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

Jerrold Peterson was a professor of economics at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. He had his own consulting company, JP Consulting, Inc. which he used to employ Raymond Raab, another economist who was an Associate Professor at the same university.

Both Peterson and Raab worked for the tobacco industry, but Peterson kept in the background, while Raab took the front-running, putting his name on the op-ed articles commissioned by the Tobacco Institute and appearing as a witness in legislative and ordinance hearings in support of the cigarette companies.

Some key documents

• Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota at Duluth. his partner/employee Raymond Raab was only an Associate at the university. Peterson ran a consulting company JP Consulting in Duluth MN and it was this company that contracted Raab's services to the tobacco industry.

1986 Mar 25: Jerrold Peterson and his junior partner Raymond Raab at JP Consulting Inc are jointly writing a letter-to-the-editor of the Duluth News Tribune & Herald. It attacks the Packwood tax plan to alleviate "the mounting Federal budget deficits.

From a practical point of view the use of the Federal excise tax to raise significant amounts of Federal revenues seems ludicrous. At the present time the excise tax accounts for less than 6 percent of the total Federal revenue receipts.

the major burden of the Federal excise tax falls on the working poor and lower middle income class. These tax payers have the least ability to bare the burden of additional taxes.

    If such programs were to pass Into law, those economic, political and business leaders who supported its enactment will have caused grievous harm to those US citizens and tax payers already overburdened by rapidly changing economic conditions and social programs. In other words, under the Packwood plan, the poor will become poorer.

1986 May 29: Jerrold M Peterson, the president of JP Consulting Inc, and Raab's partner in Duluth, is sending Congressman Frenzel a

copy of a letter recently sent to the places listed with the letter.

    We hope that you will give this letter serious consideration in your deliberations on any tax reform or tax increase bill. Also enclosed you will find the replies we have received from the named parties.

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