Golden Fleece Award

William Proxmire, who issued the award 168 times for what he deemed wasteful spending

The Golden Fleece Award (1975–1988) was presented to those public officials in the United States who the judges felt wasted public money. Its name is a tangential reference to the Order of the Golden Fleece and a play on the transitive verb to fleece, as in charging excessively for goods or services. United States Senator William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin, began to issue the Golden Fleece Award in 1975 in monthly press releases.^[1][2] The Washington Post once referred to the award as "the most successful public relations device in politics today."^[3] Robert Byrd, a Democratic Senator from West Virginia, referred to the award as being "as much a part of the Senate as quorum calls and filibusters."^[1]

Award

Proxmire issued the award monthly until 1988, when he retired from the Senate.^[2] In total, he issued 168 Golden Fleece Awards.^[4] Though some members of the United States House of Representatives asked Proxmire's permission to continue the award, he declined the requests, saying he might continue to issue the award as a private citizen.^[2] Other organizations patterned their own "Golden Fleece Awards" after Proxmire's.^[5][6] The Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization, gave Proxmire their lifetime achievement award in 1999,^[4] and revived the Golden Fleece Award in 2000. Proxmire served as an honorary chairman of the organization.^[2]

One winner of the Golden Fleece Award, behavioral scientist Ronald Hutchinson, sued Proxmire for libel, requesting $8 million in damages, in 1976.^[7][8] Proxmire claimed that his statements about Hutchinson's research were protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in Hutchinson v. Proxmire,^[9] that the protection of speech and debate of lawmakers in the Constitution did not shield Proxmire from liability for defamatory statements made outside of formal congressional proceedings. The case was later settled out of court.^[10] Proxmire continued to present the award following the suit.^[11]

Criticism

In his 2014 book Creativity, Inc., Pixar President Ed Catmull spoke of the "chilling effect on research" The Golden Fleece Award exerts. He argues that if you fund thousands of research projects, some will have measurable, positive impacts and that others will not. It is not possible to know in advance what the results of every research project would be or whether the results would have value. He further argues that failure in research is essential and that fear of failure would distort the way researchers choose projects, which would ultimately impede society's progress.

Award winners

Winners of the Golden Fleece Award included governmental organizations, including the United States Department of Defense,^[12] Bureau of Land Management,^[13] and National Park Service;^[14] research projects have been particularly well represented.^[15] The National Science Foundation (NSF) won the first Golden Fleece Award, for spending $84,000 on a study on love.^[1][4] Proxmire reasoned that:^[16]

I object to this not only because no one—not even the National Science Foundation—can argue that falling in love is a science; not only because I'm sure that even if they spend $84 million or $84 billion they wouldn't get an answer that anyone would believe. I'm also against it because I don't want the answer.

I believe that 200 million other Americans want to leave some things in life a mystery, and right on top of the things we don't want to know is why a man falls in love with a woman and vice versa.

The Federal Aviation Administration was named for spending $57,800 on a study of the physical measurements of 432 airline stewardesses, paying special attention to the "length of the buttocks" and how their knees were arranged when they were seated.^[17] He gave the award to a study of the sex life of the screw-worm fly. The results were used to create sterile screw-worms that were released into the wild and eliminated this major cattle parasite from the US and reducing the cost of beef across the globe.^[18]

He also gave the award to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for their Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) program, supporting the scientific search for extraterrestrial civilizations.^[19] Proxmire later withdrew his opposition to the SETI program.^[20]

Other award winners included:

• Paul Ekman's research that led to the development of the controversial Facial Action Coding System^[21]
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded project by psychologist Harris Rubin for $121,000, on developing "some objective evidence concerning marijuana's effect on sexual arousal by exposing groups of male pot-smokers to pornographic films and measuring their responses by means of sensors attached to their penises^[22][23]
• The NSF for spending $103,000 to compare aggressiveness in sun fish that drink tequila as opposed to gin^[24]
• National Institute for Mental Health for spending $97,000 to study, among other things, what went on in a Peruvian brothel; the researchers said they made repeated visits in the interests of accuracy^[1]
• Office of Education for spending $219,592 in a “curriculum package” to teach college students how to watch television^[4]
• United States Department of the Army for a 1981 study on how to buy Worcestershire sauce^[4]
• United States Department of Commerce (Economic Development Administration) for spending $500,000 to build a 10-story replica of the Great Pyramid in Bedford, Indiana.^[25] Begun in 1979, the money proved insufficient and the site is currently abandoned.^[26]
• United States Department of Defense for a $3,000 study to determine if people in the military should carry umbrellas in the rain^[1]
• United States Department of Justice for conducting a study on why prisoners want to escape^[4]
• United States Postal Service for spending over $4 million on an advertisement campaign to make Americans write more letters to one another^[27]
• Executive Office of the President of the United States, for spending $611,623 to restore a room in the Old Executive Office Building with gold trim^[28]
• Ronald Reagan's 1985 inaugural committee, for spending $15.5 million of taxpayer money on the planned Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan^[29] (Most of the events could not be held outdoors due to extreme cold.^[30])

See also

• National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope
• Pork barrel

Further reading

• Proxmire, William. Golden Fleece Awards, 1975-1987 (Wis Mss 738, Box 158, Folders 1-5).

