USA

WARNING: 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.

OPINION ONLY

Lowell Gallaway was only ever a minor operator in the cash-for-comment academic economists network, but that was mainly because his associate, Richard Vedder, was already a core member of the team and so occupied the position for the State of Ohio. They jointly performed many services for the cigarette companies

Gallaway's CV is fascinating. Virtually all of his listed research grants come from Scaife-, Coors- or Koch-supported right-wing think-tanks and policy institutes: Hudson Institute — Heritage Foundation — Alexis de Tocqueville Ins — Institute for Policy Innovtion — American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)— Pacific Research Institute — National Center for Policy Analysis — Olin Institute — Independent Institute — Citizens for a Sound Economy (now FreedomeWords) — National Chamber Foundation, etc. etc including BOBCAT (a Philip Morris front).

It's almost as if he has made a career as a lap-dog for the ultra-libertarian billionairres and their compliant think-tanks.

The idea was simply that the academic 'sleepers' would be available on a cash-for-services basis when needed to counter attempts to increase excise taxes, or to ban public smoking, or just to appear as independent experts at Congressional hearings and promote the industry causes.

Economist were by far the most useful academics to the tobacco industry because the distinction between economics and politics was never clear: so support of the cigarette companies could always be claimed as support for free-market economics ... the rights of individuals to make public choices ... small government ... or even the first Amendment to the Constitution.

The economist always claimed to be 'independent' 'professionals' and ' academics' from some credible university, and never revealed the source of their funding in their op-eds or letters-to-the-editor.

If ever put under cross-examination, they must be able to claim with weasel-word precision, that they had never received a penny from the tobacco industry. Therefore all payments were laundered, either through tobacco industry lawyers (usually Covington & Burling), the principle organisers, James Savarese & Associates, or through Bob Tollison's Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason University.

The aim was to have, in each State, at least one academic economist, one academic lawyer, and one academic from a business management, business law, marketing or advertising discipline willing to jump into action and write op-ed articles for their local newspaper, or to appear at local ordinance or legislative hearings. Copies were always sent to a local Congressman, who sat on some important (to the tobacco industry) committee.

The academics were always expected to wave their own and their university's credentials vigorously, and loudly proclaim their "independence' from any crass-commercial motives. And those who could boast of being 'non-smokers' were especially prized — since without this addiction, their non-dependent-on-tobacco status was thought to be proved beyond any doubt!

For more background information on how Savarese, Tollison and the Tobacco Institute operated these networks, see:

• economists and other networks
  
• cash-for-comment academic economists
  
• Robert D (Bob) Tollison
  
• James M (Jim) Savarese
  
• Savarese's letter to op-ed writers.
  
• George Berman's original idea

Some key documents

• Professor of Economics at Ohio University. He was both an academic and a business associate of Richard Vedder at the same university; they often shared the task of researching and writing material (studies and op-eds) for the Tobacco Institute. David Klingaman, also at Ohio University and another network member, later joined them in some of their tobacco industry studies.

    This group also established (1994-95) their own think-tank, the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions.. There are 101 documents in the tobacco archives which refer to this organisation.

    The 1995 Philip Morris regional report from Columbus Ohio records numerous 'donations' made to Ohio organisations including $10,000 to the Buckeye Institute for 'Policy'. and in the 1996 Budget year they provided two further donations of $2,500 each to the Buckeye Center in Dayton

"To provide renewed general support for this public policy organization whose mission is to offer market-based solutions to issues effecting alll Ohioans in the areas of regulation, education, state spending and taxation the environment and others."

1951: BS Northwestern University,

1955 MA Ohio State University,

1957-1959 Assistant Professor, Colorado State University,

1959 PhD Ohio State University,

1959-1962 Assistant Professor, San Fernando Valley State College,

1967-1974 Professor, Ohio University,

1973 - 1980 Visiting/Travelling Professor in Sweden, Texas, NSW Australia, North Carolina

1982 Staff Economist, Joint Economic Committee of the Congress

1987: [In Warren Brookes article]

Various studies show that since World War II every dollar of legislated higher taxes has been matched by $1.28 to $1.58 in higher spending. The latter figure was developed in a 1987 study by Ohio University economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Galloway with Joint Economic Committee [of Congress] senior policy analyst Christopher Frenze.

