Independent Institute

The Independent Institute (TII) is a think tank that was founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, who is also the president of the think tank.

TII has been a vocal opponent of the "war on drugs", immigration restrictions, corporate welfare, censorship, the neoconservative ("Bush Doctrine") of pre-emptive war, restrictions on reproductive rights, and the death penalty. It also contests the dominant view of scientists of the need for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Antitrust Protectionism, Microsoft, annd Oracle

As with its opposition through its Center on Peace & Liberty[1] to the Bush administration's pre-emptive wars, national security statism and the trampling on civil liberties, another example of how TII has taken on tough issues is the following:

The New York Times had on September 18, 1999 an article by Joel Brinkley called "‘Unbiased’ Ads for Microsoft Came at a Price". The ads had printed TII's Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism, which was signed by 240 academic economists and claimed that the economics ("network externality" theory) was erroneous that formed the basis for the government's antitrust cases against such high-tech firms as Intel, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, VISA, and MasterCard. The signatories claimed that such policies were a form of mercantilism (corporatism or corporate statism) which would reduce competition and harm consumers, and were being pursued at the behest of rival firms who supported such measures as protectionism[2].

In his article, Brinkley alleged that TII's position on this issue was the direct result of support it received from Microsoft, which he claimed had been a "secret" donor. In reply, Theroux noted that TII's research and publications on this matter began many years before (with numerous studies by TII research fellows and the first TII book on the subject, Antitrust and Monopoly[3], published ten years earlier), prior to the "browser wars", the Microsoft case, the Internet itself, and any support from Microsoft for TII. He further noted that when the ads were released, 3 1/2 months prior to the Times article, he publicly anounced at a June 2nd Washington press conference that Microsoft was then providing 7-8% of TII's total donations, far less than the 20% claimed by the Times article. Theroux further noted that Microsoft was never TII's largest supporter, a fact proven to be the case[4].

As Jacob Sullum, an opponent of all victimless crime economic and social laws, noted in a syndicated column, the Times story was published the exact Sunday before the day of the closing arguments in the Microsoft case[5]. Sullum stated that, "The story, which appeared just as closing arguments were being made in the Microsoft case, was based on purloined documents provided by 'a Microsoft adversary associated with the computer industry.'" Moreover, even David Callahan admitted in an attack article in the Washington Monthly that, "Given their world view, Theroux and his colleagues at the Independent Institute would probably be bashing the government prosecutors after Microsoft regardless of who gave them money."[6] In response, Sullum then noted that, "This is no small concession, since Callahan’s argument hinges on the idea that corporate funding influences the conclusions that think tanks reach." Inded, as Theroux noted, "Our restriction on all funding is that it is non-contractual, meaning that the funding sources have no say in the research and how the funding is spent. All of the Institute’s work is based on one and only one criterion, peer-reviewed science." He further stated that, "There is absolutely no evidence that any aspect of the Institute’s research has ever been affected one way or the other by whether Microsoft or anyone was or was not a supporter of The Independent Institute. Furthermore, there is no evidence that any of the Institute’s findings are incorrect."

Theroux pursued the matter further, insisting that the Times piece's admission that another computer firm was behind the story was indeed the case. Nine months later, front-page articles appeared in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times confirming Theroux's claim, reporting that when finally cornered, Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison had admitted to launching a clandestine campaign to try to discredit TII’s work[7]. Oracle had hired Terry Lenzner's CIA-connected Investigative Group International (IGI), fronting as "Upstream Technologies," to as Theroux noted, "employ back-alley tactics, subterfuge, and disinformation in order to achieve its aims. For an organization that uses IGI, 'Upstream Technologies', and others to front its operations, we fail to see how Oracle has a leg to stand on. And, since Oracle grew out of a contract with the CIA and is proudly named after that CIA project, what does this say about the corporate culture at Oracle? We challenge Oracle’s executives--and renew our invitation to Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein--to publicly debate the central economic, legal, and social issues of antitrust, competition, and high technology." Theroux further noted that six months prior to the Times article and threee months prior to the ads, he had sent Ellison a copy of the manuscript for the then forthcoming TII book, Winners, Losers & Microsoft[8], asking for comments. When published in that late spring, the book, which was based on TII's research from years earlier, critiqued "network externality" theory and received universal, glowing reviews in The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Upside, Financial Times, and elsewhere. Theroux added that clearly Ellison's response was that since he could not refute TII's analysis and well knew that TII could not be bought by anyone, his choice was to try to kick up enough dust to cloud the issue and prevent any real public discussion when the case was reaching its climax. (Theroux also noted that at no time during the antitrust case did Microsoft use any of TII's analysis.) However, despite the confusion that resulted from Oracle's campaign, TII's work remains unrefuted today.