References

1. Severo, Richard (December 16, 2005). "William Proxmire, Maverick Democratic Senator From Wisconsin, Is Dead at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
2. "Golden Fleece award returns in watchdog role". The Blade. July 6, 2000. p. A1. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
3. Mills, Mike (October 16, 1988). "Guardian dragon will doze: 'Golden Fleece' award is about to go into the attic". Toledo Blade. p. B2. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
4. Aukofer, Frank A. (December 8, 1999). "Proxmire honored for sharp eye on $: Taxpayers' group gives founder of Golden Fleece an award of his own". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 3A. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
5. Bleyer, Bill (May 13, 1986). "A `Golden Fleece' Award for LIRR Workers". Newsday. Retrieved September 10, 2012. (subscription required)
6. Huard, Ray (April 16, 1999). "Library initiative wins top `Golden Fleece' award". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 10, 2012. (subscription required)
7. "Proxmire 'Fleeced' Of His Immunity". The Daily Union Democrat. June 26, 1979. p. 2. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
8. "Proxmire Award Now a Court Issue". The Milwaukee Journal. January 21, 1979. p. 3. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
9. 443 U.S. 111 (1979), 61 L.Ed. 2d 411, 99 S.Ct. 2675 (1979).
10. Johnston, David (August 28, 1987). "Senator Proxmire Bars Race in 1988". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
11. "Golden Fleece: Award Goes To Study Showing Pot, Scuba Diving Don't Mix". The Evening Independent. Associated Press. July 20, 1979. p. 3-A. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
12. "Proxmire takes aim at Defense". The Milwaukee Sentinel. December 21, 1988. p. 4. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
13. Stiff, Robert (November 22, 1975). "And You Have Cash Trouble?". The Evening Independent. p. 1. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
14. "Slush Fund of US Parks Wins Fleece". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. June 26, 1979. p. 9. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
15. E.g., Steven Schimmrich, "Frivolous Research?" Hudson Valley Geologist, March 23, 2011; accessed 2012.09.20.
16. Elaine Hatfield; G. William Walster (1978). A New Look At Love. University Press of America. p. viii. ISBN 978-0-8191-4957-2.
17. "Senator's August Golden Fleece: Stewardesses' Shape Survey Just One Big Bust To Proxmire". Sarasota Herald Tribune. N.Y. Times News Service. August 22, 1975. p. 10-B. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
18. Yager, M.; Emmett, M. (2012). "How worms' sex behavior can have a major impact on understanding human disease". Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) 25 (4): 395–396. PMC 3448588. PMID 23077397.
19. Levine, Art (October 6, 1978). "NASA searches for extraterrestrial dollars". The Michigan Daily. p. 4. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
20. Chandler, David L. (June 25, 1984). "Astronomy; Listening To The Stars Gets Respect". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 10, 2012. (subscription required)
21. Carter, Bill (January 20, 2009). "He’s Inspired the Latest Crime Series by Decoding the Traits of Liars". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
22. "Proxmire criticizes drug program". The Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. August 27, 1975. p. 7. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
23. Holden, Constance (April 30, 1976). "House chops sex-pot probe". Science 192 (4238): 450. doi:10.1126/science.192.4238.450.
24. Horning, Jay (March 8, 1992). "Proxmire's Golden Fleece made him a hit with voters Series: Newsmakers Revisited". St. Petersburg Times. p. 12.A. Retrieved September 15, 2012. (subscription required)
25. "Proxmire Fleeces Bedford Wall". Logansport Pharos-Tribune (Logansport, Indiana). 11 Sep 1981. p. 3 – via newspapers.com.
26. Amy Wallace; David Wallechinsky; Irving Wallace, eds. (1983). "15 Winners of the Golden Fleece Award". The People's almanac presents the book of lists #3 (Bantam ed.). New York: Bantam. p. 401. ISBN 0553278681.
27. "Mail service gets 'fleeced' by Proxmire". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press International. July 25, 1977. p. 10A. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
28. "White House gets 'fleece' award". The Miami News. June 15, 1987. p. 2A. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
29. "Proxmire hits Reagan inaugural spree". Chicago Sun-Times. Reuters. April 1, 1987. p. 38. Retrieved September 10, 2012. (subscription required)
30. http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/rwreagan1985.cfm