Marriage is critical, too. As Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis demonstrated a few years ago, “In general, a 10 percent increase in marriage among poor single mothers would reduce child poverty within that group by 7 percentage points.” A simple walk down the aisle is more effective at reducing poverty than dozens of expensive bureaucratic initiatives.

Of course, conservatives have endured setbacks.

We’re still trying to reform Social Security so that workers can control their own investments. And we must fix Medicare before it swallows most of the federal budget. Creating a free market for health insurance would be an excellent start.

Finally, we must convince lawmakers to cut spending. The federal budget is out of control, and we must make some difficult decisions today so we’ll be able to afford “safety net” programs down the road. Eliminating earmarks would be a solid step.

Changing the direction of the country is like changing the direction of a ship -- we have to push the wheel hard, for a long time, before we see any changes. The Heritage Foundation is dedicated to doing just that. Indeed, our official mission is to “build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish.” And our ongoing “Leadership for America” campaign is helping us reach that goal.

In the early 1980s, the Soviet newspaper Pravda admitted that “in a matter of just 10 years, The Heritage Foundation has covered a mind-boggling distance.” That helps explain why the original Pravda isn’t around to wish us a happy 35th. Too bad, because we believe our best days are still ahead.