Money & Politics | Daily Report

The great Adam Smith was a Scot, but they still remember the pioneering economist and author of “The Wealth of Nations” in the Show-Me State.

In Jefferson City, his devotees have chartered the Adam Smith Foundation. It’s “committed to promoting conservative principles and individual liberties in Missouri,” public records show.

Flickr photo by Matt from ScotlandStatue of Adam Smith

None of that explains what moved the Missouri-based nonprofit to dump $498,000 into an initiative to repeal AB 32, California’s new law regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The money came in Friday, the Secretary of State reports.

By contrast, Occidental Petroleum has given $300,000 to the measure, which is supported by energy companies.

It’s also not immediately clear how the Smith foundation came up with all that money. On its 2008 tax return, the foundation reported a bank balance of $5,326.04.

The foundation’s president, John Elliott, wasn’t available for comment Monday. He’s in Smithville, in the Kansas City exurbs. Elliott also is president of Inside Information, a database-marketing service for utility companies.

Capitol Weekly, which like California Watch is attempting to figure all this out, interviewed Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who heads the anti-AB 32 campaign. He said he was grateful for the support, but didn’t know a lot about the foundation.

Steve Maviglio, spokesman for the campaign to stop the measure, said he was pretty sure he knew what was going on.

“This is another example of the oil companies teaming up with out-of-state interests to try and buy their way onto our ballot,” he said. “It’s fairly outrageous.”

The Adam Smith Foundation has a website and blog. One blogger styles himself, “cyberhillbilly."