Difference between revisions of "Independent Institute"

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'''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.
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{{Tobaccowiki}}
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'''The Independent Institute''' (TII) is a [[think tank]] that was founded in 1986 by [[David J. Theroux]], who was also the president of the think tank.
  
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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.
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<font color=brown>Don't confuse it with the [[Independence Institute]] which was established in Colorado with funding from [[Joseph Coors]].</font>
  
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=== Antitrust Protectionism, Microsoft, and Oracle ===
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The Independent Institute 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. Some of their analysts oppose the  dominant view of scientists of the need for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
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As with its opposition through its Center on Peace & Liberty[http://www.independent.org/research/copal] 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:
 
  
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The ''New York Times'' had on September 18, 1999 an article by Joel Brinkley called "&#8216;Unbiased&#8217; 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[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=483].
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However they are also part of the libertarian think-tank phenomenon and in (about) 1992 the Institute under [[Robert Higgs]] took over the administration of the tobacco industry's [[Cash for Comments Economists Network]] from [[Robert Tollison]], [[James Savarese]] and the [[Center for the Study of Public Choice]].
  
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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''[http://www.independent.org/publications/books/book_summary.asp?bookID=31], 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[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1069].
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<table width="30%" bgcolor="eeeedd" border=1  rules=all cellpadding=5 align=right>
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<tr bgcolor="cccccc"><th>RELATED ENTRIES</th></tr>
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<tr><td>[[The Independent Institute/Personnel]]</td></tr>
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<tr><td>[[Independent Institute (Doc Index)]]
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<tr><td>[[David J. Theroux]] &nbsp; [[Robert Higgs]]</td></tr>
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<tr><td>[[Cash for Comments Economists Network]]</td></tr>
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</table>
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=== TII, Microsoft Money and Oracle's Private Investigators ===
  
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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[http://reason.com/sullum/110399.shtml]. 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."[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html] 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."
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In May 1999 The Independent Institute published the book ''Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology'' by Stan J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis. A media release promoting the book stated that the book "makes a compelling case that the real danger to American high technology leadership is a too powerful, too intrusive government which believes it knows consumer preferences and needs better than they do." [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=50]
  