    They found no support for "the conventional hypothesis that higher taxes are associated with lower deficits" Instead they found strong evidence that "increases in taxes, other things being equal, are associated with higher deficits... A $l increase in taxes, other factors held constant, is estimated to lead to a 58-cent increase in the deficit, meaning a $1.58 increase in spending."

    Thus, the study says, $25 billion in additional revenue would result in Congress spending $43 billion, contributing an additional $18 billion to the deficit.

1987 Jul 7: Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway, then both at Ohio University, were temporarily staffers for the congressional Joint Economic Committee. The Washington Times reported that their study for the Reagan administration showed that taxation depressed the economy — "akin to pouring gasoline on a bonfire".

    They maintained that any increase in tax income immediately led to an increase in spending to the point that the economy increased its deficit by about 50%.
[Vedder and Gallaway were both cash-for-comment economists working for the tobacco industry.]

1987 Aug 10: Tax News carries a "Congressional Roundup" column:

CBO Study Refutes Causal Link Between Increased Taxes and Higher Spending.
Contrary to Republican claims, increases in Federal taxes historically have not led to increased Federal spending, according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study released August 11 by House Budget Committee Chairman William Gray, D-Pa. According to a Gray press release, the study refutes conservatives' claims that for every dollar in increased taxes, Federal spending has risen by $1.58.

    The press release says that the conservative claim is based upon a paper by Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway of Ohio State University and Christopher Frenze of the minority staff of the Joint Economic Committee that examined taxation and spending patterns from 1947 to 1986.

    According to the CBO report, that study "provides no persuasive evidence in favor of the tax-and-spend hypothesis." Indeed, CBO contends that the Vedder study built its statistical model on the assumption of a causal relationship between tax increases and higher spending.

    Gray, who requested the study, criticized Republicans for what he called a "misleading exercise."

"In trying to show that Congress in the past has used tax increases to justify additional Federal spending, the Republicans have provided current proof to Mark Twain's observation that there are three kinds of lies — lies, damned lies, and statistics," Gray said

1989: Gallaway joined Ohio University as a Faculty Associate, Contemporary History Institute. He remained in this position until the 2010 period at least.

1989 Dec: The Tobacco Institute's Public Affair Division, Proposed Budget and Operating Plan for 1990 says:

Continue to support conservative groups, i.e., the US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, etc., and their efforts to oppose any tax increase.
Outreach Through Consulting Economists and Allies/Grassroots Efforts
      Consulting economist network

• Op-eds on reports that budget negotiators are considering excise tax increases (May)

the National Chamber Foundation, the research and education affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, published a major study — "Determinants of Worker Absenteeism" — which concluded that smoking has no statistically significant effect on work loss.

    This study examined 33,000 respondents holding jobs, and only an individual's level of physical activity and family income were found to be significantly associated with absenteeism.

1989 Oct 9: Michael Horst's progress report on the Boca Raton Action Plan for the EEC Region includes notes on:

  • Healthy Buildings Seminars: PM EEC has reached an agreement with the Hiross ventilation company to organize an indoor air quality seminar in Paris, France in the first quarter of 1990. The seminar will be officially sponsored by Hiross alone and will feature an IAQ film currently being developed for PM via Burson Marsteller.
    • CEO Project: [includes] the Bonilla report for the National Chamber Foundation on employee absenteism (which has been published - a summary of the report is presently being drafted),

1990 Dec 31: The Tobacco Institute has paid the National Chamber Foundation $68,316 for "Funding support for the project entitled "Extreme and Moderate Responses to Exercise of Individual Rights."

1990 Aug: Vedder and Gallaway have concluded a study done for the National Chamber Foundation (with Tobacco Institute involvement) on the adverse impacts of excise taxes.

Tax revenue will increase the deficit and not decrease it according to a report issued today by the National Chamber Foundation, the tax and public policy research affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. The NCF report, entitled Excise Taxes in the American Fiscal System notes that every new tax dollar will increase the federal deficit by seventy-two cents.

    The NCF study was prepared by Ohio University economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway who note that the bulk of any excise tax increase will fall on those least able to shoulder the burden - working women, minorities, the middle class, the elderly, and those on a fixed income. Vedder and Gallaway note that "American excise taxes are viciously regressive... burdening lower income Americans far more than upper income Americans." Also, excise tax increases are indefensible as deterrents to behaviors such as smoking and drinking. The study notes that smokers and drinkers accommodate increased taxes by reducing their consumption of other products thus spreading the harmful impact of tax increases across the economy.

