Gary M. Anderson
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Dr. Gary M. Anderson was Professor of Economics at the California State University - Northridge and a tobacco lobbyist in his spare time. He was on the periphery of the leadership group of the Cash for Comments Economists Network. He was also a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. [2]
Anderson was part of the core group around Robert Tollison at the Center for the Study of Public Choice which acted as the network's laundry organisation to wash the payments made for specific projects. As such he was also given special payments, for instance speaking engagements: in May 1985, for instance, he was paid a speaker's fee of $2450. Later in the 1989-90 period he joined the Independent Institute which seems to have taken over the administration of the network.
| HOW THE NETWORK WORKED |
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The Cash-for-Comments Economists' Network was run by Savarese through a partnership with Professor Robert D Tollison who used the staff and facilities of the Center for Study of Public Choice at George Mason University to prove cut-out and organisation services. They developed and maintained a network of Economics Professors with at least one on tap in virtually every US state. As one Professor transferred or dropped out (there was a regular turn-over) a new one would be recruited in that State. In all, about 130 university professors were involved in the period 1985-1995, and costs ran to $3 million/year at a time when professor's salaries were in the $30-40,000 pa range. An active network member at a State university could almost double his normal salary. The main focus of the group was to write commissioned op-ed articles on a subject determined by the Tobacco Institute. The draft article would then pass back through the network to TI staff, who were essentially public relations experts. Here they were 'improved' and refined; then sent to the Institute's outside lawyers for vetting. Modified articles then returned to the professor, who would then send them to a designated State newspaper as if they were his 'independent expert opinion'. The professors received a base amount for writing and bonuses for successfully planting the article on the newspaper. Some, but not all, received a small (eg.$1000) annual retainer.[3]] Published papers would also be copied by the professor and sent to his local Federal Representative and Senator (for a further bonus). Sometimes there were special commissions, but generally the work was writing op-eds and LTE's where they were paid just on results (varied from about $700 to $3000 over the years). Network members could also be called upon to provide witness services and promote the cigarette companies' political/economic line at local ordinance or State legislative hearings. An active professor of economics at a State University could almost double his salary with these activities and with some further appearances, for instance, speaking on the importance of cigarettes in economic terms at major economic conferences, etc. |
| Cash for Comments Economists Network & Robert Tollison & James Savarese & Network Document Index |
Documents & Timeline
1984 Nov 20 Ogilvy & Mather PR (O&M) is organising for the Tobacco Institute the first economists forum at the Public Choice Society meeting in New Orleans, Feb 21-23. (Note: at this time James Savarese worked for O&M's PR division)
The topic would be "Public Choices About Tax Reform." William F. Shugart II, an economist from Clemson University, would chair the panel. Those who would present papers would be:
- Thomas Borcherding, from Claremont Graduate School. Subject: "Tax Reform and Simplification: A Public Choice Perspective."
- Harold Hochman, from City University of New York. Subject: "The Value-Added Tax: Do We Need Another Excise Tax?"
- Fred McChesney, Emory University Law School. Subject: "Tax Reform in a Rent-Seeking Perspective: The Role of Interests."
- Gary Anderson, an economist from George Mason University, would be the discussant.
Bob Tollison would be responsible for getting us on the program. He and Jim Savarese would work with each of the people to ensure that each paper contained a clear anti-excise tax message. Shughart and Anderson would also mention excises in their presentations. We will be obtaining CV s from Anderson and Shugart, who Jim and Bob Tollison know well. The other economists have all worked with us before.
Savarese's estimate of the costs for running this Economists' Forum project with the three papers at $2,000 each and Gary Anderson with $1000, plus travel, hotel, administration, etc. was $16,000. [4]
- This appears to be the first operation of what was to become the Cash for Comments Economists Network
1990 May 7 The Tobacco Institute's CONFIDENTIAL
"1991 Tax and Social Cost Plans"
(Sent to Ogilvy & Mather, James Savarese, and Mike Forscey (LMC & C4C Economists)
Resources Economists:
- Bill Orzechowski, Tobacco Institute
- Robert Tollison, George Mason University
- Richard Wagner, George Mason University
- Dwight Lee, University of Georgia, Athens
- Michael Davis, Southern Methodist University
- Gary Anderson, California State at Northridge
- William Prendergast [5]
1994 Aug A Alexis de Tocqueville report "The EPA and the Science of ETS" has been funded by the Tobacco Institute. The author was Adjunct Scholar Kent Jeffreys, and the senior reviewer was S. Fred Singer, a Professor of Environmental Science (on leave from the University of Virginia) and a Senior Fellow at the Institute. The final report was scheduled to be complete mid-June and it would be entitled "Science and Environmentalism".