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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[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37278,00.html]. 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''[http://www.independent.org/publications/books/book_summary.asp?bookID=50], 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.
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On June 2, 1999 The Independent Institute "sponsored" full-page advertisements - titled ''Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism'' - in the ''Washington Post'' and the ''New York Times''. The ads were signed by 240 academic economists and claimed "headline-grabbing cases against Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, Visa and MasterCard, along with a flurry of merger investigations now under way, would appear to demonstrate the need for a vigorously enforced antitrust policy that will create checks and balances to eliminate consumer harm. However, consumers did not ask for these antitrust actions — rival business firms did. [http://www.independent.org/pdf/open_letters/antitrust.pdf] (Pdf) (See accompanying [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=483 media release]). The advertisement also promoted ''Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology''. The same day, TII held a media conference in Washington D.C. unveiling the advertisements as well, co-inciding with the resumption of the anti-trust trial involving Microsoft.
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A little over three months later ''New York Times'' reporter Joel Brinkley revealed that the advertisements had been paid for by [[Microsoft]]. Public relations manager for the company, Greg Shaw, told Brinkley that "we thought this was an important, substantive letter, and we were interested in contributing to making it visible. In our view, the letter speaks for itself." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] Based on internal TII documents "provided to The New York Times by a Microsoft adversary associated with the computer industry who refused to be further identified", Brinkley revealed that Microsoft "has secretly served as the institute's largest outside financial benefactor in the last year." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html]
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Brinkley reported that while the Institute's Theroux had "long acknowledged" Microsoft as a funder of the think tank, he downplayed the company's role as being "just one of 2,000 members" which had paid an annual membership fee of roughly $10,000 a year. Theroux told Brinkley that all Microsoft gained was "free copies of our publications, discounted tickets to our events" and denied that Microsoft had any role with the newspaper ads which he said were "were paid for out of our general funds." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html]
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However, TII internal documents revealed that Microsoft had contributed $203,217 for the year to that June, making it the single largest contributor. Brinkley calculated that Microsoft's contribution amounted to approximately 20% of the funds in that year from external sources,excluding $304,725 that Theroux contributed to his own foundation. [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html]
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One of the documents provided to Brinkley was a bill for $153,868.67 covering the cost of the ads plus Theroux's travel expenses from San Francisco to Washington for the news conference. The bill was sent to Microsoft's John Kelly. When asked by Brinkley about the bill Theroux confimed that Microsoft had paid for the ads but claimed it made no difference. "The academic process we use is independent of sources of revenue," he said. [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html]
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When contacting the academics to sign on to their advertisement, TII did not disclose Microsoft's funding. One of the At least one academic who signed the ad disagreed. Simon Hakim, an economist at Temple University told Brinkley "He should have told us. I would not have participated if I had known. It's not right to use people as a vehicle for special interests," he said. [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html] Nor did Stan Liebowitz, one of the co-authors of the TII published book ''Winners, Losers and Microsoft'', know of the company's funding though he stated "it doesn't matter to me." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html]
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The day after Brinkley's article appeared, Theroux issued a media release focussing on the origin of the documents from a Microsoft adversary and claiming they had been "stolen". However, Theroux did not dispute the specific funding amounts referred to. He stated that "our final year-end records do not agree with the numbers he had been provided by his source" and claimed that at the media conference he had stated that the Microsoft funding amounted only to 7%. "It now appears the final figure is about 8%, a statistically insignificant difference, and far less than the 20% figure Mr. Brinkley claimed in his article," Theroux claimed. [http://independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1069]
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In June 2000 the ''Wall Street Journal'' revealed that the the Independent Institute's funding documents had been obtained by by staff of [[Investigative Group International]], a private investigation firm hired by Microsoft's rival Oracle. The WSJ reported that while Theroux suspected they had been stolen, those familiar with the operation hinted that they were obtained by rifling through the think tank's office trash. [http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502575.html]
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== Environmental Issues ==
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Much of the Anti-Global Warming rhetoric published by The Independent Institute is the work of a few persons, and one stands out, both in quantity of releases, as well as notoriety, [[S. Fred Singer]] who ran the climate-denial tobacco-funded organisation [[Science & Environmental Policy Project]] (SEPP). 
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Other analysts at the Independent Institute agreed that the environment was a pressing concern, including the issue of greenhouse gas emissions.  Where they dissented from current environmental theory is in their proposed methodologies for remediation; they propose strong private property and free market solutions rather than regulation, a libertarian model for environmentalism.
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{{Template:AntiEnvironmentalArchives}}
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== Tobacco Industry ==
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[[Robert D. Tollison]], [[Richard E. Wagner]] and [[Thomas Gale Moore]] are members of the Board of Advisors at the Independent Institute,  [[Gary M. Anderson|Gary Anderson]], [[Robert Ekelund]], [[Dwight R. Lee]], [[Mark Thornton]] and [[S. Fred Singer]] are Research Fellows and [[Richard Vedder]] is a Senior Fellow .  
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All of the above have a long history of working for the [[Tobacco Institute]] (TI) and/or [[Philip Morris]] and all nine were also members of the 'Academic Advisory Board' for the pro-tobacco junk science report '[[Science, Economics, and Environmental Policy: A Critical Examination]]' published by the [[Alexis de Tocqueville Institution]] (AdTI) on August 11, 1994. AdTI received money from both TI and Philip Morris. (''See:'' [[AdTI-Funding]])
  
 
== Funding ==
 
== Funding ==
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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." [http://www.independent.org/aboutus/] The Institute does not list which foundations or corporations it receives funding from on its website.
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On its website TII 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." [http://www.independent.org/aboutus/] The Institute does not list its contributors on its website, stating their rationale for this is in compliance with the [http://www.independent.org/membership/donorsbill.asp Donor's Bill of Rights]. However, the Donor's Bill of Rights does not require secrecy.
  
 
However, some funders of the Institute have been identified. These include:
 
However, some funders of the Institute have been identified. These include:
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*The San Francisco Foundation contributed $10,000 in fiscal year 2000 (July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000) ([http://www.sff.org/giving/advised.html])
 
*The San Francisco Foundation contributed $10,000 in fiscal year 2000 (July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000) ([http://www.sff.org/giving/advised.html])
  
