Comments on: Follow the money: capitalists selling the rope by which Western civilization will be hung (the Ford Foundation and others)

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:33:55 +0000

Closer scrutiny on whether the grants are actually non-political is called for — but this is the same IRS which let Lois Lerner mismanage its non-profit sector for political purposes.
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Not necessary.
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1. End the income tax preferences for donors to philanthropies. No deductions.
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2. End any exemption philanthropies enjoy in re sales or value-added taxes and in re payroll taxes.
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3. Impose corporation taxes on philanthropies, calculated according to a formula which includes as arguments the compensation per employee of said philanthropy, the compensation of its senior employees (most handsomely compensated 12% or most handsomely compensated 50, which ever is the smaller number), the number of employees, and the employee-compensation-per-worker in the economy at large. Philanthropies can avoid corporation tax liability by keeping their executive compensation modest.
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4. Debar corporations in general from making grants, with some specified exceptions which are not granted to business corporations, not granted to government corporations, and not granted to most subtypes of philanthropic corporation.
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5. End government grants to philanthropies except in emergency situations (e.g. disaster relief).
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6. Debar philanthropies which employ people in the United States from accepting grants from inter-governmental agencies.
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7. Require any abiding philanthropy have a board elected by legally defined stakeholders in a postal ballot supervised by the board of elections in the state which issued the charter of their parent company. Self-regenerating boards should be provisional and ‘nominating committees’ should not exist. All boards should have between 4 and 20 corporal members.

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:20:39 +0000

I’m generally conservative, but would look favorably on confiscatory taxes and fines against endowments, foundations and trust funds.
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The lawyers here will have to correct me, but if I’m not mistaken state law generally requires trusts be dissolved after two generations. I think you’d have to scrounge to locate people with trust-fund income who are influential.
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Endowment income finances institutional operations. The primary problem in those cases is the character of the institution.
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In re foundations, I suspect it would be sufficient to debar them from activities other than grant-making and, like a trust fund, be compelled to dissolve after two generations with their capital scattered to the winds.
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IMO, philanthropy by business corporations is a social problem and ought to be debarred by law.
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And, while we’re at it, the spigot on the grant money pipeline emanating from the public treasury needs to be closed.

By: Cappy

Cappy — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 12:50:43 +0000

I’m generally conservative, but would look favorably on confiscatory taxes and fines against endowments, foundations and trust funds.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 18:19:23 +0000

The question is why non-profits are allowed to funnel tax-free money into political groups and causes. Yes, it’s legalized money-laundering. Closer scrutiny on whether the grants are actually non-political is called for — but this is the same IRS which let Lois Lerner mismanage its non-profit sector for political purposes.

By: John Fisher

John Fisher — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 16:39:41 +0000

The current non profit system in this country is basically a legalized money laundering system. We should completely do away with it. Nothing less will eliminate the problems noted.

By: TommyJay

TommyJay — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 15:04:31 +0000

Cycle Cyril beat me to it. Here is the intro paragraph from Wikipedia on the Olin foundation.

The John M. Olin Foundation was a conservative American grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most other foundations, it was charged to spend all of its assets within a generation of Olin’s death, for fear of mission drift over time and to preserve donor intent. It made its last grant in the summer of 2005 and officially disbanded on November 29, 2005. It had disbursed over $370 million in funding, primarily to conservative think tanks, media outlets, and law programs at influential universities. It is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics movement and the Federalist Society. “All in all, the Federalist Society has been one of the best investments the foundation ever made,” wrote the Foundation to its trustees in 2003.

By: JohnTyler

JohnTyler — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 14:14:30 +0000

I do not understand why NGOs are not indicted under RICO laws.

They fund and support (with money, equipment, food, etc) illegal immigration.
And who supplied all the $$$$ to buy all those tents (and scarves) for all those “college” pro-Hamas / Einstazgruppen supporters??

A good first target would be to indict George Soros. When you see what he has done, it would be no different than if he was acting on behalf of the Russian KGB.

By: Miguel cervantes

Miguel cervantes — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:33:26 +0000

The dodd committee investigated this in the 50s thats where non dare call ot treason findings came from it produced more evidence than say the huac ones

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:23:29 +0000

The Ford Foundation is Exhibit A for several provisions being written into corporate law in every state.
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A. Making grants and donations to other corporate bodies is bar in specified circumstances a franchise limited to a class of corporations called ‘foundations’. (political parties and contribution bundlers may donate to campaign committees; charitable and religious corporations may provide for individual persons and households, but not other corporations).
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B. ‘Foundations’ are prohibited from engaging in any activity other than grant distributions.
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C. All foundations must liquidate under the supervision of a surrogate’s court within 60 years of their incorporation.
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D. The assets of the foundation must be distributed according to principles incorporated in its charter as constrained by subsequent amendments to statutory law. Absent that, the capital must be apportioned among donors according to formulae incorporated into statutory law. Under no circumstances may any portion of the capital be distributed to other foundations.

By: Karmi

Karmi — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 10:53:41 +0000

It should be a hanging offense for humans to create Laws – Hang 'Em High and leave them ~~hanged~~ hung as a warning to other wannabe Law creators...