- Mercatus Center
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Mercatus Center Founder(s) Richard H. Fink Established 1980 Director Tyler Cowen Faculty 71 Staff 53 Location Arlington, Virginia Address 3351 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22201Website www.mercatus.org The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit[1] market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice.
Contents
History
The Mercatus Center was founded by Rich Fink, who has worked closely with the Koch family foundations and political activities.[2] As of August 2010 he headed Koch Industries’ lobbying operation in Washington DC[2] and is former president of the Koch Family Foundations, which funds a network of market-oriented think tanks and advocacy groups. Originally it was called the Center for Market Processes and established at the Rutgers University. After the providing of more than thirty million dollars[2] to the George Mason University from the Koch Family the center moved to George Mason in the mid-1980s before assuming its current name in 1999.[2] The Mercatus Center is entirely funded through donations, including from companies like Koch Industries[3] and ExxonMobil[4], individual donors and foundations.
Mission
Stated mission
The organization's describe itself as “the world’s premier university source for market-oriented ideas—bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems.”[2] A university-based research center, Mercatus works to advance knowledge about how markets work to improve lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economic principles to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Mercatus has several research and outreach programs: Capitol Hill Campus, the Government Accountability Project, the Regulatory Studies Program, and the Global Prosperity Initiative.
Observers' comments
Washington Post columnist Al Kamen has described Mercatus as a "staunchly anti-regulatory center funded largely by Koch Industries Inc."[3] Rob Stein, the Democratic strategist, has called it "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington.”[2] The Wall Street Journal has called the Mercatus Center “the most important think tank you’ve never heard of.”[2]
Recent activity
In 2001, the Office of Management and Budget asked for public input on which regulations should be revised or killed. Mercatus submitted 44 of the 71 proposals the OMB received.[3] Mercatus organizes an active African research activity, EnterpriseAfrica!, in cooperation with the Institute of Economic Affairs of the United Kingdom, the Free Market Foundation of South Africa, and the John Templeton Foundation. In 2008 Mercatus released a report saying that Obama’s stimulus-spending measures had been directed disproportionately toward Democratic districts and was forced to correct it later.[2]
According to the Wall Street Journal fourteen of the twenty-three regulations that former President George W. Bush placed on a “hit list” had been suggested first from the staff of Mercatus.[2]
According to at least one critic, the Mercatus Center has helped Koch Industries financially. Thomas McGarity, a law professor at the University of Texas who specializes in environmental issues, has stated Koch Industries “has been constantly in trouble with the EPA, and Mercatus has constantly hammered” on the EPA.[2] In a New Yorker article on the Koch brothers and Koch Industries, journalist Jane Mayer describes the successful challenging by an economist and top official at the Center, (Susan Dudley), of a proposed EPA air pollution rule that would have affected emissions from oil refineries. (Koch industries refineries have a total capacity of 800,000 barrels per day.[5]) Dudley argued that clearer skies would result in more cases of skin cancer. In 1999, the [United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia|District of Columbia Circuit Court]] agreed with Dudley, ruling that the EPA had overstepped its authority and “explicitly disregarded” the “possible health benefits of ozone.”[2]
Recent structure
The Mercatus Center is located on George Mason University's Arlington Campus. The staff of The Economics department at the George Mason University is affiliated with the Mercatus center. Its general director and board chairman is George Mason economics professor Tyler Cowen. Other Board members include Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith, former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, businessman Charles G. Koch, and Rich Fink.
References
- ^ "About Mercatus Center". Mercatus Center. http://www.mercatus.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=13566.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mayer, Jane (2010-08-30). "Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.". The New Yorker (Condé Nast Publications). http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all.
- ^ a b c Kamen, Al (July 12, 2006). "I Am OMB and I Write the Rules". Washington Post: p. A13. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101155.html.
- ^ Exxon secrets Database
- ^ Refining and Chemicals
Further reading
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