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According to Media Transparency, TII has received $678,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005. [http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1119] Grants have included those from:  
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According to Media Transparency, TII has received $718,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005. [http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1119] Grants have included those from:  
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*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''".  
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*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".  
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*The [[ David H. Koch Charitable Foundation]] gave in 1995 - 2001 in total $160,000 for "''General Operating Support''".
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*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 [[Earhart Foundation]] gave in 1998 - 2001 in total $46,095 to support editor Dr. [[Robert Higgs]].
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*The [[Castle Rock Foundation]] gave in 2002 for "''General operating support''" $25,000.
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*The [[Castle Rock Foundation]] gave in 2002 for "General operating support" $25,000.
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== Board of Advisors ==
 
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*[[Herman Belz]], Professor of History, University of Maryland
 
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*[[Thomas Bethell]], Columnist and Author, ''The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages''
 
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*[[Thomas E. Borcherding]], Professor of Economics, Claremont Graduate School
 
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*[[Boudewijn R. A. Bouckaert]], Professor of Law, University of Ghent, Belgium
 
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*[[James M. Buchanan]], Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, University Professor, [[Center for the Study of Public Choice]], [[George Mason University]]
 
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*[[Allan C. Carlson]], President, Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society
 
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*[[Robert D. Cooter]], Herman F. Selvin Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley
 
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*[[Robert W. Crandall]], Senior Fellow, [[Brookings Institution]]
 
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*[[Richard A. Epstein]], James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago
 
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*[[A. Ernest Fitzgerald]], Author, ''The High Priests of Waste'' and ''The Pentagonists: An Insider's View of Waste, Mismanagement and Fraud in Defense Spending''
 
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*[[B. Delworth Gardner]], Emeritus Professor of Economics, Brigham Young University
 
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*[[George Gilder]], Senior Fellow, [[Discovery Institute]]
 
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*[[Nathan Glazer]], Professor of Education and Sociology, Harvard University
 
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*[[Ronald Hamowy]], Emeritus Professor of History, University of Alberta, Canada; Editor, ''Dealing with Drugs''; Author, ''The Political Sociology of Freedom''
 
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*[[Steve H. Hanke]], Professor of Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University
 
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*[[Ronald Max Hartwell]], Emeritus Professor of History, Oxford University, England
 
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*[[James Heckman|James J. Heckman]], Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
 
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*[[Wendy Kaminer]], Contributing Editor, ''The Atlantic Monthly''; Member, Board of Directors, ACLU
 
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*[[Lawrence A. Kudlow]], Chief Executive Officer, Kudlow & Company; former Associate Director for Economics and Planning, [[Office of Management and Budget]]
 
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*[[John R. MacArthur]], Publisher, ''Harper's Magazine,'' Author, ''Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War''
 
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*[[Deirdre N. McCloskey]], Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago
 
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*[[J. Huston McCulloch]], Professor of Economics, Ohio State University
 
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*[[Forrest McDonald]], Distinguished University Research Professor of History, University of Alabama
 
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*[[Thomas Gale Moore]], Senior Fellow, [[Hoover Institution]], Stanford University
 
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*[[Charles Murray]], Senior Fellow, [[American Enterprise Institute]]
 
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*[[Michael Novak]], George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion and Public Policy, [[American Enterprise Institute]]
 
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*[[June E. O'Neill]], Director, Center for the Study of Business & Government, Baruch College, former Director, U.S. Congressional Budget Office
 
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*[[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''
 
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*[[Charles E. Phelps]], Provost and Professor of Political Science and Economics, University of Rochester
 
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*[[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''
 
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*[[Nathan Rosenberg]], Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor of Public Policy, Stanford University
 
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*[[Simon Rottenberg]], Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts
 
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*[[Paul H. Rubin]], Professor of Economics and Law, Emory University, Editor, ''Managerial and Decision Economics''
 
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*[[Bruce M. Russett]], Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations, Yale University, Editor, ''Journal of Conflict Resolution''
 
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*[[Pascal Salin]], Professor of Economics, University of Paris, France
 
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*[[William F. Shughart, II]], Robert M. Hearin Chair of Business Adminsitration and Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi
 
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*[[Vernon L. Smith]], Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, Professor of Economics and Law, Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, [[George Mason University]]
 
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*[[Joel H. Spring]], Professor of Education, State University of New York, New Paltz; Author, ''Education and the Rise of the Corporate State''
 
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*[[Richard L. Stroup]], Professor of Economics, Montana State University; former Director, Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the Interior
 
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*[[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''
 
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*[[Robert D. Tollison]], Robert M. Hearin Chair of Business Adminsitration and Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi
 
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*[[Arnold J. Trebach]], Professor of Law, American University; Author, ''The Great Drug War''
 
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*[[William Tucker]], Author, ''The Excluded Americans: Homelessness and Housing Policies''
 
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*[[Gordon Tullock]], University Professor of Law and Economics and Distinguished Research Fellow, George Mason University
 
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*[[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.'')
 
