WION Edit: Is it right to outsource policy making?

The growing influence of Think Tanks in public policy-making is a problem because these groups have not covered themselves in glory.

Moreover, should policy making be outsourced? Is that even democratic and lawful?

On WION Edit, we explore these issues that are inherent in the conception and functioning of a modern Think Tank. Corporations are making huge benefits from their association with Think Tanks. The story of Lennar Corporation and Brookings Institution is just a sample.

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Powerful Think Tanks like American Enterprise Institute, Centre for Strategic and International Studies get funded by big corporates.

The likes of JP Morgan Chase, KKR, Hitachi, Coca-Cola and Lockheed Martin are all deeply entrenched in this game. As we speak, the democratic State Attorney General is investigating whether Exxon Mobil influenced policy decisions in its favour through prominent Think Tanks.

Be it elections, sugar tax, oil tax, cigarettes, even climate change or defence - Think Tanks have shown that their allegiance lies entirely with their donors. Over the years, they have published research articles which slammed the sugar-tax and rooted for the oil industry. A Think Tank called The Institute of Economic Affairs even said that sugar tax ruins soft drink manufacturers without causing any effect on overall sugar-consumption.

Another institute in South Africa called IRR recently conducted research on the same issue - sugar tax. Guess who funded it? Coca-Cola.

So should we dismiss all Think Tanks?

That would be a knee-jerk reaction. Let's look at the other side of this coin. Government needs outside opinion and independent view on various issues.

The problems are specific. You need domain experts to solve them and you need these experts to conduct independent, unbiased research.

That's the tricky part-independent and unbiased. Plus, democracy does not and should not function on the advice of shadow policy makers, representatives elected by people must debate and take policy decisions. So where do we draw the line?

The government must hire domain experts on a contractual basis to conduct such studies. Or the government could come up with progressive, unobtrusive laws to ensure that Think Tanks are transparent.

Go and check the books. Good audit is the solution. There is another solution that is suggested by politicians like Elizabeth Warren. She is rooting for a tax on lobbying. Though it may help in a modest way, it will not root out biased research with vested interests.

Independent Think Tanks add value to democracy,but reliance on Think Tanks comes with its own constraints. The question is - who is the Think Tank thinking for?

Fix them now. Because misleading information is called information corruption and this is a dangerous problem that could derail democracy.

(Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)