Template:1987C4Cretainer

If there are any lingering doubts that these economist knew exactly what they were doing, it should be dispelled by a Tobacco Institute memo of June 3 1987. [1]. This shows that they knew that this work was unethical - that it needed to be done surreptitiously - and that they were working for the Tobacco Institute ... but in a way that was deniable since no formal contracts existed. Apparently Prof. McMahon has " … reviewed and agreed to "author" an economic impact study on the effects of a smoking bill …" The writer puts "author" in quotes ... leaving no doubt that the professor was being paid to put his name to a tobacco industry paper. The same file has an letter from Professor K. Celeste Gaspari, an economist from the University of Vermont. She tells us that: She had been contacted in Sep 1985 by the Center for Study of Public Choice at George Mason Uni (Tollison's think-tank) She was offered an annual retainer of $1000 + paid work for the Tobacco Institute. In 1986 she had been paid the retainer and had written a paper for them. It was now March '87 and her retainer hadn't arrived. She'd complained but still hadn't received the retainer. She has now been asked to do more work, but is on strike until her $1000 annual retainer is paid. I am very disappointed with the Tobacco Institute's policies on making good on verbal agreements. It is true I never had a written agreement with the Institute -- we only spoke over the phone. I did, however naively, trust that a verbal agreement with a prestigious institute was as good as a formal contract. I was evidently mistaken. I am not interested in working with your group at this time if this is the way you do business. Sincerely K. Celeste Gaspari