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*[[Richard E. Wagner]], Hobart R. Harris Professor of Economics, [[George Mason University]]
 
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*Sir [[Alan Walters]], Vice Chairman, AIG Trading Company
 
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*[[Paul H. Weaver]], Author, ''News and the Culture of Lying''
 
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*[[Walter E. Williams]], Distinguished Professor of Economics, [[George Mason University]]
 
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*[[Charles Wolf, Jr.]], Senior Economist and Corporate Fellow, International Economics, [[RAND Corporation]]
 
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''In Memoriam Board of Advisors''
 
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*[[Stephen E. Ambrose]], Professor of History Emeritus, University of New Orleans
 
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*[[M. E. Bradford]], Professor of English, University of Dallas
 
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*[[Arthur A. Ekirch Jr.]], Professor of History, State University of New York, Albany
 
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*[[Jonathan Kwitny]], Author, ''Endless Enemies'' and ''The Crimes of Patriots''
 
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*[[Merton H. Miller]], Nobel Laureate in Economic Science; Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Professor of Finance Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago
 
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*[[Murray N. Rothbard]], S. J. Hall Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
 
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*[[Arthur Seldon]], Founder-Director, [[Institute of Economic Affairs]], London, England
 
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*[[Julian L. Simon]], Professor of Business Administration, University of Maryland
 
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*[[William E. Simon]], former Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury
 
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*[[Aaron B. Wildavsky]], Class of 1940 Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
 
  
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== Staff ==
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==Personnel==
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*Ken Barnes, Controller
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The number of personnel involved in the Independent Institute as Directors, Senior Fellows, Research Fellows and others is so extensive that it has been posted to a separate page. See [[The Independent Institute/Personnel]]
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*Nichelle Beardsley, Customer Service Director
 
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*Bruce L. Benson, Senior Fellow
 
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*Elizabeth Brierly, Media Coordinator
 
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*Martin Buerger, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
 
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*John Campbell, Development Director
 
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*Carl P. Close, Academic Affairs Director
 
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*Roland de Becque, Production Coordinator
 
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*Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow
 
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*Gabriel Gasave, Research Analyst
 
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*Anthony Gregory, Research Analyst
 
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*William J. Griffith, Fulfillment Coordinator
 
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*Fred Hamden, Sales and Marketing Director
 
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*Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow in Political Economy
 
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*Kenny Kasarda, Executive Assistant to the President
 
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*Christopher Layne, Research Fellow
 
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*Pat Rose, Public Affairs Director
 
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*Wendy McElroy, Research Fellow
 
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*Callie Rucker Oettinger, Public Affairs Counsel
 
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*Pat Rose, Public Affairs Director
 
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*Sanjeev K. Saini, Librarian
 
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*Alexander Tabarrok, Research Director
 
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*David J. Theroux, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
 
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*Mary L. G. Theroux, Vice President
 
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*Paul J. Theroux, Website Administrator
 
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*Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Research Fellow
 
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*[[Richard K. Vedder]], Senior Fellow
 
  
 
== Contact info ==
 
== Contact info ==
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== Related Links ==
 
== Related Links ==
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*[http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7991/ Charity Navigator rating of The Independent Institute, August 28, 2006]
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===Funding===
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*[http://www.nira.go.jp/ice/nwdtt/2005/DAT/1398.html/ NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks]
 
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*[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37278,00.html/ Wired News - "'Twas Oracle That Spied on MS", June 28, 2000]
 
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*[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=483/ Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism, June 2, 1999]
 
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*David J. Theroux, "[http://independent.org/tii/news/990919Theroux.html Winners, Losers & Microsoft - Strikes a Sensitive Nerve, Response to New York Times Article]", ''The Independent Institute'', September 19, 1999
 
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*[http://reason.com/sullum/110399.shtml/ Jacob Sullum column - ''Flack Catcher'', November 3, 1999]
 
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*[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html/ David Callahan, "The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups", Washington Monthly, September 1999]
 
