Fred L. Smith (political writer) explained

Fred L. Smith Jr.
Birth Date:26 December 1940
Birth Place:Alabama, U.S.
Death Place:Maryland, U.S.
Alma Mater:Tulane University
Occupation:Economist, political writer
Spouse:Fran Smith

Fred L. Smith Jr. (December 26, 1940 – November 23, 2024) was an American economist and political writer. He was the founder and president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit libertarian think tank.[1] He wrote on topics such as antitrust law, environmental regulation, and the economic impacts of global warming.

Early life

Smith was born in Alabama on December 26, 1940. He was raised in Slidell, Louisiana. He held a B.S. degree in Theoretical Mathematics and Political Science from Tulane University where he earned the Arts and Sciences "Dean's Medal" (Tulane’s highest academic award) and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.[2]

Career

Smith founded the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 1984. In 2003, Smith lobbied the Secretary of the Treasury against a proposal that would require banks to report interest earned by non-resident aliens.[3]

Smith appeared on Crossfire in 2006 and stated: "We know that there are these elaborate computer models that have never been right before, may be right this time, that suggest climate changes, possibly good, possibly bad. 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.".[4] [5] Smith defended contributions of companies such as ExxonMobil to groups skeptical of climate change, explaining that support for such organizations can be expected to rise as public interest in global warming issues increases, saying, "Firefighters' budgets go up when fires go up."[6]

Personal life and death

Smith was married to and is survived by Fran Smith, an adjunct scholar at CEI who also serves on its board of directors.

Smith died at home in Maryland, on November 23, 2024, at the age of 83.[7]

Bibliography

Volume contributor

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Charity Navigator – Rating for Competitive Enterprise Institute. www.charitynavigator.org. 2022-02-26. 2022-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20220205201553/https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/521351785. live.
  2. Web site: Fred L. Smith, Jr.. Competitive Enterprise Institute. 9 March 2021 . 2021-06-28. 2021-06-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210628185530/https://cei.org/experts/fred-l-smith-jr/. live.
  3. Web site: CEI's Fred L. Smith's letter to Treasury Secretary John Snow, September 26, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20071012003732/http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/ltr/cei-irs/cei-irs.shtml. dead. October 12, 2007.
  4. Web site: The CEI ads . 2007-10-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070816103301/http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/5/17/15336/5459 . 2007-08-16 . dead .
  5. Web site: CEI Founder on Global Warming: 'It Looks Pretty Good…We're Moving To A More Benign Planet.'. ThinkProgress. 2007-10-11. 2007-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20071016205057/http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/17/global-warming-looks-good/. live.
  6. Web site: Context of 'Between 1998 and 2005: ExxonMobil Grants $16 Million to Global Warming Skeptic Organizations' . 2007-10-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080306045108/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=ExxonFundsGlobalWarmingSkeptics9895#ExxonFundsGlobalWarmingSkeptics9895 . 2008-03-06 . dead .
  7. Web site: Thank you, Fred Smith. CEI.org. November 25, 2024. November 25, 2024.

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