The Hightower Report: The Flim Flam of the Employment Policy Institute

Mothers everywhere warn children not to put any food in their mouths unless they know where it came from. The same should apply to putting information in our heads.

For instance, the Employment Policies Institute has recently run full-page newspaper ads alerting the public and policymakers that an impressive group of some 650 economists who are supporting an increase in America's minimum wage includes many who are "radical researchers." The institute's message is that no one should listen to, much less respect, this group of economists.

But wait – "many" in the group are radical? How many? The ads only list eight and offer only innuendo as "proof" of their radicalism.

And, by the way, what and who is the Employment Policies Institute? Sounds legit, but is it? Not at all. It's a nonprofit front group run by longtime corporate operative Richard Berman. It gets millions of dollars in tax-exempt donations from fast-food chains and other corporate interests trying to kill the wage increase, then funnels that money into Berman's for-profit PR firm, which also represents the restaurant industry.

More at http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-03-14/the-hightower-report-the-flim-flam-of-the-employment-policy-institute/ .