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*[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1058/ Theroux letter to the ''Wall Street Journal'', "A Challenge to Oracle", June 29, 2000]
 
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*[http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=385/ TII responds to ''Trust Us, We're Experts'' errors, February 7, 2001]
 
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*[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/news_detail.asp?newsID=44/ TII press release on ''New York Times'' and ''Wall Street Jourrnal'' articles revealing clandestine Oracle campaign to smear critics, June 28, 2000]
 
 
*[http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=1119 Independent Institute, Oakland, CA], ''Media Transparency'', 2002
 
*[http://www.mediatransparency.org/search_results/info_on_any_recipient.php?recipientID=1119 Independent Institute, Oakland, CA], ''Media Transparency'', 2002
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*[http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7991 Charity Navigator rating of The Independent Institute, August 28, 2006]
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 +
===TII, Microsoft and Anti-Trust Law===
 +
*Dominick T. Armentano, ''[http://independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=31 Antitrust and Monopoly]'', The Independent Institute, 199. ISBN 0-945999-62-3
 +
*Stan Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis, ''[http://independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=50 Winners, Losers, & Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology]'', The Independent Institute, 1999. ISBN 0-945999-80-1 (Hardback); ISBN 0-945999-84-4 (Softback).
 +
*The Independent Institute, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=483/ Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism]", June 2, 1999
 +
*Joel Brinkley, "[http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/18soft.html 'Unbiased' Ads for Microsoft Came at a Price]", ''New York Times'', September 18, 1999.
 +
*David J. Theroux, "[http://independent.org/tii/news/990919Theroux.html Winners, Losers & Microsoft - Strikes a Sensitive Nerve, Response to New York Times Article]", ''The Independent Institute'', September 19, 1999.
 +
*David Callahan, "[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups]", ''Washington Monthly'', September 1999.
 +
*Uriel Wittenberg, [http://www.urielw.com/deception2.htm The Independent Institute]", Uriel Wittenberg, 1999.
 +
*[[Jacob Sullum]], "[http://reason.com/sullum/110399.shtml Flack Catcher]", ''ReasonOnline'', November 3, 1999.
 +
*Uriel Wittenberg, "[http://www.urielw.com/reasonfdn.htm Flack Journalist’s Defense Confirms Flackhood]", Uriel Wittenberg, May 27, 2000.
 +
*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37022,00.html  MS Espionage: Cash for Trash]", ''Wired News'', June, 15, 2000.
 +
*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37039,00.html Who's Digging Up MS Dirt?]", ''Wired News'', June 16, 2000.
 +
*Ted Bridis, and Mylene Mangalindan, "[http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502575.html Oracle-MS flap -- how it happened]", ZDNet News, June 28, 2000. (This was originally published in the ''Wall Street Journal'').
 +
*Ted Bridis, and Mylene Mangalindan, "[http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502575-2.html?tag=st.next Oracle-MS flap -- how it happened Part ii]", ZDNet News, June 28, 2000. (This was originally published in the ''Wall Street Journal'').
 +
*The Independent Institute, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/news_detail.asp?newsID=44 Statement from The Independent Institute on Oracle’s Sponsorship of Smear Campaign:] Facts Refute Oracle CEO’s Wild Claims that Institute is a 'Front Group' that Received 'Secret Funding' from Microsoft", Media Release, June 28, 2000.
 +
*Declan McCullagh, "[http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37278,00.html/ "'Twas Oracle That Spied on MS"] ''Wired News - '', June 28, 2000.
 +
*"[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB962239292410510916.html Larry Meets Terry]", ''Wall Street Journal Online'', June 29, 2000.
 +
*David Theroux, "[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB96224764316024205.html?mod=Review-Outlook "A Challenge to Oracle"], Letter to the Editor, ''Wall Street Journal'', June 29, 2000.
 +
*The Independent Institute, "[http://www.independent.org/issues/article.asp?id=385 Institute Responds to 'Trust Us, We're Experts' Authors' Fantasy]", Media Release, February 7, 2001.
 +
*John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, "[http://www.mediachannel.org/views/oped/trustus.shtmlTrust Us, We're Anti-Antitrust]", ''Media Channel'', February 14, 2001.
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===TII Reports on Environmental Issues===
 +
*Roger E. Meiners, Bruce Yandle, "[http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=289 The Common Law Solution to Water Pollution - The Path Not Taken]", The Independent Institute, Research Report, April 1, 1992
 +
*David J. Theroux, "[http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1447 Property Rights v. Environmental Ruin]", Independent Institute, Research Report, August 1, 1994
 +
*Randy T. Simmons, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=260 Markets Key to Saving Our Endangered Species]", Independent Institute, Research Report, January 1, 1995
 +
*Jane S. Shaw, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_07_1_shaw.pdf Private Property Rights, Not Ideologies, Are the Crux]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 7 Number 1, Summer 2002
 +
*Tracy Wates, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=431 Banking in Endangered Species]", Independent Institute Commentary, September 23, 2002
 +
*Jeffrey R. Clark and Dwight R. Lee, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_4_clark.pdf Global Warming and Its Dangers]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 8 Number 4, Spring 2004
 +
*Franklin Lopez, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_09_3_2_lopez.pdf Sustainable Development and Institutional Failure: The Case of Ecuador]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 9 Number 3, Winter 2005
 +
*Mark Pennington, "[http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_1_2_pennington.pdf Liberty, Markets, and Environmental Values: A Hayekian Defense of Free-Market Environmentalism]"(PDF), The Independent Review, Volume 10 Number 1, Summer 2005
 +
 +
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[[Category:Tobacco documents organizations|Independent Institute]]
 
