CREATED 2/23/2013
 USAWARNING:
This site deals only with the corporate corruption of science, and makes no inference about the motives or activities of individuals involved.
There are many reasons why individuals become embroiled in corporate corruption activities - from political zealotry to over-enthusiastic activism; from gullibility to greed.
Please read the OVERVIEW carefully, and make up your own mind.
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OPINION ONLY
David Fand
[Prof]
— A minor cash-for-comment academic economist from Wayne State University. — David Fand is described in one paper as a 'banking economist'. He became recruited into a network of academic economists who secretly worked for the tobacco industry through the Tobacco Institute. The network was set up by James Savarese (working through his own company and Ogilvy & Mather PR) and Professor Robert Tollison of George Mason University.
Tollison and Savarese acted as contractors and cut-outs, using the Center for the Study of Public Choice at GMU, which supplied the adminstration staff. They recruited ultra-libertarian economics professors at the major state universities through the Public Choice Society and various regional economics societies.
The problem is not that these scientists were ultra-libertarians, and that many of them were Tea-Party disciples of Ayn Rand, Frederick Hayek and/or Ludwig von Misen. Nor was it necessarily made worse by the fact that the industry they helped prosper made a product that caused the premature death of about four million people globally each year.
The problem is that these academics - exploited their trusted position as a teacher at a university to promote dubious corporate view points contrary to the public good.
- hid their corporate links from the university administration and staff, and from the public which ultimately paid their salary.
- exploited the public trust in universities and their reputation for independent research, for their own financial benefit.
- allowed the tobacco industry to preview, edit and alter the reports they wrote specifically as industry propaganda.
- wrote op-ed articles which were planted on their local newspaper — misleading both the editors and the readers,
- maintained a claim of being 'independent academic/scientists' when writing to politicians or giving evidence at hearings, etc. after being coached by tobacco lawyers.
- generally acting secretly as tobacco industry lobbyists.
Over a hundred professors of economics at major American universities were successfully recruited by Tollison and Savarese, and many of them remained in service to the tobacco industry for many years. Others only served for a short time, and then dropped out voluntarily ... or were found to be unreliable or unsatisfactory.
They were not paid retainers or salaries, but were erratically commissioned to perform specified functions (usually for $1000 to $3000 per project) when the tobacco industry came under attack. Some earned much more — often in the $20-40,000 range — for producing 'independent research' which was customised to produce the desired results.
Payments were never made directly from the tobacco industry to the economists. Commissions were all carefully laundered through Savarese's company or Tollison's GMU operations — and so the economist (wrongly) assumed this would provide deniability if ever challenged over selling out their academic credibility to the merchants of death.
PUFF-PIECE
David Fand was a Mercatus Center scholar [GMU] who wrote extensively on current economic affairs. He was a visiting scholar to the Center of Public Choice at George Mason University and continued to serve as a research associate there. Prior to that, Dr. Fand was a professor of economics at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan from 1967-1990.
Dr. Fand has taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Minnesota, Southern Methodist University, the University of Chicago, Brown University, and Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Dr. Fand earned his PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1954.
[The Mercatus Center is substantially funded by Scaife and Koch Foundations, and financially supported by large corporate interests with political problems.]
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Some key documents • Professor David Fand, Department of Economics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, 313-642-2443
1954: PhD in Economics from University of Chicago
1967: Joined Wayne State University
1986: This is the Tollison/Saverese network list for 1986. It has 64 names, but it still doesn't cover all 50 States. Some States have two or three network members, so newspapers [and sometimes Congressmen] need to be specified for each member to ensure there is no accidental duplication.
Telephone numbers (office and home) are often included in case an urgent op-ed or ordinance hearing is needed. These are grouped by State: MICHIGAN
Professor Peter Boettke
Department of Economics, Oakland University, Rochester,MI 48309
Prof Lawrence Brunner
Department of Economics, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, 517-774-3820
Professor David Fand
Department of Economics, Wayne state University, Detroit, MI 48202, 313-642-2443
1987 June 9: The Tobacco Institute's Phase II - Excise Tax Op-Ed project involved an article-writing campaign by cash-for-comment economists was run by James Savarese & Associates. It was secretly directed by Robert Tollison from George Mason University with Savarese as the organiser and front.
In the mid 1987 period, the project was controlled by Jeff Rose [under Peter Sparber] at the Tobacco Institute and it focussed on defeating cigarette excise tax increases — and especially the threat of such taxes being 'earmarked' to bolster health care budgets.
Saverese and Tollison appear to have been in some form of loose partnership, because Anna Tollison, the wife of Bob Tollison, was employed by James Savarese & Associates to keep a record of the articles generated by their large contingent of academic economists and to organise payment.
She reported that "In sum, 41 economists were solicited to write editorials. We have publications in 20 states, 14 articles have been written and submitted, and 7 articles are still outstanding." [Others were in the offing] She included a long list of the economists who wrote the articles, the newspapers in which they were published, together with their circulation figures [eg. the potential number of readers they may have influenced] and the publication date. This economist is featured on her list.MICHIGAN,
Fand, [no publication details}, [circ.] ,,  
1987 June 22: The Tobacco Institute has been sent by Savarese a "Schedule of Payments — Excise Tax Op-Ed Project." It details the name of the cash-for-comment economist, the State, the targetted newspaper, and both past and current payments — with a separate column labled "Total Earned to Date". In MICHIGAN
Fand for Detroit News —Owed $1250, — Total to date $1250 Also there were payments to George Mason production staff ( Bob Tollison, Bill Shughart and Gary Anderson) for rewrites ($27,500) and a $5,800 payment for replacement of five economists (presumably because they were unproductive or unsatisfactoy). Carol Roberts was also paid for the final production. ($5,000)
Total here with expenses was $33,810 on top of the $40,525 paid to the network economists.