1990 Sep: The National Chamber Foundation report "New excise taxes not needed, study shows" is the newsletter headline for a Smoker's Rights organisation.

The NCF Report, Excise Taxes in the American Fiscal System, notes that for every new tax dollar collected since 1947, Congress has spent that dollar plus an additiona1 72 cents.

    The study maintains the $25 billion to be gained in excise taxes will result in Congress spending $43 billion, thus contributing $18 billion to the federal deficit.

    Ohio University economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway, who prepared the study, noted excise taxes fail to act as deterrents to the behavior of smokers and drinkers, who tend to accommodate increased taxes by reducing the consumption of other products.

1991: Perspectives, the magazine of the Heartland Institute, has published Doing More with Less in Ohio

Ohio can fix its budgetary problems by reducing government spending, not increasing taxes. By Lowell Gallaway and Richard K. Vedder, distinguished professors of economics at Ohio University.

1991: Gallaway, despite working on tobacco projects with Vedder, is not formally recognised as being a member of the cash-for-comments network. Vedder is the key member for the State of Ohio until mid 1992 when the job reverts to another associate, David Klingaman

1991 March: Gallaway, Vedder, Karl Peterjohn, and Joseph Bast (of the Heartland Institute) prepared a "Doing More with Less: 14-point plan for Addressing Ohio's Budget Crisis". It was published by the Heartland Institute.

1991 Oct 30: Vedder, Gallaway and Christopher Frenze have prepared "Taxes and Deficits: New Evidence (The $1.59 Study") for Republican Congressmen, Richard Armey and Senator William Roth Jr of the Joint Economic Committee.

    This is a rehash of their 1987 Study to prove that taxation just results in more government spending rather than deficit reduction — which they see as an economic consequence, rather than a political decision.

The findings are better understood by use of a simple cost-benefit theoretical framework of fiscal behavior developed by Dwight Lee of the University of Georgia and Richard Vedder of Ohio University, that draws on the laws of demand and supply.

• Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway are both Distinguished Professors of Economics and Faculty Associates of the Contemporary History Institute of Ohio University.
• Christopher Frenze is a Republican staff economist with the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
• The support of the Earhart Foundation for Professor Vedder was instrumental in developing some of the findings.

1991 Nov: Lowell Gallaway and Richard Vedder have now enlisted their associate, another cash-for-comments economist, David Klingaman to prepare a paper on "The Economic Impact of Excise and Sales Taxation in Ohio."

    They concluded that excise increases would result in wholesale smuggling of cigarettes from Kentucky — and the loss of cross-border smuggling from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

    ALEC also puts out a study which utilises their material.

1991 Nov: The Newsletter of the National Chamber Foundation
[Note: the President was J Paul Sticht — Executive Chairman of RJ Reynolds]

    The NCF has published a free give-way report Excise Taxes in the American Fiscal System by Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway.

1992 Feb: /E Richard Vedder, Lowell Gallaway and David Klingaman, all economics professors at Ohio University join forces in writing a study "The Economic Impact of Excise and Sales Taxation in Ohio".

    Since these are all active members of the cash-for-comments network, naturally the example they use for their study is that of cigarettes being bootlegged across the boarders since they say the tax in Ohio is too high.

    This was reported as "The study by three Ohio University economists found increasing the cigarette tax would cause the loss of S263 mlllfon in retail sales and about 2.000 jobs. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/plb93b00/pdf

1992 March: Vedder and Galloway are also writing booklets for the National Chamber Foundation [with Tobacco Institute involvement].

Excise Taxes in the American Fiscal System (Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway, Free)

1992 Nov: Gallaway is a visiting Scholar and Senior Economist, Joint Economic Committee of the Congress of the United States, He is working with another cash-for-comment economist, Gary Anderson of California State University, Northridge.

1992 Nov 7: Delores Martin, Lowell Gallaway and Gary Anderson, all cash-for-comments economists from the network, are working for Dick Armey (R-TX) by contributing to the preparation of outright political material for the Republican's Joint Economic Committee: "Derailing the Small Business Job Express."

    Lowell Gallaway and Gary Anderson are listed as Visiting Scholars on the JEC Republican staff.They are all working under the notorious lobbyist Ed Gillespie.

1993 March: The Newsletter of the National Chamber Foundation (the NCF President was J Paul Sticht — Executive Chairman of RJ Reynolds)

    The NCF has published a free give-way report The Impact of Recent Federal Regulations on Small Business Job Creation by Lowell Gallaway and Gary M. Anderson (also a cash-for-comments economist).

