David G. Tuerck

Credentials

• Doctorate in economics from the University of Virginia.
• A.M., Economic Policy, George Washington University.
• A.B., International Affairs, George Washington University.

Background

David G. Tuerck serves as professor and chairman of the Suffolk University Department of Economics and president of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University. He is past president of the North American Economics and Finance Association. Tuerck serves as the Director of the Beacon Hill Institute, a conservative think tank based out of Massachusetts.¹“Staff,” Beacon Hill Institute. Archived April 4, 2018. ²“David Tuerck, Professor & Chair,” Suffolk University College of Arts & Sciences. Accessed February 22, 2012.

Tuerck has been a Heritage Foundation Policy Expert in Economics and once served as the director of the Center for Research and Advertising at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

He has made many television and radio appearances and has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Subcommittee on Children and Families, as well as various committees of the Massachusetts legislature.

Stance on Climate Change

June 2009

Speaking at the Heartland Institute‘s Third International Conference on Climate Change, Tuerck said that

“Scientific questions are above my pay grade … I’m not in the business of asking whether the earth is warming…”³Speech at the Third International Conference on Climate Change. Page archived April 13, 2010 (audio no longer available).

Key Quotes

“I have found it necessary to go around the country pointing out that claims about green jobs are all phony.”⁴Speech at the Third International Conference on Climate Change. Page archived April 13, 2010 (audio no longer available).

Key Deeds

July 30, 2020

Tuerck wrote an article at CommonWealth Magazine criticizing the lawsuit that Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey had brought against ExxonMobil. The lawsuit accuses Exxon “for deceptive advertising to Massachusetts consumers and for misleading Massachusetts investors about the risks to Exxon’s business posed by fossil fuel-driven climate change—including systemic financial risk.”⁵David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020. ⁶“Attorney General’s Office Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil,” Mass.gov. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/OqeWX

A revision of the lawsuit highlighted how the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic “are a harbinger of the types of systemic risks posed by climate change, demonstrating the sweeping and interconnected nature of climate-driven dangers and disruptions, such as the widespread economic harms of sudden global market disruptions, supply chain interruptions, and health care system failures.”⁷David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020.

According to Tuerck, “The conflation of the coronavirus and climate crisis, both misleading and far-fetched, leads to an inescapable conclusion: Healey’s climate change litigation is based solely on belief.”⁸David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020.

“There simply is absolutely no compelling proof that ExxonMobil faces any immediate or even long-term prospects of declining sales as a result of climate change,” Tuerk also claimed.

Kert Davies, director of the Climate Investigations Center, responded to Tuerck’s op-ed. He responded to Tuerck’s above argument, noting that “While demonstrably false in so many ways, this statement proves Tuerck is stuck in some bygone decade of denial and suggests he has neither read the Massachusetts complaint, nor the internal Exxon documents from the 1970s and ‘80s cited in the complaint, which can be read and downloaded at ClimateFiles.com. These documents show Exxon’s staff scientists modeling and anticipating how fossil fuel consumption would have to be curtailed to avoid dangerous climate change. They knew regulations were coming.”⁹“Tuerck’s critique of Healey fits a pattern,” CommonWealth, August 6, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/VPAml

June 2011

Tuerck was a keynote speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change. (ICCC6.)¹⁰“David Tuerck,” International Conference on Climate Change (climateconference.heartland.org). Accessed February, 2012.

His speech, titled “State efforts to promote renewable energy: doing the damage that the feds won’t do” can be viewed below.

May 2010

Tuerck was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s Fourth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC4.)¹¹“Fourth International Conference on Climate Change, Program” (PDF) Heartland Institute. Archived January 23, 2018.

His speech, titled “Not that easy being green? Blame Uncle Sam” can be viewed below.

DeSmog has done research on the co-sponsors of the conference and found that 19 of the 65 sponsors (including Heartland itself) have received a total of over $40 million in funding since 1985 from ExxonMobil, Koch Industries family foundations or the Scaife family foundations.

June 2009

Tuerck was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s Third International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC3.)¹²“Third International Conference on Climate Change, Program” (PDF) Heartland Institute. Archived January 23, 2018.

His speech, titled “Cap-and-Trade Done Right and Done Wrong” can be viewed below.

DeSmog researched the funding behind the conference and found sponsor organizations had received over $47 million from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from the Scaife Family of foundations.

April 2009

Spoke at the “Boston Tea Party,” an event organized by the Tea Party to “voice their displeasure with the egregious growth of government and the irresponsible policies our local, state and federal governments are pursuing.”¹³“Boston Tax Day Tea Party Protest to be Held at MA State House” (Press Release), GOPMom.com, April 15, 2009. Retrieved from www.pr.com, February 22, 2012.

Included in what they consider irresponsible policies are anti-global warming policy, which Tuerck says will “stifle economic growth, kill good jobs, and drive up energy costs.”¹⁴“David Tuerck @ Boston Tea Party 2009” (video), Boston Tea Party 2009 (blog), April 21, 2009.

