Koch Brothers Should Return $157 Million in Government Subsidies -

[midnight]

"In 2014, the Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) rolled out a report on the “Unseen Cost of Tax Cronyism” and the Kochs launched a public broadside against corporate subsidies in a letter to Congress. The Kochs were so upset by programs, such as the Wind Production Tax Credit, that their chief lobbyists declared: “We oppose ALL subsidies, whether existing or proposed, including programs that benefit us.”

Now Good Jobs First, a nonprofit watchdog on corporate subsidies, has provided the Kochs with an excellent opportunity to put their money where their mouth is.

Good Jobs First unveiled a new, upgraded version of the their Subsidy Tracker data base which aggregates subsidy recipient data from more than 700 state, local, and federal economic development programs.

Click on "Koch Industries" in their parent companies list and voila! $157 million in state and federal subsidies are revealed, with an additional $6.2 million in federal loan guarantees."

- See more at: http://prwatch.org/news/2015/03/12774/koch-brothers-should-return-157-million-government-subsidies#sthash.rUkGi19K.dpuf

[dickthegrouch]

1. I'll love to see them produce receipts for $157 million in candidate subsidies :D

"Given straight back to the government".

Maybe I'd better be careful what I wish for!

[midnight]

4. Hmmm-In Wisconsin next month, if the Judges they purchased will allow it,we might see this...

"By operation of law, any person coordinating with or acting at the request or suggestion of a candidate or his committee is deemed...subject to all campaign finance contribution prohibitions, limitations and disclosure requirements applicable to the candidate's (campaign) committee," they wrote.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth sees it differently. The group has contended its spending is not subject to such limits because it does not engage in so-called "express advocacy" — that is, the group does not explicitly tell people to vote for or against someone. Instead, the club and groups like it run "issue ads" praising or blasting candidates around the time of elections without specifically mentioning the elections.

Courts have ruled that groups running issue ads have broad First Amendment rights to spend money without disclosing their donors. The prosecutors, however, argued in their filing this week that the type of ads that groups run do not matter if they are working in concert with a candidate, rather than independently.

"Simply put, contributions to a candidate's campaign must be reported whether or not they constitute express advocacy," they wrote. "The fact that a third party runs 'issue ads' vs. 'express advocacy ads' is not a defense to illegal 'coordination' between a candidate's authorized committee and third party organizations."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/john-doe-judge-stays-own-order-for-seized-documents-to-be-returned-b99225305z1-250339351.html

This prosecutorial argument has been winding it's way through the courts for years.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. ,

,

[sorechasm]

3. Oh, no, these are not gov't subsidies, these are Jobs Creation Enhancements

We're already seeing the Jobs benefits of these hard earned tax dollars put to good use in the name of two recent hires to the gov't payroll: Charles and David K.

[midnight]

5. I posted a video that the progressives caucus wants to use for job creation enhancement,

and I like the progressive version better.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017252701

It's a collaborative effort to create-8.4 million good paying jobs.

[Jefferson23]

6. +1 n/t