Funding

On its website the Institute states that it "receives no government funding. Instead, it draws its support from a diverse range of foundations, businesses and individuals, and the sale of its publications and other services." [9]

The Independent Institute received from Philip Morris in 1997 a donation of $10,000 [10] and in 1998 a donation of $25,000. [11]

Exxon donated $10,000 in 1998 [12] and again $10,000 as Exxon Mobil in 2002. [13]

'The San Francisco Foundation' gave in fiscal year 2000 (July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000) to 'The Independent Institute' $10,000 ([14])

According to Media Transparency, TII has received $678,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005. [15] Grants have included those from:

• The John M. Olin Foundation gave in 1996 to The Independent Institute $40,000 for "The promotion of two books: The Diversity Myth, by David O. Sacks and Peter a Thiel; and The Melting Pot, by Richard K. Vedder and Lowell E. Gallaway" and in 1998 another $25,000 for "The Institute's book program".
• The David H. Koch Charitable Foundation gave in 1995 - 2001 in total $160,000 for "General Operating Support".
• The Earhart Foundation gave in 1998 - 2001 in total $46,095 to support editor Dr. Robert Higgs.
• The Castle Rock Foundation gave in 2002 for "General operating support" $25,000.

Board of Advisors

• Herman Belz, Professor of History, University of Maryland
• Thomas Bethell, Columnist and Author, The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages
• Thomas E. Borcherding, Professor of Economics, Claremont Graduate School
• Boudewijn R. A. Bouckaert, Professor of Law, University of Ghent, Belgium
• James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, University Professor, Center for the Study of Public Choice, George Mason University
• Allan C. Carlson, President, Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society
• Robert D. Cooter, Herman F. Selvin Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley
• Robert W. Crandall, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
• Richard A. Epstein, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago
• A. Ernest Fitzgerald, Author, The High Priests of Waste and The Pentagonists: An Insider's View of Waste, Mismanagement and Fraud in Defense Spending
• B. Delworth Gardner, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Brigham Young University
• George Gilder, Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
• Nathan Glazer, Professor of Education and Sociology, Harvard University
• Ronald Hamowy, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Alberta, Canada; Editor, Dealing with Drugs; Author, The Political Sociology of Freedom
• Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University
• Ronald Max Hartwell, Emeritus Professor of History, Oxford University, England
• James J. Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
• Wendy Kaminer, Contributing Editor, The Atlantic Monthly; Member, Board of Directors, ACLU
• Lawrence A. Kudlow, Chief Executive Officer, Kudlow & Company; former Associate Director for Economics and Planning, Office of Management and Budget
• John R. MacArthur, Publisher, Harper's Magazine, Author, Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War
• Deirdre N. McCloskey, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago
• J. Huston McCulloch, Professor of Economics, Ohio State University
• Forrest McDonald, Distinguished University Research Professor of History, University of Alabama
• Thomas Gale Moore, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• Charles Murray, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
• Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion and Public Policy, American Enterprise Institute
• June E. O'Neill, Director, Center for the Study of Business & Government, Baruch College, former Director, U.S. Congressional Budget Office
• Tom Peters, Co-Author, In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies, Author, Liberation Management and A Passion for Excellence: The Leadership Diffference
• Charles E. Phelps, Provost and Professor of Political Science and Economics, University of Rochester
• Paul Craig Roberts, Chairman, Institute of Political Economy; former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Co-Author, The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice
• Nathan Rosenberg, Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor of Public Policy, Stanford University
• Simon Rottenberg, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts
• Paul H. Rubin, Professor of Economics and Law, Emory University, Editor, Managerial and Decision Economics
• Bruce M. Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations, Yale University, Editor, Journal of Conflict Resolution
• Pascal Salin, Professor of Economics, University of Paris, France
• William F. Shughart, II, Robert M. Hearin Chair of Business Adminsitration and Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi
• Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, Professor of Economics and Law, Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, George Mason University
• Joel H. Spring, Professor of Education, State University of New York, New Paltz; Author, Education and the Rise of the Corporate State
• Richard L. Stroup, Professor of Economics, Montana State University; former Director, Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Thomas S. Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, Health Science Center, State University of New York, Syracuse; Author, The Myth of Mental Illness and Pharmacracy: Medicine and Politics in America
• Robert D. Tollison, Robert M. Hearin Chair of Business Adminsitration and Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi
• Arnold J. Trebach, Professor of Law, American University; Author, The Great Drug War
• William Tucker, Author, The Excluded Americans: Homelessness and Housing Policies
• Gordon Tullock, University Professor of Law and Economics and Distinguished Research Fellow, George Mason University
• Gore Vidal, National Book Award-Winner, Playwright, Screenwriter, and Author of the American Chronicle Series of Historical Novels (Burr, 1876, Lincoln, Empire, Hollywood, The Smithsonian, The Golden Age, and Washington D.C.)
• Richard E. Wagner, Hobart R. Harris Professor of Economics, George Mason University
• Sir Alan Walters, Vice Chairman, AIG Trading Company
• Paul H. Weaver, Author, News and the Culture of Lying
• Walter E. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Economics, George Mason University
• Charles Wolf, Jr., Senior Economist and Corporate Fellow, International Economics, RAND Corporation

