Finally!! A Billionaire with a Social Conscience

Here is a 1 percenter I can get behind. This man recognizes that all the money in the world doesn't amount to a thing if the world itself is threatened. Try and imagine a Right-wing billionaire...or two...the Koch brothers...with this kind of social conscience....Yeah, I can't either.

Wealthy climate-change activist to spend millions on midterms
By Mark Murray
Billionaire climate-change activist Tom Steyer could spend $100 million in the 2014 midterm election season -- and maybe even more -- to help Democratic candidates, NBC News confirms.
Steyer's group, NextGen Climate Action, played a role in last year's close gubernatorial contest in Virginia, running TV ads.

And in this election cycle, Steyer is already targeting Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
"Is it going to take $100 million? I have no idea," Steyer told the New York Times, which first reported this story. "I think that would be a really cheap price to answer the generational challenge of the world."
Steyer is one of the biggest -- and wealthiest -- opponents of the politically charged Keystone XL pipeline.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...hange-activist-spend-millions-midterms-n32761

 

Actually, the Koch brothers do give away some serious $$$ to charities, and they do indeed own quite a few American-based businesses that provide tons of jobs for Americans.

Their politics, however, are what I can't stand...how they leverage their political influence to appoint people from their businesses into political positions that those individuals have no reason to be in. One example is of a chemical engineer, who sits on the SS and Medicare board, that also is responsible for critiquing a Presidents actions, btw.

I may be wording that a bit wrong, but how does a person from the oil corporations have the right to be on a board that oversees SS, Medicare, and Presidential "report cards"?

Besides that, they also pour money into getting their favored politicians elected, using $$$ as leverage. "Citizens United" is another nail in the coffin voting-wise. They also are involved in schemes (conspiracies, imo) that directly corrupt the voting system itself.

Yeah, they do a lot of good, but they also do a lot of bad.

It's unfortunate that people have to put-up so much $$$ to fight the Koch brothers.

 

How do you feel about people like George Soros?

 

Thanks for asking...

View attachment 2308

Organization-Driven Political Activity

The Koch brothers' company, Koch Industries, has been a big player in both campaign donations and lobbying. Koch Industries currently leads the oil and gas industry as the top contributor to federal candidates and parties, and is the fifth highest lobbying spender in the industry this year. Soros' hedge fund, Soros Fund Management, has also lobbied at the federal level, but employees have not made campaign donations through a Soros-sponsored political action committee. Because of the notable lobbying involvement of a Soros-funded think tank, the Open Society Policy Center, this group's data is also included for the purpose of this comparison:

Political Action Committee Spending (1989 to 2010)
Koch Industries: $5,938,993 (83 percent going to Republicans)

Soros Fund Management: $0


527 Group Contributions (2001 to 2010)
Koch Industries: $574,998

• $186,598 – Democratic Governors Association
• $150,000 – Republican State Leadership Committee
• $103,400 – Republican Governors Association

Soros Fund Management: $0


Lobbying Expenditures (1998 to 2010)
Koch Industries: $50,972,700

Soros Fund Management: $860,000
Open Society Policy Center (Soros-Funded): $11,930,000

According to federal lobbying reports, Koch Industries' top issues include energy, environmental, tax and homeland security policies. The Open Society Policy Center has mainly lobbied on issues relating to foreign relations, civil rights, and law enforcement policy. The graph below outlines these organizations lobbying history since 1998 (click on graph for full size):

​

VERDICT: When it comes to the combination of institutional lobbying, 527 group donations and PAC expenditures, Koch Industries far out-spends Soros' hedge fund and think tank, $57.4 million to $12.8 million. Most of this money is attributable to lobbying expenditures.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/09/opensecrets-battle---koch-brothers.html

 

Funny, but I do not see mediamatters there.

 

I forgot that you think Soros is a saint. IQ<1 will probably say the same thing you said about Soros.

 

Well thank you both for meaningless comments tangentially related to the topic. It's pretty much exactly what I expected from both the puppet and his master.

 

I still don't get these movies. I mean, they're just dolls....step on them, kick 'em, throw them into a volcano...whatever.

 

Are you implying that Mediamatters is not "Organization-Driven Political Activity"?

 

I have actually implied or said nothing on the topic.

 

So wht were you referring to in this post if it was not my post #5 that had one topic - Mediamatters?

 

I haven't said anything about Mediamatters. You did.

 

How not to answer a question. Again, what are you referring to in this post or is it just your typical general insult to deflect the topic? Since we have the only opposing posts in this thread, both has to be referring to coin and myself.

 

I'd be happy to go with typical insult if it gives you closure. As far as deflecting the topic goes, Nobody was talking about Mediamatters except YOU.

The actual topic was about Tom Steyer which neither of you have managed to address to this point. So who is really deflecting the topic here? Hum? Coinous brought up Soros, you brought up Mediamatters, then coinous brought up IQ, and nothing about Steyer so far.

Again, before accusing others of something that you are doing in the same thread in actual text that we can all see, you might want to stop and think before you start pointing fingers. You just look stupid when you continually do this. Does this behavior really need to be pointed out to you? For God's sake, grow a brain.

 

P.S. If a typical insult is how you choose to see my responses to your posts, you are missing the real point. The real point being that your posts are idiotic.

 

Ah! So you cannot deal with the moneys Soros gave to Mediamatters, right? Too many facts to deal with?

 

Still changing the subject oblivious to your own hypocrisy I see.

 

If anyone changed it, you did. All I am doing is replying to your post Koch versus Soros. Your attempts to fog and besmirch must mean I have hit your sore facts.

 

Somebody call the Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaambulance.

 

Is that for you screaming "I give"?