Advisory Boards: Influence for Hire?
Enron wasn't alone. Plenty of companies dispense large sums to the well-known and well-connected, often for very little work
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Even the wonks had ties to Enron, it turns out. The company paid Paul Krugman, an economist and editorial columnist at The New York Times, $50,000 to serve on its advisory committee, a group of political and academic figures assembled to advise the energy giant on everything from Presidential politics to energy markets. Similarly, The Weekly Standard's William Kristol received $100,000.
So what did the likes of Krugman and Kristol, who could not be reached for comment, and other one-time advisory-board members like Lawrence B. Lindsey, now the top White House economic adviser, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick, do to earn their keep?