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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.




TOBACCO INDUSTRY EXPLANATORY

ABBREVIATIONS
JARGON
SPIN-MEISTERS
INITIALS
FIRST & NICKNAMES
Misc.RESEARCH HELP
Smoking-Gun docs.

RELEVANT LINKS
Cash-for-comment economists' network
General TI networks
George Berman
James Savarese
Ctr.Study Pub.Choice
James Buchanan
Robert Tollison
Anna Tollison
Richard Wagner
James C Miller III
Carol M Robert
Elizabeth A Masaitis
Committee on Tax & Economic Growth
Harold Hochman
Fred McChesney
Thomas Borcherding
Delores T Martin
Dennis Dyer
George Minshew
William Prendergast
Bill Orzechowski
CASH-FOR-COMMENT
NETWORK MEMBERS

Dominick Armentano
Burton A Abrams
Lee Alston
Ryan C Amacher
Gary Anderson
Lee Anderson
William Anderson
Terry Anderson
Roger Arnold
Richard W Ault
Michael Babcock
Joe A Bell
Bruce L Benson
Jean J Boddewyn
Peter Boettke
Thomas Borcherding
William J Boyes
Charles Breeden
Lawrence Brunner
Henry N Butler
Bill Bryan
Cecil Bohanon
Morris Coates
Roger Congleton
Jeffrey R Clark
Michael Crew
Allan Dalton
John David
Michael Davis
Arthur T Denzau
Clifford Dobitz
John Dobra
Randall Eberts
Robert B Ekelund
Roger L Faith
David Fand
Susan Feigenbaum
Clifford Fry
Lowell Gallaway
Celeste Gaspari
David ER Gay
Kenneth V Greene
Kevin B Grier
Brian Goff
Sherman Hanna
Anne Harper-Fender
Kathy Hayes
Dennis Hein
James Heins
Robert Higgs
F Steb Hipple
Harold M Hochman
George E Hoffer
John Howe
William Hunter
Stephen Huxley
John D Jackson
Joseph M Jadlow
Cecil Johnson
Samson Kimenyi
David Klingaman
Michael Kurth
David Laband
Suuner Lacroix
Dwight R Lee
Dennis Logue
C. Matt Lindsay
Donald P Lyden
Craig MacPhee
Mike Maloney
Delores Martin
Chuck Mason
Charles Maurice
Fred McChesney
James E McClure
William McEachern
Richard McKenzie
Robert McMahon
Arthur Mead
Paul L Menchik
John F Militello
William C Mitchell
Greg Neihaus
Allen Parkman
Mark Pauly
William Peterson
Harlan Platt
Michael D Pratt
Thomas Pogue
Barry W Poulson
Edward Price
Robert Pulsinelli
Raymond Raab
Roger Riefler
Terry Ridgeway
Mario Rizzo
Morgan Reynolds
Simon Rottenberg
Randy Rucker
Richard Saba
Todd Sandler
David Saurman
Mark Schmitz
Robert Sexton
William Shughart
Robert J Staaf
Thomas Stimson
Wendell Sweetser
Mark Thornton
Mark Toma
David G Tuerck
Richard Vedder
Bruce Vermeullen
Richard Wagner
J Keith Watson
Burton Weisbrod
Walter E Williams
Thomas L Wyrick
Bruce Yandle
Boon Yoon
Richard O Zerbe

 

 

OPINION ONLY

Roger A Arnold     [Prof]    

— A minor cash-for-comment academic economist from Nevada, and later the California State University, San Marcos —  

Arnold appears to have had only a minor flirtation with Tollison/Savarese cash-for-comments economists network, although he was clearly on the right side of the political fence being closely associated with the Center for the Study of Public Choice which ran the network and provided the administration.

Tobacco lobbyist James Savarese and Professor Robert Tollison of George Mason University collaborated in the 1980s to provide the tobacco industry, through the Tobacco Institute, with networks of academics in various disciplines who would be willing to write and sprout propaganda material ... always provided the payments for these services were not directly traceable back to the Institute or to any of the cigarette companies.

The idea was simply that these 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. These were the economic equivalents of the 'WhiteCoat' scientists.

Economist were by far the most useful of the acolyte academics because the distinction between economics and politics was never clear. So support for the cigarette companies (and against smoking bans) could always be portrayed as nothing more than support for free-market economics — including the rights of individuals to make public choices ... or the promotion of small government ... or even upholding of the first Amendment to the Constitution.

The economist working for Savarese, always claim to be 'independent' 'professionals' and ' academics', and they exploited the fact that they came from some credible university. They 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 imprecision) that they had "never received a penny from the tobacco industry". Therefore all payments were laundered, either through tobacco industry lawyers (usually Covington & Burling),) or the principle network organisers James Savarese & Associates and Bob Tollison's Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason University.

The aim was to have, in each State,

  • one academic economist,
  • one academic lawyer, and
  • one academic from a business management, business law, marketing or advertising discipline
These individuals must be willing to jump into action and write op-ed articles for their local newspaper or to appear at local ordinance or legislative hearings when required. Copies were always sent to any local Congressman who sat on some important (to the tobacco industry) committee.

The academics were 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!