1987 Aug 21: Jeff Ross at the Tobacco Institute has prepared a consolidated summary of "Field Staff Evaluation of Economists" for his superiors, William Kloepfer and Peter Sparber. They have been asked to look at 34 of these academics. This includes an outline of their recent achievements. MICHIGAN
Professor David Fand Wayne State University Detroit, MI
Excise Tax Op Eds: None accepted for publication.
Economic Witness/Testimony: nil
Field Staff Contact: None. Field staff contacted previous economist.
Field Staff Evaluation: None.
1988 Feb 8: The Tobacco Institute to its Regional VPs and Directors. Attached is an updated list of The Institute's cadre of excise tax economists. These economists are available for testimony, one-on-one meetings with legislators, writing letters and op-ed pieces in the states in which they teach, as well as in any state you deem appropriate. This economist is listed.
1988 Dec: /E Tax Hearing Readiness document of the Tobacco institute [for the 1989-1990 legislative session] This lists the TI economist who are on tap as: - 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
- Other Network economists (see attached list)
It also includes the detailed list of 64 "Other Network economists" which is divided by States: MICHIGAN
Professor Peter Boettke, Department of Economics,
Oakland University, Rochester,Ml 48309
Prof Lawrence Brunner, Department of Economics
Central Michigan University. Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 517-774-3820
Professor David Fand, Department of Economics
Wayne State University. Detroit, MI 48202 313-642-2443
1989 Jan 11: The Tobacco Institute's Scientific Consultancy Activity 1988-89
This is an 80 page mixed bag of files dumped together [Well worth perusing]. The first document is from 1990 [ordered in reverse]
- Pages 3 to 23 begin with Witness Appearances in 1988 and 1989 involving both "Indoor Air Quality experts" who work for the Tobacco Institute, and three economists [Bob Tollison, Richard Wagner and Dwight Lee]
- Pages 24 to 31 Labor IAQ Presentations in 1988 and 1989 which involves key figures in the labor movement and a few "IAQ experts."
- Pages 32 to 39 IAQ/ETS conferences attended by tobacco industry disinformation experts in 1988 and 1989
- Pages 40 to 41 Academic and Unaffiliated Scientfic Witnesses
- Pages 43 to 53 Smokers Rights Legislation in various states.
- See page 54: Tobacco Institute "Confidential" memo on "Tax Hearing Readiness" which is their battle plan to counter earmaking of cigarette excise taxes to fund health programs. It lists a large number of organizations and a few congressmen who can be relied on to help. It also has both primary and secondary lists of economists from Tollison's "cash-for-comments" network willing to give testimony.
Economists: [Primary]
- 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 (resource: Prendergast/Solmon papers)
- Other Network economists [see Secondary attached list below]
"Due by mid-year is a book examining earmarking and "user fees" from a public choice perspective. The treatise will contain 8-10 chapters written by respected economists, including, Henri LePage and Nobel laureate James Buchanan." The Tobacco Institute's list of cash-for-comments professors and senior academics who were available to write op-eds and give evidence at Congressional hearings, etc. had grown extensively. MICHIGAN
Prof Peter Boettke, Oakland University
Prof Lawrence Brunner, Central Michigan University
Prof David Fand, Wayne State University
[TI budget papers show that each op-ed now earned the economists $3,000. Presentations to conferences earned them $5,000. Savarese was paid $70 to $100,000 pa for this project, and Ogilvy & Mather $250,000.] . See page 5
1989 April 18: Susan Stuntz (Issues Manager) at the Tobacco Institute memoes her boss Sam Chilcote. She is sending him material previously used for a two-day "Gerry Long" presentation. He wants to use it in a shorter one-day (unspecified) briefing session. [Gerald H Long was the CEO of RJ Reynolds who in 1988 had just taken over as Chairman of the Tobacco Institute's Executive Committee and wanted to make changes.]
It has the speaker's powerpoints which include a list of network economists divided on a State-by-State basis. Note the document is 117 pages
The outline for these Powerpoint slides is here in full, together with the politicians they were required to influence. It boasts that the.. Economists' Network 64 Strong [is] Targeted to Congressional Tax Writing Committees [and utilizing the] Production of Op-Eds on Federal Tax Policy. MICHIGAN — (Levin. Vander Jagt. Riegle)- Peter Boettke, Oakland Univ.
- Lawrence Brunner, Central Michigan Univ.
- David Fand, Wayne State Univ.
1990 May 7: The Tobacco Institute's "1991 Tax and Social Cost Plans" have sections on - "Social Costs" Hearings Readiness (preparation for fielding witnesses at Congressional hearings.) They list here the arguments that the Institute and its allies must be prepared to present.
- "Tax" Hearing Readiness (as above, but for excise tax increases, State and Federal)
- List of cash-for-comment network economists in each State.
This is an updated list with the current locations of each, with phone numbers and addresses.
MICHIGAN
Professor Peter Boettke
Department of Economics, Oakland University
Rochester,MI 48309
Prof Lawrence Brunner
Department of Economics, Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, M I 48859 517-774-3820
Professor David Fand
Department of Economics, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202 313-642-2443
1992 May 8: Lecture on "A Monetary Vietnam" presented at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEm6tSMFN0I
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WORTH READING
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