“What would you say ... you do here?” It’s not only an infinitely quotable question from Office Space, but also a question anyone who has worked at a think tank or public policy organization has been asked many times.

The Mackinac Center’s Executive Vice President Mike Reitz recently appeared on the “Great.com Talks With” podcast, titled “How to Balance Individual Freedoms With the Government's Role.” Unlike Tom Smykowski, Reitz had a better explanation for why the Mackinac Center exists and what it does.

“It really comes down to the question of ‘who decides?’ Who decides where you live? Who decides the way you worship? Who decides what you are going to pursue as a livelihood? Who decides where your children will go to school? Who decides what your tax dollars are going to pay for?” Reitz said. “Our framework is that it is valuable for individuals to have agency and the ability to make decisions for themselves and their families rather than a bureaucratic and oppressive centralized government. [...] That’s what we work for.”

Here’s the full conversation:

You can see the full podcast series here or download it through your favorite podcast app here.

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