In Memoriam Board of Advisors

• Stephen E. Ambrose, Professor of History Emeritus, University of New Orleans
• M. E. Bradford, Professor of English, University of Dallas
• Arthur A. Ekirch Jr., Professor of History, State University of New York, Albany
• Jonathan Kwitny, Author, Endless Enemies and The Crimes of Patriots
• Merton H. Miller, Nobel Laureate in Economic Science; Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Professor of Finance Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago
• Murray N. Rothbard, S. J. Hall Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Arthur Seldon, Founder-Director, Institute of Economic Affairs, London, England
• Julian L. Simon, Professor of Business Administration, University of Maryland
• William E. Simon, former Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Aaron B. Wildavsky, Class of 1940 Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

Staff

• Ken Barnes, Controller
• Nichelle Beardsley, Customer Service Director
• Bruce L. Benson, Senior Fellow
• Elizabeth Brierly, Media Coordinator
• Martin Buerger, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
• John Campbell, Development Director
• Carl P. Close, Academic Affairs Director
• Roland de Becque, Production Coordinator
• Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow
• Gabriel Gasave, Research Analyst
• Anthony Gregory, Research Analyst
• William J. Griffith, Fulfillment Coordinator
• Fred Hamden, Sales and Marketing Director
• Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow in Political Economy
• Kenny Kasarda, Executive Assistant to the President
• Christopher Layne, Research Fellow
• Pat Rose, Public Affairs Director
• Wendy McElroy, Research Fellow
• Callie Rucker Oettinger, Public Affairs Counsel
• Pat Rose, Public Affairs Director
• Sanjeev K. Saini, Librarian
• Alexander Tabarrok, Research Director
• David J. Theroux, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
• Mary L. G. Theroux, Vice President
• Paul J. Theroux, Website Administrator
• Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Research Fellow
• Richard K. Vedder, Senior Fellow

Contact info

The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
Orders: 1-800-927-8733
Phone: (510) 632-1366
Fax: (510) 568-6040
web site: http://www.independent.org

Related Links

• Charity Navigator rating of The Independent Institute, August 28, 2006
• NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks
• Wired News - "'Twas Oracle That Spied on MS", June 28, 2000
• Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism, June 2, 1999
• David J. Theroux, "Winners, Losers & Microsoft - Strikes a Sensitive Nerve, Response to New York Times Article", The Independent Institute, September 19, 1999
• Jacob Sullum column - Flack Catcher, November 3, 1999
• David Callahan, "The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups", Washington Monthly, September 1999
• Theroux letter to the Wall Street Journal, "A Challenge to Oracle", June 29, 2000
• TII responds to Trust Us, We're Experts errors, February 7, 2001
• TII press release on New York Times and Wall Street Jourrnal articles revealing clandestine Oracle campaign to smear critics, June 28, 2000
• Independent Institute, Oakland, CA, Media Transparency, 2002