The Koch Brothers, Purchasing The Process

EVERY TRUE POLITICAL ANIMAL in America knows the names of Charles and David Koch, whether or not you can tell which one is which. (They are interchangeable). To members of the moderate, liberal, and extreme left wing socialist communities these two men are the essence of evil, polluting American politics with billions of dollars of political power purchases. To the mainstream Republican establishment, they are somewhat of a thorn is the side, because the Koch brothers do not automatically endorse mainstream Republican ideas. The most accurate description of the Kochs is "right wing extremist libertarian". They have a consistent record of opposing all government intervention in every aspect of private life, including business, and are as likely to resist government assistance for the wealthy as for the poor. Advocates of keeping the government entirely out of the economy are called "neo-liberals", a reference to the "liberalization" of the free market; the unfettering of free enterprise from all government restraint, whether on behalf of ownership or labor. Even Adam Smith, the intellectual godfather of modern capitalism, was not a neo liberal, he favored government action on behalf of the poor. The Koch brothers are most definitely neo-liberal. They are also multi billionaires from Wichita, Kansas, who for decades have underwritten all manner of conservative causes and have helped elect scores of quite conservative Republicans to various high public offices. Every current Republican member of the United States Senate at least partially owes his or her office to Charles and David Koch; this has been the situation for many years. They make their money in the oil and oil refinery businesses, as well as many others, including asphalt and chemicals. Personally, they maintain a low profile, never having run for political office. They fund conservative institutions and think tanks, most notably the Heritage Foundation. An excellent expose of Charles and David Koch was published several years ago: "Dark Money", by investigative journalist Jane Mayer. The book is a scathing, damning description of both Koch brothers, their upbringing, their business practices, and their involvement in politics, from a safe distance, with billions of dollars of hidden money infused into the political system. Mayer talks about oil refineries located close to trailer parks, on which toxic are chemicals dumped nearby, illegally, causing cancer and killing people, whose surviving family members are then bribed by Koch Industries into dropping legal action. this pattern has repeated itself many times, alleges Mayer. She documents her assertions. The latest Koch initiative is an attack on mass transit. Their political action organization, "Americans For Prosperity", is undertaking a massive nation wide phone ringing door knocking pamphlet pushing emailing propaganda campaign, largely focusing its attention in any major American city currently considering investing in a mass transit system, such as Nashville, Tennessee. Their argument is that mass transit raises taxes on everyone, but hits the poor and the working classes disproportionately hard, and that mass transit strikes a blow against freedom, because people want the freedom to go where they want then they want, the freedom to be independent of the restrictions inherently imposed by any mass transit system. Koch brothers propaganda is always adept at trying to appear to be advocating for the working class poor, and trying to appear to be fighting for individual liberty, against the overbearing forces of government and regulation. That mass transit limits individual freedom by taking everyone to the same place at the same time is perhaps among the most dubious arguments ever promulgated by Americans For Prosperity, whose very title invites the question: prosperity for whom, other than the Koch brothers? Bear in mind that opposing mass transit is a perfectly reasonable approach for anyone a large portion of whose income is derived from automotive transportation. For as long as the American economic system allows the formation of huge concentrations of wealth, and for as long as the American political system allows for the purchasing of political office with huge sums of hidden money, people like the Koch brothers will have a free hand to own and control America, while the rest of us stand idly by, deleting emails and letting our phones ring, if we are smart.