1994–95: Vedder, Gallaway and other Ohio University economists establish their own think-tank, the Buckeye Center for Public Policy in Dayton.
Philip Morris give them two grants of $2,500 + $2,500 [$5,000 overall] because they are

"To provide renewed general support for this public policy organization whose mission is to offer market-based solutions to issues affecting all Ohians in the areas of regulation, education, state spending and taxation, the environment and others. "

See page 23
[The Buckeye Center is listed as a resource with the Heartland Institute in 1995]

1994 April 16: Donald Lambro, a columnist with the Washington Times (who also did work for the tobacco companies) wrote a sky-is-falling column, "Catastrophe seen in wake of Clinton health care plan."

In a report to be released Tuesday by the American Legislative Exchange Council, economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway made a state-by-state analysis of the impact of the health care reform plan on jobs and personal incomes among the 50 states.

    The job losses would result "from the increased labor costs expected under the Clinton plan" under which all businesses would be required to provide health care coverage for their employes. "The higher labor costs that will result will make hiring workers at any given wage rate less attractive than at present," they said. "This will lead to reduced hiring and also to reduced wages."

1994 April 18: /E Release of an ALEC's study by Ohio University economists Dr Richard Vedder and Dr Lowell Galloway, created a storm of criticism of President Clinton's proposed health care reforms if the plan were enacted.

According to the study, over a million jobs would be lost nationally from increased labor costs. American workers would lose over $93 billion in reduced wages, and local governments would have a net added fiscal burden of $8 billion.

    Hundreds of articles and op-eds have cited the study since its release.

1994 July: The newsletter of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) claims:

Another component of the ALEC campaign has been the study "Concealed Cost: The Real Impact of the Administration's Health Care Plan on the Economy", prepared by Dr Richard Vedder and Dr Lowell Galloway of Ohio University. The study was the first to measure the negative economic impact of the Administration's employer-mandate on a state-by-statc basis.

    According to the study, over a million jobs would be losl nationally from increased labor costs. American workers would lose over $93 billion in reduced wages, and local governments would have a net added fiscal burden of $8 billion.

    In April, a national release of the study was done in conjunction with state legislators, Congressmen and Governors, who held news conferences or released the study to the media in all 50 states. Hundreds of articles and op-eds have cited the study since its release. Most recently Concealed Costs was recognized by Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) and Congressman Dick Armey (R-TX), who released the study to all the Republican members in Congress. along with a dear colleague letter, urging them to take note of the startling findings.

    U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) cited ALEC's Concealed Costs study as his main source in extensively published editorials used to educate the constituents in his district. On June 21. Concealed Costs was again highlighted by the Joint Economic Committee as one of the top ten most revealing analyses of the negative impact of the employer mandate on the states. Over a dozen U.S. Congressmen, indudingNewt Gingrich (R-GA), Jim Saxon (RNJ), Dick Armey (R-TX), Jim Ramstad (R-MN) and Chris Cox (R-CA), released the JEC's findings at a press conference on Capitol Hill.

1994 July 11: JE Berthoud [National Taxpayers Assn and Alexis de Tocqueville Institution], who also worked for tobacco, wrote "Economic Consequences of Medicaid Legislation" for the Commonwealth Foundation of Virginia, using the Vedder/Gallaway ALEC study. [This illustrates how much leverage the tobacco industry could get off its well-funded influence over economists and lobby-groups.]

1995 Feb: Clippings of Economists's Network op-ed articles sent to the Tobacco Institute.

• The FDA's Quest for Power, by Gary M Galles and Robert L Sexton.
• Ever-expanding federal government stealthily constricting individual freedoms, by William J Boyes
• Smoking ad ban by FDA appears to be self-serving, by Joe Bell
• President can't hide political vanity behind a smoke screen, by Robert Higgs
• FDA Shouldn't take the Role of Parents, by Ed Price
• Teen-smoking crisis is really overblown, by Lowell Gallaway

1995 Oct: /E Philip Morris has been sent a list of the Tobacco Instutute's network economists who had been commissioned, and had...