[[Category:Think tanks]][[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:Think tanks]][[Category:United States]]

Latest revision as of 11:46, 14 December 2016

Tobaccospin.jpg

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

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

Don't confuse it with the Independence Institute which was established in Colorado with funding from Joseph Coors.

The Independent Institute 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. Some of their analysts oppose the dominant view of scientists of the need for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

However they are also part of the libertarian think-tank phenomenon and in (about) 1992 the Institute under Robert Higgs took over the administration of the tobacco industry's Cash for Comments Economists Network from Robert Tollison, James Savarese and the Center for the Study of Public Choice.

RELATED ENTRIES
The Independent Institute/Personnel
Independent Institute (Doc Index)
David J. Theroux   Robert Higgs
Cash for Comments Economists Network

TII, Microsoft Money and Oracle's Private Investigators

In May 1999 The Independent Institute published the book Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology by Stan J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis. A media release promoting the book stated that the book "makes a compelling case that the real danger to American high technology leadership is a too powerful, too intrusive government which believes it knows consumer preferences and needs better than they do." [1]

On June 2, 1999 The Independent Institute "sponsored" full-page advertisements - titled Open Letter on Antitrust Protectionism - in the Washington Post and the New York Times. The ads were signed by 240 academic economists and claimed "headline-grabbing cases against Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, Visa and MasterCard, along with a flurry of merger investigations now under way, would appear to demonstrate the need for a vigorously enforced antitrust policy that will create checks and balances to eliminate consumer harm. However, consumers did not ask for these antitrust actions — rival business firms did. [2] (Pdf) (See accompanying media release). The advertisement also promoted Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology. The same day, TII held a media conference in Washington D.C. unveiling the advertisements as well, co-inciding with the resumption of the anti-trust trial involving Microsoft.

A little over three months later New York Times reporter Joel Brinkley revealed that the advertisements had been paid for by Microsoft. Public relations manager for the company, Greg Shaw, told Brinkley that "we thought this was an important, substantive letter, and we were interested in contributing to making it visible. In our view, the letter speaks for itself." [3] Based on internal TII documents "provided to The New York Times by a Microsoft adversary associated with the computer industry who refused to be further identified", Brinkley revealed that Microsoft "has secretly served as the institute's largest outside financial benefactor in the last year." [4]

Brinkley reported that while the Institute's Theroux had "long acknowledged" Microsoft as a funder of the think tank, he downplayed the company's role as being "just one of 2,000 members" which had paid an annual membership fee of roughly $10,000 a year. Theroux told Brinkley that all Microsoft gained was "free copies of our publications, discounted tickets to our events" and denied that Microsoft had any role with the newspaper ads which he said were "were paid for out of our general funds." [5]

However, TII internal documents revealed that Microsoft had contributed $203,217 for the year to that June, making it the single largest contributor. Brinkley calculated that Microsoft's contribution amounted to approximately 20% of the funds in that year from external sources,excluding $304,725 that Theroux contributed to his own foundation. [6]

