And Republicans eat it right up.
And they also tell them how to vote - and they obediently vote that way without question.
That's how the super-rich get Republicans to vote for things the super-rich want - and often against their own better interest.
They are literally telling the right what to think, and the right just goes right along with it. It's much easier than independent thought. And lazier. But that's how you get average income people to vote for tax breaks for the super-rich, and hate liberals so much that no coordination with them is possible to break the stranglehold the super-rich have on conservative thinking. And on USA politics.
And they also tell them how to vote - and they obediently vote that way without question.
“Why do a small number of rich people exert so much influence in what is supposed to be a democracy?” Krugman asks. “Campaign contributions are only part of the story. Equally, if not more, important is the network of billionaire-financed think tanks, lobbying groups and so on that shapes public discourse.”
Paul Krugman lays out why the ultra-rich get their way in politics — regardless often of what the ‘vast majority of voters’ want
That's how the super-rich get Republicans to vote for things the super-rich want - and often against their own better interest.
"The network of billionaire-financed think tanks, lobbying groups and so on that shapes public discourse."
They are literally telling the right what to think, and the right just goes right along with it. It's much easier than independent thought. And lazier. But that's how you get average income people to vote for tax breaks for the super-rich, and hate liberals so much that no coordination with them is possible to break the stranglehold the super-rich have on conservative thinking. And on USA politics.
1. Secretive nonprofits and think tanks often funnel money into political activities while obfuscating the donor records.
“In 2013, there were over a hundred thousand private foundations in the United States with assets of over $800 billion. These peculiarly American organizations, run with little transparency or accountability to either voters or consumers yet publicly subsidized by tax breaks, have grown into 800-billion-pound Goliaths in the public policy realm.” -Jane Mayer
2. Billionaire donors get tax benefits for philanthropy, but they still control how the money is spent.
“People say, ‘Wow — they’re so generous!’ It’s just the best available option for them. If they didn’t give it to their causes, they would have to give it to the government. At least this way they control how it’s spent.” -Gus diZerega, former friend of Charles and David Koch, talking about their philanthropy
David Koch has acknowledged. ‘And if they make a wrong turn and start doing things we don’t agree with,’ he told [magazine editor Brian Doherty], ‘we withdraw funding.’”
3. Donors have begun funding think tanks and scientists to create doubt about the science behind climate change.
“The early think tank was not a spy operation, but it was funded by wealthy men who had no objections to using pretexts and disinformation in the service of what they regarded as a noble cause.” -Jane Mayer
4. Donors are injecting money into education to create a pipeline of new political talent educated by conservative ideology.
“Through these carefully curated programs, the foundation trained the next generation of conservatives, whom [Olin Foundation Executive Director Michael] Joyce likened to ‘a wine collection’ that would grow more valuable as its members aged, increasing in stature and power.” -Jane Mayer
5. Donors have become kingmakers, and politicians must pay obeisance to them.
“Let’s call the system that Citizens United and other rulings and laws have created what it is: an oligarchy. The system is controlled by a handful of ultra-wealthy people, most of whom got rich from the system and who will get richer from the system.” -Mark McKinnon, centrist political consultant
This isn’t the type of article with a happy ending. There’s no quick fix to the problems described above. However, there are many incremental fixes we can make as a society, and many of those incremental fixes come back to mandating greater transparency. We, the American people, need more transparency into who is funding scientific research and for what purpose, who is creating new legal programs on college campuses and what they’re receiving for those donations, and which political candidates have received donations from billionaires and large corporations.
In the words of former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”