March 2008

Tuerck was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s First International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC1.)¹⁵“Schedule of Speakers and Panels” (PDF), the Heartland Institute. Archived June 1, 2009.

His speech, titled “An Economic Critique of Greenhouse Gas Legislation in the States” can be viewed below.

April 22, 2008

Presented to the Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change on “The Economics of Climate Change in North Carolina” (PDF).¹⁶Testimony of David G. Tuerck to The Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives (PDF), June 3, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website.

He concluded (PDF) that “Proposed legislation [to combat climate change] may provide benefits but they have yet to be determined” and “The legislation would impose measurable costs on business and on the economy” so the commission should “weigh these costs against the purported (and so far unsubstantiated) benefits [of said legislation].”¹⁷David Tuerck. “The Economics of Climate Change Legislation in North Carolina” (PDF), Presentation to the Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, April 22, 2008. Retrieved from web server at North Carolina General Assembly, February 22, 2012.

Affiliations

• Texas Public Policy Foundation – “Policy Expert” and Senior Fellow.¹⁸“Policy Expert – David G. Tuerck,” Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived October 13, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mfNNX
• Beacon Hill Institute – “Executive director.”¹⁹“Staff,” Beacon Hill Institute. Archived April 4, 2018.
• American Enterprise Institute (AEI) – Past director of the Center for Research and Advertising.²⁰“Heartland Experts: David Tuerck,” The Heartland Institute. *Original URL has been removed and is unavailable on the Web Archive. Archived .pdf of Heartland expert search, as of 2014, on file at DeSmog.
• The Heartland Institute – Formerly listed as an “Expert.”²¹“Heartland Experts: David Tuerck,” The Heartland Institute. *Original URL has been removed and is unavailable on the Web Archive. Archived .pdf of Heartland expert search, as of 2014, on file at DeSmog.
• Heritage Foundation – Past Policy Expert in Economics.²²“Policy Expert – David G. Tuerck,” Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived October 13, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mfNNX

Social Media

• @dtuerck on Twitter.

Publications

According to a search of Google Scholar, Tuerck has not published any research in peer-reviewed journals. He has written numerous papers for the Beacon Hill Institute, and for the American Enterprise Institute.

Sample Publications include:

• “The Economics of Climate Change in North Carolina” (PDF), The Beacon Hill Institute. April 2008.

Other Resources

• ExxonSecrets Factsheet: David G. Tuerck.
• “David G. Tuerck,” SourceWatch Profile.

Resources

• 1
  “Staff,” Beacon Hill Institute. Archived April 4, 2018.
• 2
  “David Tuerck, Professor & Chair,” Suffolk University College of Arts & Sciences. Accessed February 22, 2012.
• 3
  Speech at the Third International Conference on Climate Change. Page archived April 13, 2010 (audio no longer available).
• 4
  Speech at the Third International Conference on Climate Change. Page archived April 13, 2010 (audio no longer available).
• 5
  David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020.
• 6
  “Attorney General’s Office Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil,” Mass.gov. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/OqeWX
• 7
  David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020.
• 8
  David G. Tuerk. “Healey’s kitchen-sink Exxon-Mobil lawsuit,” Commonwealth, July 30, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020.
• 9
  “Tuerck’s critique of Healey fits a pattern,” CommonWealth, August 6, 2020. Archived August 17, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/VPAml
• 10
  “David Tuerck,” International Conference on Climate Change (climateconference.heartland.org). Accessed February, 2012.
• 11
  “Fourth International Conference on Climate Change, Program” (PDF) Heartland Institute. Archived January 23, 2018.
• 12
  “Third International Conference on Climate Change, Program” (PDF) Heartland Institute. Archived January 23, 2018.
• 13
  “Boston Tax Day Tea Party Protest to be Held at MA State House” (Press Release), GOPMom.com, April 15, 2009. Retrieved from www.pr.com, February 22, 2012.
• 14
  “David Tuerck @ Boston Tea Party 2009” (video), Boston Tea Party 2009 (blog), April 21, 2009.
• 15
  “Schedule of Speakers and Panels” (PDF), the Heartland Institute. Archived June 1, 2009.
• 16
  Testimony of David G. Tuerck to The Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives (PDF), June 3, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website.
• 17
  David Tuerck. “The Economics of Climate Change Legislation in North Carolina” (PDF), Presentation to the Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, April 22, 2008. Retrieved from web server at North Carolina General Assembly, February 22, 2012.
• 18
  “Policy Expert – David G. Tuerck,” Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived October 13, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mfNNX
• 19
  “Staff,” Beacon Hill Institute. Archived April 4, 2018.
• 20
  “Heartland Experts: David Tuerck,” The Heartland Institute. *Original URL has been removed and is unavailable on the Web Archive. Archived .pdf of Heartland expert search, as of 2014, on file at DeSmog.
• 21
  “Heartland Experts: David Tuerck,” The Heartland Institute. *Original URL has been removed and is unavailable on the Web Archive. Archived .pdf of Heartland expert search, as of 2014, on file at DeSmog.
• 22
  “Policy Expert – David G. Tuerck,” Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived October 13, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mfNNX