... prepared and submitted op-eds [attacking the FDA] for publication to major newspapers in select states — targetting key Congressional districts:

    Economists prepared and submitted op-eds for publication to major newspapers in select states:

• Dr William Boyes, Arizona State University
• Dr Barry Poulson, University of Colorado
• Dr Dominick Armentano, University of Hartford
• Dr Dwight Lee, University of Georgia, Athens
• Iowa economist tbd [To Be Determined]
• Dr Cecil Bohanan, Ball State University
• Dr Robert Pulsinelli, Western Kentucky University
• Dr Michael Kurth, McNeese State University (Louisiana)
• Dr Bill Shughart, II, University of Mississippi
• Dr Joe Bell, Southwest Missouri State University
• Dr Terry Ridgway, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Dr Allen Parkman, University of New Mexico
• Dr Lowell Gallaway, Ohio University
• Dr Ed Price, Oklahoma State University
• Dr William Mitchell, University of Oregon
• Dr J.R. Clark, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Dr Michael Davis, The University of Texas at Dallas
• Robert Higgs, Independent Institute, Edmonds, Washington
• Dr Charles Breeden, Marquette University

• While FDA claims their focus is on preventing youth smoking, the action is the first step to impose harsher regulations on tobacco;
• The FDA regs will have repercussions on not only the tobacco industry, but vending, confectionery and candy industries, distributors, advertisers and sponsors for sporting events; and
• The regs will have a devastating impact on jobs.

1995 Sept 8: [In 1996 The Heartland Institute's Policy Fax] A paper from the Buckeye Institute, authored by David Swindell "Sports Stadiums Can Be Privately Financed.

Alternatives to public funds. Ohio is out of step with other states and cities, which have moved away from public financing, and toward private financing, of sports stadiums. Miami, Boston, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Milwaukee all have built facilities with minimal public funds. If significant private financing is not available, taxpayers and policymakers should take that as a sign that the sports facility is not a good investment.

1995 Nov: The Cato Institute is writing in praise of a Gallaway and Vedder's article, "Cracked Foundation: Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act" which appeared in a monograph for the Center for the Study of American Business (Washington University, St Louis) The article says:

"While minimum wage laws such as Davis-Bacon increase unemployment for all groups and raise costs of production, the negative impact of this legislation has fallen disproportionately on individuals subject to discrimination.

    Davis-Bacon has subsidized prejudicial behavior that is inconsistent with a color-blind society that ensures equal opportuniiy for all regardless of race, gender, or national origin."

1995 Dec 8: The Savarese Status Report on the FDA Op-ed Program says that Gallaway's draft op-ed had been revised and returned to him (on the 2nd Nov) for placement in The Plain Dealer newspaper.

1995 Dec 21: Savarese & Associate's Status report to Carol Hyrcaj at the Tobacco Institute on the FDA op-editorial program [Dec 8th].

As reflected in the status report, we have replaced Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Houston congressional district with three new states (California, Massachusetts and West Virginia). As you know, we have already received Robert Sexton's (California) article, as well as confirmation that the economist in Massachusetts is able to participate.

At this time, we are asking those economists that have published, to forward a copy of their article to their congressman/congresswoman.

• Professor Cecil Bohanon — "Revised op-ed returned to economist 11/10"
• " Professor Pogue has been contacted. We are waiting to hear whether he will be able to particpate."
• Professor Kurth — "Will have op-ed to us by next week" [for checking]
• Professor Ridgway — "Will have op-ed to us in a week"
• Professor Gallaway — "Returned revised op-ed to economist 11/2"
• Professor Davis — "Returned revised op-ed 11/3"
• Clifford Fry, Resources Inc, Bryan Texas — "Had to identify new economist. Sent materials 11/14"
• Prof Charles Breeden, Marquette University, — "Had to identify new economist. Sent materials 11/14"

1996: Vedder is now a research fellow with the far right-wing think-tank, the Independent Institute along with fellow cash-for-comment network economists, William Shughart, Robert Higgs, William Mitchell, and Lowell Gallaway.

Research Fellow Richard Vedder (Ohio U.) testified before the Kemp Tax Reform Commission (7/12), and analyzed US fiscal problems on"NewsTalkTV,"and in TheWall Street Journal(11/14) and The Detroit News and Free Press (11/19).

    OUT OF WORK, his book with Lowell Gallaway (Ohio U.),was acclaimed in several articles by AP columnist John Cardiff ,and recommended in Philanthropy (Fall '95). Gallaway and Vedder are now writing a book on immigration for the Institute.

