We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Another Way to Mask Super Rich Donors

Click here to access article by Zachary Mider from Bloomberg.

 I often find myself in awe of the creativity of our masters in the capitalist class. I'm referring to the endless ways they have devised to place bets on Wall Street, where the world's two largest stock exchanges are located, and the many other places that these casinos are located throughout the world. Also what comes to mind are the imaginative ways they have to get around any restrictions or requirements posed by campaign finance laws, weak as they are, to purchase and promote influence anonymously with their favorite political prostitutes. This article provides some insights on one very ingenious way they do this by using companies that are legally chartered as "limited liability companies" (LLC).
When the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 to end a ban on corporate spending to influence elections, detractors envisioned an era when huge companies like Wal-Mart Stores or ExxonMobil would dominate politics in pursuit of profits. The reality is proving far different. Most business donations are coming from little-known LLCs whose founders and officers often don’t have to be disclosed anywhere. In a few cases, it’s so difficult to identify the source that the donations might as well be anonymous.
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