A confidential memo by the president of the Tobacco Institute, Samuel D. Chilcote, Jr., described how this secret tobacco-funded report was being used in legislative lobbying:
This morning Reps. Peter Geren (D-TX) and John Mica (R-FL) held a press conference announcing the release of a study by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution that evaluates the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) scientific principles used to justify policy decisions. Geren and Mica were joined by Cesar Conda, executive director of the de Tocqueville Institution and coauthors Dr. S. Fred Singer and Kent Jeffreys." [6]
"Press coverage included States News Service, Stephens Publishing and Cable Congress. Several congressional staffers also attended, copies of the Geren/Mica "Dear Colleague" letter, press release and the study are enclosed."
This report is part of a larger coordinated effort to blindside the EPA. A "panel of experts" was assembled to "peer-review" the report. Naturally the majority were people with identified links to tobacco-funded institutes and think tanks, and some who share the same small set of funders.
Academic Advisory Board:
- Dr. Gary Anderson, Professor of Economics, California State University-Northridge
- Dr. Nancy Bord Visiting Scholar The Hoover Institution Stanford University
- Dr. Gordon L. Brady Associate Professor and Director Environmental Studies Sweet Briar College
- Dr. Jeffrey Clark Professor of Economics University of Tennessee-Chattanoogna
- Dr. Michael Darby Professor of Economics and Director John M. Olin Center for Policy University of California, Los Angeles
- Dr. Robert Ekelund Lowder Eminent Scholar Auburn University
- Dr. Michael Gough Project Director Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
- Dr. William Hazeltine Environmental Consultant
- Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gosnell Professor of Economics Rochester Institute of Technology
- Dr. Dwight R. Lee Ramsey Professor of Economics University of Georgia
- Dr. Michael Marlow, Professor of Economics, California State Polytechnic University-San Luis Obispo
- Dr. Thomas Gale Moore Senior Fellow The Hoover Institution Stanford University
- Dr. Malcolm Ross Research Mineralogist U.S. Geological Survey
- Dr. S. Fred Singer Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences University of Virginia and President Science and Environmental Policy Project
- Dr. Gerhard Stöhrer Director of Chemical Risk Program Science and Environmental Policy Project and former Department Head Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
- Dr. Mark Thornton Professor of Economics Auburn University
- Dr. Robert D. Tollison Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Director Center for the Study of Public Choice George Mason University
- Dr. Richard Vedder Professor of Economics University of Ohio
- Dr. Richard Wagner Professor of Economics and Chairman Department of Economics George Mason University
Senior Staff and Contributing Associates
Rachael Applegate, Bruce Bartlett, Merrick Carey, Cesar Conda, Gregory Fossedal, Dave Juday, Felix Rouse, Aaron Stevens
Ten of the 19 names of the Academic Advisory Board are members of the Cash for Comments Economists Network. At this time S. Fred Singer was a Senior Fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute, but they chose not to credit him with such close links.
These attempt to link the tobacco industry's problems to arguments about climate change were part funded by the Olin Foundation, Koch Family Foundations and Scaife Foundations.
- 20 page Draft document sent to the Tobacco Institute [8]
- The release about the final report (August 11 1994) It is now an attack on "environmental regulation" -- ETS, radon, pesticides and agricultural regulation, and the Superfund toxic waste cleanup program ... and based, supposedly, on the quality of the science used by the EPA. [9]
- The final report was called Science, Economics, and Environmental Policy: A Critical Examination.' It had the approval of the Cash for Comments Economists Network. [10]
