{"id":3660,"date":"2005-03-05T16:35:39","date_gmt":"2005-03-05T20:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/03\/05\/a-dead-horse-publicly-driven\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:55","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:55","slug":"a-dead-horse-publicly-driven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/03\/05\/a-dead-horse-publicly-driven\/","title":{"rendered":"a dead horse — publicly driven"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A<\/EM>pproaching storm…<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a black coat in the meadow<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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snorts against the wind<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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S<\/EM>cent of the dead horse–<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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descending vortex<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of vultures<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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C<\/EM>oolness…wind-stirred pines<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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mirrored in the stream<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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silhouettes of rising geese<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“LIllyShadwell” <\/FONT>Rebecca Lilly<\/EM><\/FONT><\/A>, from <\/FONT>Shadwell Hills<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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(Birch Prees Press, 2002)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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by <\/FONT>dagosan<\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A>:<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT>  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the dog <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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gets all her kisses —<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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chilled by a wagging tail  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                                     <\/FONT>  [March 5, 2005]<\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT>potluck<\/FONT><\/EM><\/STRONG><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV>
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“tinyredcheck” My amiable colleague <\/FONT>Walter Olson<\/FONT><\/A> is often very careful with his facts, nuances and analogies, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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but I think his “Litigation slush funds: California propagandizes for antitrust<\/EM><\/A>” <\/FONT> (Mar. 3, 2005), at Point <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of Law<\/EM>, rather carelessly misses the point.  As we reported on Feb. 10, in antitrust: the video<\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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an award of $496,000 was granted to the <\/FONT>American Antitrust Institute<\/FONT><\/A> to educate California <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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consumers and businesses about the benefits of the antitrust laws.  The award came from the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Vitamin Cases Consumer Settlement Fund (Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4076 <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Master File No. 301803, San Francisco County; approved September 8, 2004).  The case was <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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brought by the State of California and private plaintiffs under antitrust law, alleging that consumers <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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were harmed by a price-fixing scheme of the vitamin manufacturers.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Walter wants us to believe that an award in an antitrust case, under a cy pres<\/A><\/EM> fund, which will <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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be used to educate the public about the benefits of a little-understood existing law relevant to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the case, is equivalent to the use of tax-payer funds in a publicity campaign orchestrated by a <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Governor wanting to change current laws drastically.   Walter says:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"WOlson\"  “There’s currently a hue and cry over <\/FONT>revelations<\/FONT><\/A> that Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger’s <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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administration  used taxpayer funds<\/EM> to prepare materials promoting its view of reforming<\/EM> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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wage-and-hour laws; one presumes the same critics deplore the idea of using publicly <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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driven funds<\/EM> to sway public views in favor of more expansive antitrust enforcement.” <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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(emphases added)<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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I guess Walter (careful not to ass<\/EM>ume) presumes <\/EM>that Schwarznegger’s opposition can’t tell the<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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difference between tax-payer-funded and “publicly driven.”  (I would agree that chauffered <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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governors are publicly driven.)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Just what does “publicly driven” mean?  Do funds become “publicly driven” because they derive <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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from a court case brought by private plaintiffs?  Because the state is suing on behalf of its citizen-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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consumers?  Are such funds really analogous to money straight from the State treasury and taxpayer <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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pockets?  Seems like a stretch that might be made by the sort of slippery lawyers Walter so often <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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decries. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"aaiMastN\"<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The Consumers Fund was open to applications from non-profit organizations for projects related <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to food delivery to the needy, nutritional and health outreach, professional education, nutrition <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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education, research, as well as antitrust enforcement and policy.  [See the <\/FONT>Declaration<\/FONT><\/A> of the Cy Pres<\/EM> <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Fund Administrator, Harry M. Snyder, and <\/FONT>summaries<\/FONT><\/A> of the grant applications; other grants went <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to a project to deliver <\/FONT>food to the homebound<\/FONT><\/A>, a scholarship fund for health professionals who serve <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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underserved areas<\/FONT><\/A>, the improvement of school district <\/FONT>nutitrion services<\/FONT><\/A>, and for a forum on <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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nutrition and hunger<\/FONT><\/A>.]   <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Helping the public understand how antitrust policy and enforcement works to assure competition in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the marketplace — and why that is important to consumers and businesses — seems like a good use <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of this cy pres<\/EM> fund.  It’s fairly innocuous — except to the <\/FONT>fringe<\/FONT><\/A> who want all antitrust laws revoked.  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I’d be surprised if Walter were among those radicals.   I’ve known the <\/FONT>AAI’s Bert Foer<\/FONT><\/A> for almost two <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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decades, and I trust him when he says “Our film and materials will be objectively presented, colorful <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and provocative” (AAI <\/FONT>press release<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A>, Feb. 10, 2005).  A public that understands the issues better may <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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choose to expand antitrust enforcement — or to rein it in.  Making those choices while informed about <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the issues seems like something Walter would applaud — unless he just has an axe to grind or an ox <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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he’s trying to protect.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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