One of the documents provided to Brinkley was a bill for $153,868.67 covering the cost of the ads plus Theroux's travel expenses from San Francisco to Washington for the news conference. The bill was sent to Microsoft's John Kelly. When asked by Brinkley about the bill Theroux confimed that Microsoft had paid for the ads but claimed it made no difference. "The academic process we use is independent of sources of revenue," he said. [7]

When contacting the academics to sign on to their advertisement, TII did not disclose Microsoft's funding. One of the At least one academic who signed the ad disagreed. Simon Hakim, an economist at Temple University told Brinkley "He should have told us. I would not have participated if I had known. It's not right to use people as a vehicle for special interests," he said. [8] Nor did Stan Liebowitz, one of the co-authors of the TII published book Winners, Losers and Microsoft, know of the company's funding though he stated "it doesn't matter to me." [9]

The day after Brinkley's article appeared, Theroux issued a media release focussing on the origin of the documents from a Microsoft adversary and claiming they had been "stolen". However, Theroux did not dispute the specific funding amounts referred to. He stated that "our final year-end records do not agree with the numbers he had been provided by his source" and claimed that at the media conference he had stated that the Microsoft funding amounted only to 7%. "It now appears the final figure is about 8%, a statistically insignificant difference, and far less than the 20% figure Mr. Brinkley claimed in his article," Theroux claimed. [10]

In June 2000 the Wall Street Journal revealed that the the Independent Institute's funding documents had been obtained by by staff of Investigative Group International, a private investigation firm hired by Microsoft's rival Oracle. The WSJ reported that while Theroux suspected they had been stolen, those familiar with the operation hinted that they were obtained by rifling through the think tank's office trash. [11]

Environmental Issues

Much of the Anti-Global Warming rhetoric published by The Independent Institute is the work of a few persons, and one stands out, both in quantity of releases, as well as notoriety, S. Fred Singer who ran the climate-denial tobacco-funded organisation Science & Environmental Policy Project (SEPP).

Other analysts at the Independent Institute agreed that the environment was a pressing concern, including the issue of greenhouse gas emissions. Where they dissented from current environmental theory is in their proposed methodologies for remediation; they propose strong private property and free market solutions rather than regulation, a libertarian model for environmentalism.

Documents Contained at the Anti-Environmental Archives
Documents written by or referencing this person or organization are contained in the Anti-Environmental Archive, launched by Greenpeace on Earth Day, 2015. The archive contains 3,500 documents, some 27,000 pages, covering 350 organizations and individuals. The current archive includes mainly documents collected in the late 1980s through the early 2000s by The Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), an organization that tracked the rise of the so called "Wise Use" movement in the 1990s during the Clinton presidency. Access the index to the Anti-Environmental Archives here.

Tobacco Industry

Robert D. Tollison, Richard E. Wagner and Thomas Gale Moore are members of the Board of Advisors at the Independent Institute, Gary Anderson, Robert Ekelund, Dwight R. Lee, Mark Thornton and S. Fred Singer are Research Fellows and Richard Vedder is a Senior Fellow .

All of the above have a long history of working for the Tobacco Institute (TI) and/or Philip Morris and all nine were also members of the 'Academic Advisory Board' for the pro-tobacco junk science report 'Science, Economics, and Environmental Policy: A Critical Examination' published by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (AdTI) on August 11, 1994. AdTI received money from both TI and Philip Morris. (See: AdTI-Funding)

Funding

On its website TII 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." [12] The Institute does not list its contributors on its website, stating their rationale for this is in compliance with the Donor's Bill of Rights. However, the Donor's Bill of Rights does not require secrecy.

However, some funders of the Institute have been identified. These include:

  • Philip Morris contributed a donation of $10,000 in 1997 [13] and a donation of $25,000 in 1998. [14]
  • Exxon donated $10,000 in 1998 [15]; $5,000 in 2000 and 2001, $10,000 as Exxon Mobil in 2002 [16]; $10,000 in 2003 and $30,000 in 2005. [17]
  • The San Francisco Foundation contributed $10,000 in fiscal year 2000 (July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000) ([18])

According to Media Transparency, TII has received $718,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005. [19] Grants have included those from:

Personnel

The number of personnel involved in the Independent Institute as Directors, Senior Fellows, Research Fellows and others is so extensive that it has been posted to a separate page. See The Independent Institute/Personnel

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

Funding

TII, Microsoft and Anti-Trust Law

TII Reports on Environmental Issues

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