Heather Higgins - Political Views

Political Views

Columnist Suzanne Fields, in an article discussing Higgins and IWF co-founder Lisa Schiffren, states that they "are mothers and relate to women who are not ideologically doctrinaire, but who are instinctively conservative on war and taxes."

In an interview with the Acton Institute, Higgins expressed her fundamental opposition to government social programs insofar as they compete with or replace private charities, stating,

Government programs pose serious problems for community institutions when they directly compete with those organizations which attempt to provide charity, while seeking to assist the individual beyond materialistic ends. Properly performed charity not only feeds you, but keeps your self-respect intact.'

In her review of Thomas DiLorenzo and James T. Bennett's book Unhealthy Charities: Hazardous to Your Health and Wealth, which examines the operation of health charities, Higgins argues that,

The problem is not that there are bad people running these organizations; almost anyone sitting on the board of such an organization would do the same thing in this environment. The problem is having centralized government funding in the first place. Reallocate the dollars, disperse the authority, create competing funding sources, and all these problems and false incentives will be instantly mitigated.

George magazine published an article in its 1995 first issue, entitled "The Heather Report," in which Higgins' views were summarized as "essentially libertarian," and in agreement with the idea that "Centralized government will matter less and less.... We are in the midst of a 'great shift' from 'elitist to populist,' from a machine 'which is controlled and planned' to an organic system that, 'following this new paradigm, has faith in people, faith in their capacities, faith in their choices.'" Higgins was characterized as a link between the "wide-eyed" academic community and "flinty" political practitioners.

In a 1995 Wall Street Journal column, Paul Gigot described Higgins as an "idea broker," explaining that she prefers not to be associated with political parties. Gigot included a quotation from her, in which she stated, "I am not really interested in a party.... If the Democrats had really been New Democrats, that would have been great. If these Republicans become Old Republicans, they'll lose me too." William Galston, a senior domestic policy adviser in the Clinton administration, said, "I see Heather as an intellectual and policy entrepreneur with some real moral commitments.... I don't see her as a sharply partisan figure, certainly not in the way she deals with people."