FIRST JOBS INSTITUTE

The First Jobs Institute (FJI) existed to represent the interests of the restaurant industry. Dressed up as an organization aimed at combatting economic illiteracy, FJI aimed to push a free-market ideology. FJI also offered Richard Berman a venue to praise and promote big business leaders. FJIs website is down and it is not clear if the group is still operational. Founded in 2004, FJI was a 501(c)6 organization focusing on economic literacy and promoting the importance of entry-level jobs.1 According to USA Today, another purpose of FJI was to make young people less distrustful of industry.2 On its website, FJI said that one of its goals was to foster a more encouraging and transparent perception of American business leaders.3 The former director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush, Larry Lindsey, served as chairman of the organization when it launched.4 FJI worked closely with Bermans Employment Policies Institute, jointly promoting the Econ4U project.5 In recent years, FJI largely went dormant. Though FJIs website was active in January 2013 and featured a 2013 copyright,6 the organization has told the Internal Revenue Service its annual gross receipts were only $50,000 or less since 2009.7 Berman served as president and executive director of FJI.8 It is unknown how much FJI paid to Berman and Company, Inc. (BCI) in recent years. In 2006, on its most recently available full tax form, it reported its total liabilities consisted of $97,966 due to Berman and Company.9 Berman believed FJI could pay big dividends for the restaurant industry and could be used to push back against the industrys opponents. In a 2005 column for Nations Restaurant News, Berman complained economic illiteracy is taking a crippling toll on the national business environment.10 In particular, he argued the publics grasp, or lack thereof, of free market economics led it to support policies that hurt the bottom line of restaurants. Most people can be counted upon to make wise decisions once they understand the facts. But its impossible to teach the electorate about labor economics a few weeks before a referendum on the minimum wage, Berman wrote. He offered FJI as a solution. We need a long-term commitment to educating the public. Thats why Berman and Co. is supporting the FirstJobs Institute, Berman wrote. Investing in economic education will pay big dividends for the restaurant industry, Berman argued. A generation attuned to the mechanics of a free-market economy will brush off the naysayers determined to undermine confidence in American business.11 In a 2007 column for Nations Restaurant News, Berman warned that our

First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2004, filed November 11, 2005; Transcript, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Interview with Larry Lindsey, January 20, 2004. 2 Jayne ODonnell, Got A Nasty Fight? Heres Your Man, USA Today, July 31, 2006. 3 http://web.archive.org/web/20130314040141/http://firstjobs.org/about-us/. 4 Transcript, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Interview with Larry Lindsey, January 20, 2004. 5 First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2006, filed November 4, 2007. 6 http://web.archive.org/web/20130118203823/http://firstjobs.org/. 7 First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990-N, Initial Return 2009; First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990-N, Initial Return 2010; First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990-N, Initial Return 2011. 8 First Jobs Institute, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2006, filed November 4, 2007. 9 Id. 10 Richard Berman, Economic Advantage: Teaching Youth About Free Market Could Provide Huge Dividends, Nations Restaurant News, April 25, 2005. 11 Id.

industrys opponents are planning multiyear campaigns to shift public opinion and gain insurmountable leads, citing minimum wage increases and health care mandates.12 Claiming that unions and other labor activists took advantage of widespread economic illiteracy, Berman suggested that FJI was a way for the industry to fight back. I recently helped develop a model program to address the pressing question of economic literacy, Berman wrote. The Washington, D.C.-based First Jobs Institute successfully tested a campaign called Econ4U, which provides diners with economic information in a fun, nonthreatening and casual way in the form of trivia questions on coasters.13 FJI promoted business leaders, including many from the restaurant, food, and beverage industries. A major part of FJIs education effort was to post profiles on its website of business leaders describing where they got their start.14 Profiled executives included Jan Fields of McDonalds, Clarence Otis, Jr. of Darden Restaurants, Dave Pfanzelter of Kellogg, Jack Schuessler of Wendys, Chris Sullivan of Outback Steakhouse, Larry Thompson of PepsiCo, and Berman himself.15 It is possible these organizations may have been financial supporters of FJI. The organizations Frequently Asked Questions page stated that corporate or business contributors will be invited to submit first job profiles of up to five leading executives in your company.16 FJI maintained the website: FirstJobs.org (defunct).

12

Rick Berman, Talk is Cheap, and Necessary, For Our Embattled Industry, Nations Restaurant News, March 5, 2007. 13 Id. 14 http://web.archive.org/web/20130314040213/http://firstjobs.org/profiles/. 15 Id. 16 http://web.archive.org/web/20130314040217/http://firstjobs.org/faq/.