The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a neoliberal think tank based in Washington DC. It calls itself "a non-profit, non-partisan research and advocacy institute dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. We believe that individuals are best helped not by government intervention, but by making their own choices in a free marketplace." [1]

On its website CEI states that it "serves as both a think tank—creating intellectual ammunition to support free markets—and an advocacy organization—putting that ammunition to use in persuasive ways." [2]

It postures as an advocate of "sound science" in the development of public policy. However, CEI projects dispute the overwhelimng scientific evidence that human induced greenhouse gas emissions are driving climate change. They have a program for "challenging government regulations", push property rights as a solution to environment problems, opposed US vehicle fuel efficiency standards and been a booster for the drug industry.

See The Competitive Enterprise Institute And Global Warming and CEI Programs & Projects for more details.

Others say the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public policy organization founded in 1984 by Fred Smith. CEI's stated belief is that consumers are best helped not by government regulation of commercial interests, but by consumers being allowed to make their own choices in a free marketplace. CEI states that it promotes classical liberal ideals through analysis, education, coalition-building, advocacy, and regulation.^[1] A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body, in order to ensure that an individuals or organizations point of view is represented in the government. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fred L. Smith, Jr. ... In economics, consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services generated within the economy. ... Government regulation involves the use of the law, mandated by the state, to produce outcomes which might not otherwise occur, prevent outcomes which might otherwise occur, produce or prevent outcomes in different places to what might otherwise occur, or produce or prevent outcomes in different timescales than would otherwise occur. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In finance, interest has three general definitions. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ...

CEI is a think tank funded by donations from individuals, foundations and corporations, including the Scaife Foundations, the Ford Motor Company Fund, Pfizer, and the Earhart Foundation. (More details below.) CEI cites its major issues of concern as Environmental Policy, Regulation and Economic Liberty, Legal and Constitutional, and Health and Safety. Among the methods used to implement the organization's agenda are various press releases and policy papers, testifying at governmental hearings, suits against various governmental agencies, paid advertising, editorial and op-ed pieces, open letters, books, and NGO operations. This article is about the institution. ... Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932) is an American billionaire philanthropist and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the worlds third largest automaker after Toyota and General Motors, based on worldwide vehicle sales. ... Pfizer, Incorporated (NYSE: PFE) (pronounced faɪzəɹ or faɪzÉ™), is the worlds largest pharmaceutical company. ... The Earhart Foundation is a foundation that funds research and scholarship. ... The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public policy organization founded in 1984 by Fred Smith. ... An environment is a complex of external factors that acts on a system and determines its course and form of existence. ... Look up policy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... This article is about law in society. ... Occupational safety and health is the discipline concerned with preserving and protecting human and facility resources in the workplace. ... An agency is a department of a local or national government responsible for the oversight and administration of a specific function, such as a customs agency or a space agency. ... Look up editorial, op-ed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An Op-Ed is a piece of writing expressing an opinion. ... An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience. ... NGO is an abbreviation or code for: Non-governmental organization Nagoya Airport (IATA code) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Policy areas

Environmental Policy

According to CEI, the Wall Street Journal has called it "the best environmental think tank in the country."[1] CEI says it promotes "free market environmentalism" and says market institutions are more effective in protecting the environment than is government. The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... For the psychology topic, see Environmental psychology. ...

Among other things, CEI has been an outspoken opponent of government action on global warming that would require limits on greenhouse gas emissions. In March 1992, CEI’s founder Fred Smith said of global warming: "Most of the indications right now are it looks pretty good. Warmer winters, warmer nights, no effects during the day because of clouding, sounds to me like we’re moving to a more benign planet, more rain, richer, easier productivity to agriculture". [2] Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ...

One of CEI's projects is the Cooler Heads Coalition, which operated the website globalwarming.org. Myron Ebell is the chairman of CHC, and the Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the CEI. The Cooler Heads Coalition is a sub-group of the National Consumer Coalition, formed May 6, 1997. ... Myron Ebell is the Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. ...

In December of 2005 CEI participated in the UNFCCC negotiations in Montreal as an NGO, sending back several dispatches summarizing events of the conference [3]. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. ... Nickname: City of Mary (Ville-Marie) Motto: Concordia Salus (salvation through harmony) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1] [2] [3]  - City 365. ...

In a 2006 letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury (after the Archbishop urged Christians to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions), the CEI said that reducing these levels, even in "baby steps," would "result in the deaths of more people in the U.S. than global warming would worldwide". [4]

