 10019 United States |
| Key people | Michael A. Peterson, Vice Chairman and Treasurer[1] |
| Focus | Personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, entitlements, health care, and taxes as of June 1, 2009. National budget, entitlements, energy, and education[2] |
| Endowment | US$1.0 billion |
| Website | pgpf.org |
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is an American foundation established in 2008 by Peter G. Peterson, a co-founder of the Blackstone Group – an American-based financial-services company. With an endowment of US$1 billion, it focuses on fiscal-sustainability issues related to federal deficits, entitlement programs, and tax policies.
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After the Blackstone's initial public offering in 2007, Peterson left with a $1.9 billion profit, about half of which he dedicated to the foundation.[3] Peterson recruited David M. Walker, then-Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office, as the foundation's president and chief executive officer.
In February 2009, the foundation launched a $1 million advertising campaign in advance of U.S. President Barack Obama's Fiscal Responsibility Summit on February 23, 2009, arguing that significant long-term structural deficits and growing debt burdens were threats to the U.S.[4]
In 2008, the foundation distributed I.O.U.S.A., a documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. The film debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was released on DVD on April 7, 2009.[5]
In December 2008, the foundation partnered with mtvU – a television channel that is available on college and university campuses across the U.S., as well as several digital cable packages – to create Indebted (indebted.com), a new campaign for college students that raises awareness about the dangers of personal and government financial irresponsibility and promotes action to help stop the fiscal crisis in the United States.[6]
Along with The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the foundation embarked in January 2009 on a project to modernize the outdated U.S. Congressional-budget process.[7]
To date, the foundation has awarded over $15 million in grants.[8] Recent grant recipients include the Center for the Study of the Presidency; the Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions at Emory University, located in Atlanta, Georgia; the Institute of Medicine; and the Common Good Institute.[citation needed]
In November 2010, the foundation launched a campaign about the U.S. debt. The $6 million campaign is titled "OweNo" and uses fictional characters in television advertisements to educate viewers and the public about the consequences of running large deficits and increasing the national debt. The foundation launched a commercial featuring a fictional presidential candidate named Hugh Jidette (a play on "Huge Debt") who wants nothing other than to increase national spending and debt.[9] Peterson himself said that the aim of the campaign is to "make the threat of unrestrained deficits tangible to ordinary Americans."[10]