1996 Jan 5: This Status Report on FDA Op-ed Program is revealing about the master-servant relationship between the tobacco industry and their network economists. It lists 20 attempted newpaper plants of their anti-FDA propaganda and details about the 20 economists who wrote these articles on commission:

OHIO
Professor Lowell Gallaway, Department of Economics, Ohio University, Athens, OH
  The Plain Dealer [This was declined but the article was later planted on the Dayton Daily News]
  "Last contact 12/11"

1996 Jan 26: This Status report for the FDA Op-Ed Program shows that they were still planting articles and contacting Congressmen for the Tobacco Institute.

1996 Jan 27: Gallaway's "Teen Smoking Crisis is Really Overblown" appears in the Dayton Daily News. It attacks President Clinton and the FDA

It is a familiar tactic on the part of power-hungry bureaucrats and politicians: Create a crisis - preferably one that centers about the welfare of the aged, the poor or children - and then announce that the government is ready to march onto the scene and solve it.

1996 Jan 31: Kelleigh Varnum of Savarese & Associates sent the Tobacco Institute re: FDA Op-ed Program

• Copy of Joe Bell's (Missouri letter to Senator Ashcroft and Congressman Hancock
• Michael Kurth's (Louisiana) op-editorial for your review.
• Lowell Gallaway (Ohio) informed us yesterday that his article was published January 27, 1996 in the Dayton Daily News. A copy of his op-ed is included in the enclosed packet.

1996 Feb: /E The Tobacco Institute's Media Relations report on the Economists:

Ongoing
• An extensive economist op-ed program was implemented to focus media attention on the FDA's agenda. The program attacks the FDA proposal from an anti-big government, anti-regulatory perspective. Targeting key Congressional districts:
• Economists prepared and submitted op-eds for publication to major
      newspapers in select states :
  • Dr William Boyes, Arizona State University
  • Dr Barry Poulson, University of Colorado
  • Dr Dominick Armentano, University of Hartford
  • Dr Dwight Lee, University of Georgia, Athens
  • Iowa economist tbd [To Be Determined]
  • Dr Cecil Bohanan, Ball State University
  • Dr Robert Pulsinelli, Western Kentucky University
  • Dr Michael Kurth, McNeese State University (Louisiana)
  • Dr Bill Shughart, II, University of Mississippi
  • Dr Joe Bell, Southwest Missouri State University
  • Dr Terry Ridgway, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Dr Allen Parkman, University of New Mexico
  • Dr Lowell Gallaway, Ohio University
  • Dr Ed Price, Oklahoma State University
  • Dr William Mitchell, University of Oregon
  • Dr J.R. Clark, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
  • Dr Michael Davis, The University of Texas at Dallas
  • Robert Higgs, Independent Institute, Edmonds, Washington
  • Dr Charles Breeden, Marquette University

1996 Feb 7: RJ Reynolds e-mail system carried [Bruce] Hennes' Weekly Report, their regional lobbyist from Ohio.

• Henne and Brooke Cheney have been succesfully lobbying State Senator Roy Ray who is likely to be the next President of the Ohio Senate.
• Promoting pre-empted legislation to block the State from over-ruling local ordinances on smoking regulations.

  In other words, this newer bill completely gets the boards of health off of our back, but we may still have to fight local city councils and county commissioners. The strategy, apparently, is to keep the bill from getting amended to death on the floor and cut a deal with House and Senate leadership to get it passed relatively intact

• Press Clippings

  "Cigarette Regulations Has Public Smoking About Government" was the op-ed in both the Lancaster, Ohio Eagle Gazette and the Bucyrus, Ohio Telegraph-Forum on 1/11/96
  
  "Teen-Smoking Crisis Is Really Overblown" was a long opinion piece in the 1/27/96 issue of the Dayton, Ohio Daily News written by Ohio University economics professor Lowell Gallaway. NOTE: This think piece is so good that I'm going to mail this clip directly to Mike Phillips.

1996 Mar 1: The FDA Op-Ed Status Report shows that Gallaway has drafted his article for The Plain Dealer sent it to the Tobacco Institute for checking and legal clearnance, and it had been returned to him. The Plain Dealer had declined to publish, but the Dayton Daily News had publishd on the 27th January and Gallaway had then contacted Congressmen Cremeans and Armey.

1996 Mar 1: Lowell Gallaway, using Department of Economics, Ohio University letterhead, has written a gushing letter to Ohio Reprentative Frank Cremeans, enclosing an op-ed column of his which appeared in the Dayton Daily News.