Regulation and Economic Liberty

CEI uses think tank and advocacy methods to support activities in various areas, such as antitrust and government regulation, in matters including corporate welfare, Internet and E-Commerce, and Privacy and Security. They have caused or influenced subjects in the area, including matters involving CAFE, rent control, FDA proposals, and the FTC. One of the CEI's projects related to this is The Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellowship. Advocacy is an umbrella term for organized activism related to a particular set of issues. ... This article is about anti-competitive business behavior. ... Government regulation involves the use of the law, mandated by the state, to produce outcomes which might not otherwise occur, prevent outcomes which might otherwise occur, produce or prevent outcomes in different places to what might otherwise occur, or produce or prevent outcomes in different timescales than would otherwise occur. ... Corporate welfare is a pejorative term, first coined by Ralph Nader in 1956, describing a governments bestowal of grants and/or tax breaks on corporations or other special favorable treatment from the government. ... Electronic commerce or e-commerce consists of the buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over computer networks. ... Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to keep their lives and personal affairs out of public view, or to control the flow of information about themselves. ... This page covers security in the sense of protection from hostile action. ... The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States, first enacted by Congress in 1975, exist to regulate and improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. ... Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on residential housing. ... The United States Food and Drug Administration is the government agency responsible for regulating food, dietary supplements, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, biologics and blood products in the United States. ... FTC may mean several things: The Federal Trade Commission. ...

Legal and constitutional

CEI is also active in the legal aspects of antitrust and government regulation. The Project on Technology & Innovation is extending CEI's efforts into new areas, including antitrust in high tech and network industries, privacy, e-commerce, intellectual property, and telecommunications.

CEI opposes a range of regulatory intervention into commercial activities including bans on alcohol advertising, fuel economy mandates and proposals to mitigate global warming. CEI supports constitutional checks over government's power over corporations.

Health and safety

CEI criticises health and safety regulation and argues through its Death by Regulation project that overregulation itself can be deadly. For example, they have claimed that automotive downsizing due to federal fuel economy standards may increase road accident deaths, and have criticised the delayed availability of new medical therapies due to Food and Drug Administration rules.

CEI Staff

CEI lists its Adjunct Scholars and twenty-five full-time staff members, their titles, and major area of responsibility on its website.[5]. Some notable staff members include:

• Fred Smith (director) - Founder and president
• Michael Greve (director) - American Enterprise Institute
• Leonard Liggio (director since 1994) - Atlas Economic Research Foundation
• Myron Ebell (since 1999) - specializes in climate change
• Steven Milloy - editor of Junkscience.com and foxnews.com columnist

Fred L. Smith, Jr. ... Michael Greve is the John G. Searle Scholar and Director of the Federalism Project at the American Enterprise Institute. ... The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative think tank, founded in 1943, whose stated mission is to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism — limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies... Leonard Liggio (born July 5, 1933) is a self-described classical liberal author, research professor of law at George Mason University, and executive vice president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Virginia. ... The Atlas Economic Research Foundation was founded in 1981 by Antony Fisher. ... Myron Ebell is the Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. ... Steven Milloy is a columnist for Fox News and a paid advocate for Phillip Morris, ExxonMobil and other corporations. ...

Criticism

CEI has been called an "ideologically-driven, well-funded front for corporations opposed to safety and environmental regulations that affect the way they do business"^[2] by Sourcewatch, which has in turn been criticised (by Alan Caruba) as being funded by "left-wing foundations... that seek a competitive edge or want to influence public policy".^[3] Sourcewatch itself refers to CEI as being "a neoliberal think tank" and has posted articles such as "Smoking as a civic duty", criticizing a series of CEI articles containing that quote. SourceWatchs logo features a magnifying glass through which its name can be seen. ... Alan Caruba is a public relations advisor, a critic of environmentalism and founder of the National Anxiety Center. ... The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by...

In May 2006, CEI released a controversial ad campaign with two television commercials [6] arguing that global warming is not a problem. The commercials used the tagline "Carbon Dioxide - They call it pollution; We call it life." One ad stated that the world's glaciers are "growing, not melting... getting thicker, not thinner."^[4] The ad cited two Science articles to support its claims. However, the editor for Science stated that the ad "misrepresents the conclusions of the two cited Science papers... by selective referencing". The author of the articles, Curt Davis, director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said CEI was misrepresenting his previous research to back their claims. "These television ads are a deliberate effort to confuse and mislead the public about the global warming debate," he said. [7] For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected... Science is the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). ...

The second ad in the campaign claimed that carbon dioxide is misrepresented as a pollutant, stating that "it’s essential to life. We breathe it out. Plants breathe it in... They call it pollution. We call it life."^[4] However, the academic consensus among scientific organizations worldwide is that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are causing Earth's surface temperatures to warm. For example, in June 2005, the science academies of eleven leading industrialized nations (including the United States' National Academy of Sciences) released "Joint science academies' statement: Global response to climate change" which stated that carbon dioxide levels have increased from 280 ppm to 375 ppm in the last 256 years, and that "Increasing greenhouse gases are causing temperatures to rise..."^[4] Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Many of the compounds which are dangerous to the environment can also be harmful to humans in the long-term range and come from mineral and fossil sources or are produced by humans themselves. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A developed country enjoys a relatively high standard of living through a strong high-technology diversified economy. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... Parts per million (ppm) is a measure of concentration that is used where low levels of concentration are significant. ...

