In his own words…

01 What do you most miss about campus?
The energy. Whether in the classroom, dorms, or out at night, the campus had a vibrant energy and optimism.
02 What is your proudest UW achievement?
My analysis of Wisconsin’s welfare reforms won the award for the best political science senior thesis.
03 What advice would you offer to graduating seniors?
Natural intelligence is overrated and hard work is underrated. The hungry and motivated typically go further than intellectuals who try to coast on their IQs.
04 Who is your hero? Who or what inspires you?
I’m not sure I have one hero. I’m inspired by underdogs who overcome tremendous odds. It’s one reason I admit to enjoying cheesy “montage” movies.
05 What’s your favorite quote?
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi. After eight years in the Washington D.C. policy community, I’m finally into part three.
06 What’s next for you and your company / business / profession / service? What do you see happening or hope will happen in the next five years?
Hopefully I’ll be influencing economic policy in Washington, D.C., although I’ve long considered either running for Congress in Wisconsin, or starting a business that provides fact-based educational primers on all major government policy issues for reporters, students, researchers and voters.
07 What occupies your free time?
Hanging out with my wife, Sarah, family, and friends. I spend way too much time creating/analyzing spreadsheets for my fantasy baseball team. I rarely miss the Badgers, Brewers and Packers on TV. I read a lot, too. This free time will soon end when we have children.
08 What was your first job?
My first teenage job paid me $3.35 per hour as a restaurant dishwasher. In my professional career, my first job was as a policy adviser to former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson.
09 What’s your guilty pleasure?
My 1980s nostalgia. I love the politics, culture, music, movies, TV, even the fashion. I believe Western popular culture peaked in 1985. I’ve been told I should feel guilty and embarrassed about this.
10 If you could trade places with any person for a week, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
Tough question. The trite default is to pick a political leader I admire, such as Jefferson, Lincoln, Goldwater, or Reagan. A more creative answer would be Hitler in his youth, so I could commit suicide and save Europe from his crimes. In reality, until last year I’d have answered Brett Favre. Now, I’ll go with Ferris Bueller.

While many people dread the mere thought of doing their taxes, for Brian Riedl, thinking about taxes is something he loves to do … when he’s not pondering spending and deficits, that is. What else would you expect from the lead budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, the largest think tank in Washington, D.C.?

In his position, Riedl exposed the United States Senate’s attempt in 2006 to add $14 billion in irresponsible domestic spending (including a “railroad to nowhere” in Mississippi) to an Iraq funding bill. The media coverage he received for shedding light on this unrelated spending created a public backlash that forced Congress to strip the $14 billion from the bill.

That’s just one example of how Riedl has made an impact on the way the federal government manages our money. From being the first conservative budget analyst to break with President George W. Bush on runaway spending in 2002, to playing a key role in today’s economic debates going on in the White House and Congress, Riedl has established himself as a national leader on tax and spending issues.

In fact, Riedl’s federal budget research has been featured in front-page stories and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. He’s also discussed policy on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

And even though Riedl considers himself a committed libertarian/conservative, he credits UW-Madison for forcing him to question his beliefs, and teaching him how to reason, argue, and debate in an intellectually challenging environment. “The UW built character by providing a strong activist environment where I was in the political minority,” Riedl says.

Instead of butting heads with those he didn’t see eye-to-eye with on campus, he sought to build bridges by listening, reading, and gaining an understanding of how others approached politics. “I got to know the leaders of more liberal campus organizations,” he says. “And we discovered a lot of common ground in our beliefs.”

That search for common ground is now serving him well in Washington. “This approach has made me popular even with Democratic congressional offices and liberal think tanks,” Riedl says.

Along with educating the White House, Congress and the media about tax and spending issues, Riedl travels the country to educate the American people on the need for Social Security and Medicare reform as part of the bipartisan “Fiscal Wake-Up Tour.”