    He has sent this copy to the Tobacco Institute for payment.

    Savarese has confirmed this to the Tobacco Institute.

1996 Mar 8: Kelleigh Varnum, of Savarese & Associations advises Carol Hrycaj at the Tobacco Institute that:

We have located an economist to replace John David (WV). His name is Cliff Dobitz (ND). The status report reflects this addition.

    Also attached is Ed Price's (OK) letter to Congressman Largent.

1996 Apr 16: Kelleigh Varnum advises the Tobacco Institute on the progress of the FDA Op-ed Program.

To date, 14 of 20 articles have published.

• David Kurth (LA) informed us that his op-ed published on February 21, in Lagniappe. Apparently, there was a breakdown in communication with the editor and he did not realize that the article had published. Enclosed is a copy of the article. Unfortunately, it is of very poor quality. We will forward the original to you when we receive it.
  
  
• Although the Atlanta Constitution has promised for quite some time to publish Dwight Lee's op-editorial, there still have not been any developments. As a result, we have directed Dwight to pursue other outlets for submission.
  
  
• Cecil Bohanon (IN) is contacting the editor of the Journal Gazette. He will pursue other outlets for submission if they decide not to publish his article.
  
  
• Publication of Barry Poulson's (CO) and Cliff Dobitz's (ND) op-editorials is forthcoming.
  
  
• Both Mike Davis (TX) and Terry Ridgway (NV) are checking with their editors on the status of their articles.

• The Plain Dealer - declined
• Dayton Daily News - Published January 27,1996
• Contacted Congressmen Cremeans 3/1/96

1996 May 13: ALEC is promoting Vedder and Gallaway's Buckeye Institute. It now has

David M. Zimov is a policy analyst with The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization. He is also an adjunct professor of political science at Northern Kentucky University.

Ohio should drop its inefficient school financial controls, and give the educators closest to our children the full responsibility for running our schools.

1996 May 17: Kelleigh Varnum-Roffman of Savarese & Associates is reporting to Walter Woodson at the Tobacco Institute re the FDA Project. She includes:

• Updated status report on the FDA op-editorial program
• Original copy of Cliff Dobitz's (ND) published op-editorial
• Copy of Michael Kurth's (LA) letter to Congressman Hayes

To date, 15 of 20 articles have published. Please find below some brief notes regarding the status of the remaining op-editorials.

• Publication of Barry Poulson's (CO) op-ed is forthcoming.
• Although the Atlanta Constitution has promised for quite some time to publish Dwight Lee's op-editorial, there still have not been any developments. As a result, Lee is pursuing other outlets for submission.
• Cecil Bohanon (IN), Terry Ridgway (NV) and Mike Davis (TX) are checking with the editors of their papers. They will report back to me on the status of their articles. We will pursue other outlets for submission if any of the above are declined.

Professor Lowell Gallaway
      The Plain Dealer declined
      Dayton Daily News published Jan 27
[Gallaway] contacted Congressman Cremeans 3/1/96

1996 June 24: Status Report on FDA Op-Ed Program. It lists the various network economists and the articles they have planted with their newspapers. It also records publication dates and those newspapers which declined to use the propaganda, together with the Congressmen who have been contacted.

    About this network economist it says:

OHIO
Professor Lowell Gallaway, Department of Economics, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701
Submitted to: The Plain Dealer - declined: Dayton Daily News- Published January 27,1996
Contacted Congressmen Cremeans on 3/1/96

1997 April: /E The Atlas Foundation publication is promoting papers by the Vedder/Gallaway group:

The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions (Dayton, OH) published Policy Note, "Voucher Programs Serve Low Achieving Public School Students," and Perspective on Current Issues, "Restrained State Spending Holds Key to Economic Growth."

1997 April 28: The Citizens for a Sound Economy [later called "FreedomWorks"] has reported to its sponsors (including Philip Morris) on a study it has commissioned

Are taxpayers getting their money's worth with Medicaid?
Citizens for a Sound Economy (C5E) Foundation commissioned this analysis to answer this question. And in too many instances, the answer is a clear and resounding "no."