Unfortunately, it worked.

DISAMBIGUATION

Don't confuse him with Ron Arnold, the anti-environmentalist who also worked for the tobacco industry.

Some key documents

• California State University - San Marcos (ex Uni of Nevada, Las Vegas)


1981–82: The Reason Foundation's Annual Report. In 1982 he was helping the Reason Foundation with a seminar on economics. At that time he was at the University of Nevada.


1985 June 25: The Center for the Study of Public Choice lists him as a participant in the The Ninth Annual Liberty Fund Conference, co-sponsored by Liberty Fund [A free-market institute based in Indianapolis]. The main speakers were James Buchanan and Robert Tollison from the Center, who were also major players in the organisation of the economists cash-for-comment network.

    The conference took place at George Mason University in Fairfax from 25 June - 2 July 1985 on the topic: "Contractarianism, Libertarianism, and Social Order." Roger Arnold is listed as a participant in this Tobacco Institute file.


1986 Oct 3: A Tobacco Institute report on the economists network, lists the Congressmen they are expected to influence, and the economist's various academic specialities.

    This early list is probably the most detailed of all. A later section of this 43 page document also runs through the 28 main states giving the names and details of witnesses willing to speak to legislators on Taxes (almost exclusively economists), and those available as witnesses for the tobacco industry on Public Smoking issues (economists and a range of others)

    A major effort had also been made recently to enlist fire officers and brigades to counter demands for a 'fire-safe' cigarette which had low ignition propensity. The list includes (listed by State) dozens of the well-known, well-established cash-for-comments economists, most with links to Tollison and the Center for the Study of Public Choice. However Nevada does not have a listed network participant at this time. It records on:

NEVADA
[Speciality:] N/A


Tax Witnesses: Materials available
None listed Nevada data card
"Excise Taxes: The Fairness Issue"
"More Taxes on Tobacco...."
Earmarking topic sheet
Letter writing brochure.
Media Relations:
Contacts are in place in Los Vegas. Contact Bill Toohey for assistance.
[Later Nevada was listed as the state for Professor Roger Arnold]

See page 17


1990 May: This is a Tobacco Institute/Savarese network success list in having economists on the network plant op-ed articles on their local newspapers.

NEVADA
Roger Arnold, Univ. of Nevada — Las Vegas — Las Vegas Review Journal


1991 Jan: /E Tobacco Institute draft plan for 1991 with emphasis on "Taxes." These are the economist-related paragraphs:

Objective
To discourage reliance on consumer excise taxes on cigarettes to meet social and economic objectives by demonstrating that excise taxes are regressive and inconsistent with fair taxation.

Goals and Tactics:
  • Commission two op-ed articles in 1991 from consulting economists. As articles are published, provide to other Institute decisions for promotion and submission to appropriate policy makers.
  • Conduct at least 10 presentations by consulting economists on the excise tax issue before national, regional and state tax policy conferences.
  • Continue to utilize consulting economists for testimony and briefings. Expand appearances to include presentations to business clubs and the business press. Conduct media refresher courses for public speaking appearance and delivery of testimony.
  • Utilize the consulting economists for an op-ed program that addresses the national earmarking issue and state specific earmarking issues. As articles are published, provide to other Institute divisions and promote to appropriate public policymakers. Use field staff network to support distribution efforts.


1991 Jan 8: Jim Savarese has sent the current updated list of network economists to Carol Hyrcaj at the Tobacco Institute. It contains three new names, but otherwise is essentially the same as the old lists. California now has two members of the network:

CALIFORNIA
  • Gary Anderson, California State at Northridge
  • Roger Arnold, California State Univ. - San Marcos
[Arnold had previously done some work for the network from Nevada. He must have advised them as to his new location.]


[There is no further evidence of him working for the network or the tobacco industry after this date.]


CORRESPONDENCE


From: Roger Arnold
    Subject: Tobacco Industry mention
    Date: 6 May 2012 4:18:28 AM AEST
    To: editor@sciencecorruption.com

    Dear Editor:

    I happened to come across your website the other day and saw my name mentioned as a cash-for-comment economist. I do not recall ever writing or saying anything in support of tobacco and the tobacco industry, although (as your site mentions) I have been affiliated with the Public Choice Center when it was at Blacksburg, Va. I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech (the home of the Public Choice Center at the time) from 1974-79.

    I am happy for my affiliation for the Public Choice Center to be noted, but your site goes beyond this and seems to indicate that I have written and said things that were in support of the tobacco industry, which is false. Not only have I not said or written anything in support of the tobacco industry, I certainly have never received any "cash for comment." I hope you will correct the error that appears on your site.

    Thank you. Sincerely,
    Roger Arnold, Ph.D.
    Economics Department
    California State University
    San Marcos, CA 92096

[It is difficult to reconcile Professor Arnold's statement with the documented evidence that he was on the Savarese/Tollison list of cash-for-comments academics for over two years. He was also listed in two different states, which means that he must have advised them of his new appointment.

    He wrote at least one article for the Las Vegas Review Journal at the request of the Tobacco Institute. However, we do acknowledge that he was only ever a minor participant — but not as innocent as he makes out here. ]

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