Individuals associated with CEI have also been criticised. Steven Milloy has written extensively on global warming and other topics while receiving undisclosed funding from ExxonMobil. Following this disclosure, Milloy's name was removed from the list of adjunct scholars at the Cato Institute. He was subsequently appointed as an adjunct scholar at CEI. Steven Milloy is a columnist for Fox News and a paid advocate for Phillip Morris, ExxonMobil and other corporations. ... Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, USA, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in the world, formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ... The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institutes stated mission is to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace by seeking greater involvement of the...

Funding

In its IRS Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, CEI reported revenues totalling $2,919,537, including donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. Its net assets were $1,670,808. Salaries and benefits to its top employees were reported as:

• Fred L. Smith, President, $175,000
• Marlo Lewis, Senior Fellow, $100,000
• Sam Kazman, General Counsel, $98,000

According to page nine of a report from the CEI contained on the University of California, San Francisco's Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL), the following companies and foundations were among those listed as supporting CEI's work with annual contributions of at least $10,000, currently the CEI's "Entrepreneurs" level: UCSF in 1908, with the streetcar that used to run on Parnassus Avenue The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is one of the worlds leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. ...

Aequus Institute, Amoco Foundation, Inc., Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Coca-Cola Company, E.L. Craig Foundation, CSX Corporation, Earhart Foundation, Fieldstead and Co., FMC Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, Gilder Foundation, Koch Family Foundations (including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, and Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation), Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc., Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, Philip Morris Companies, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Precision Valve Corporation, Prince Foundation, Rodney Fund, Sheldon Rose, Scaife Foundations (Carthage Foundation and Sarah Scaife Foundation), and Texaco, Inc. (Texaco Foundation). The American Oil Company, or Amoco, was a global chemical and oil company, founded in Baltimore in 1910 and incorporated in 1922 by Louis Blaustein and his son Jacob, but now part of BP. The firms early innovations include the gasoline tanker truck and the drive-through filling station. ... The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a large and influential right-wing foundation with about half a billion US dollars in assets. ... The Coca-Cola Companys headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is an international beverage and food manufacturer whose headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States of America. ... CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 by the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries and eventually merged the various railroads owned by those predecessors into a single line that became known as CSX Transportation. ... The Earhart Foundation is a foundation that funds research and scholarship. ... Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the worlds third largest automaker after Toyota and General Motors, based on worldwide vehicle sales. ... Koch Family Foundations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Koch Family Foundations, consisting of the David H. Koch Foundation, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, are a major funder of libertarian and free market-oriented institutions. ... The Koch Family Foundations, consisting of the David H. Koch Foundation, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, are a major funder of libertarian and free market-oriented institutions. ... Altria Group, Inc. ... Pfizer, Incorporated (NYSE: PFE) (pronounced faɪzəɹ or faɪzÉ™), is the worlds largest pharmaceutical company. ... Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932) is an American billionaire philanthropist and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... The Carthage Foundation is one of the American Scaife Foundations. ... This article lacks information on the subject matters importance. ... Texaco is the name of an American oil company that was merged into Chevron Corporation in 2001. ...

The listing on the Philip Morris Glossary of Names: C at the LTDL gives the note "Received public policy grant from Philip Morris (1995); Pro-market public interest group dedicated to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government."

ExxonMobil Corporation was a major donor to CEI, with over $2 million in contributions between 1998 and 2005. [8] In 2002 the company gave $405,000;[9] in 2004 it gave CEI $180,000 that was earmarked for "global climate change and global climate change outreach." ^[5] In 2006, the company announced that they had ended their funding for the group.[10] Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, USA, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in the world, formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ...

Governance

The organization is governed by a board of directors. The current board of directors consists of: William Dunn, Michael Greve, Leonard Liggio, Thomas Gale Moore, William O'Keefe, Frances Smith, and Fred Smith. In relation to a company, a director is an officer of the company charged with the conduct and management of its affairs. ... Blue Tracer was a Golden Age of comics superhero, created by Fred Guardineer and published by Quality Comics. ... Michael Greve is the John G. Searle Scholar and Director of the Federalism Project at the American Enterprise Institute. ... Leonard Liggio (born July 5, 1933) is a self-described classical liberal author, research professor of law at George Mason University, and executive vice president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Virginia. ... Fred L. Smith, Jr. ...

Notes

1. ^ Self-description on National Survey of Oncologists
2. ^ SourceWatch contributors (2006-05-27). Competitive Enterprise Institute. SourceWatch.org. Retrieved on 2006-05-30.
3. ^ Caruba, Alan (2006-01-29). Smearing Conservative Writers. NewReleaseWire.com. Retrieved on 2006-05-30.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Bank, Justin (2006-05-26). Scientist to CEI: You Used My Research To "Confuse and Mislead". FactCheck.org. Retrieved on 2006-05-30.
5. ^ Exxon-Mobil 2005 annual giving (donations) report: Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., General Operating Support 90,000, General Operating Support* 180,000 ,Total 270,000 2005 annual giving report

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ...

External links

• CEI homepage
• Official blog: CEI Open Market
• Cooler Heads Coalition homepage

Critics

• Sourcewatch/Disinfopedia
• ExxonCritics: Factsheet Competitive Enterprise Institute
• gmwatch.org: Profiles: CEI
• Clean Air Trust
• Think Progress blog post