    This analysis was prepared by CSE Foundation Adjunct Scholars Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway, distinguished professors of economics at Ohio University, and Robert Lawson, assistant professor of economics at Capital University. Each state's approach to Medicaid is summarized. Each is evaluated and ranked on a set of six criteria. And each state was assigned an overall grade.
[Lawson also worked through the Cato Institute, Fraser Institute, and the Citizens for a Sound Economy think-tank]

1998: Richard Vedder has written a report attacking cigarette excise taxes using the tobacco industry line that these price increased boost inter-state smuggling: "Bordering on Chaos: The Cross-Border Impact of Cigarette Taxation.". He mentions the earlier Vedder/Klingham/Gallaway study on cigarette smuggling in Ohio, but fails to mention that these reports were customised to fit the commissioned-requirements of the Tobacco Institute.

1998 Jun 10: An internal Tobacco Institute memo from Walter Woodson to Lance Morgan

Here is more information from the Savarese group. I would like to return these to Savarese on Friday. Please call if you have comments or suggestions.

The impact of the federal spending diet has been the elimination of the fiscal budget deficit. However, now that the deficit is gone, a new revenue bonanza, such.as that envisioned in the tobacco legislation, will be the equivalent of putting a feast before a hungry person who no longer feels obligated to exercise constraint. The result is very likely to be a spending binge that will undo the progress of recent years.

1999 Oct 19: Thirty Seven right-wing academics have signed an "Open Letter to the Attorney General" in support of senior tobacco industry executives and helpers who were under threat of being charged with Racketeering under the RICO Act. This was two years after the signing of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)

    It appears to be a final-draft version (organised through George Mason University) from the Philip Morris files. It says [truncated]

• The lawsuit instituted by the Department of Justice against the tobacco industry to recover Medicare expenses from smoking related illnesses is without legal or economic merit. This politically motivated, thinly disguised tax ignores the rule of law and establishes dangerous precedents and threats to free enterprise.
• The tobacco industry should not be denied its constitutional right to require individual evidence of causation and damages.
• The Administrations' effort to circumvent the will of Congress is transparent. Congress has already rebuffed federal government efforts to tax tobacco out of existence when it rejected the McCain tobacco tax bill in 1998. Other administration efforts such as the Food and Drug Administrations effort to expand its jurisdiction to include cigarettes and tobacco have been rejected by federal courts of appeals.
• This action poses an unprecedented threat to commerce and constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. The federal assault on cigarettes threatens to establish a dangerous precedent for other industries.
• The Department of Justice Tobacco Medicare litigation violates elementary considerations of fairness and undermines confidence in the constitutional system. We oppose this threat of vast expropriation of private property and this attempt at taxation through litigation.

2005 July 20: The Ludwig von Mises Institute lists "Wages, Prices, and Employment: Von Mises and the Progressives" by Lowell Gallaway & Richard Vedder.

    There are a number of articles by Gallaway and Vedder.

Independent Institute

The Independent Institute, which is itself a component of the Atlas Group of ultra-free-market think tanks with links to the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute [all heavily dependent on commissioned corporate funding] appears to have taken over the role of administrator of the Tobacco Institute's cash-for-comments network at the end of the 1990s.     Their research director and journal editor, Robert Higgs, was already a member of the network. Tobacco funding continued to flow to the Independent Institute which appears to have taken on the role of 'warehousing' these academic supporters to insulate them from discovery. The Institute acquired the bulk of the cabal of cash-for-comments economists who were still operating, and some who had been retired: Senior Fellows Bruce L Benson, Florida State Robert Higgs, Independent Institute William Shugart, Utah State Richard Vedder, Ohio University Research Fellows Burton Abrams, Uni of Delaware Gary Anderson, California State at Northridge Dominick Armentano, Uni of Hartford Peter Boettke, George Mason Uni Thomas DiLorenzo, Loyola College, Maryland Robert Ekelund, Auburn Uni Lowell E Gallaway, Ohio Uni Randall Holcombe, Florida State Dwight Lee, Southern Methodist Uni Cotton 'Matt' Lindsay, Clemson Uni Fred McChesney, Northwestern Uni Mark Pauly, Uni of Pennsylvania Richard Stroup, Montana State Mark Thornton, Ludwig von Mises Institute Richard Wagner, George Mason Uni Bruce Yandle, Clemson Uni Also dozens of other academics and writers who provided independent contract services to the tobacco industry — like Richard Epstein, John Goodman, Peter Huber, Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Rubin, Peter Samuel, S Fred Singer. Russell Sobel, etc.

CONTRIBUTORS:dhf2 ajw2 gwf2