- Mar 23, 2008
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Comprised mostly of Republican State Legislators, Governors and Corporate Sponsors, ALEC is a clearinghouse for legal corruption, diverting millions in state tax dollars to corporate members through tax favoritism and no-bid privatization of government services. This group brings corporate cronyism, corruption and mercenary lobbying to a whole new level.
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ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures | People For the American Way
What is ALEC? - Alec Exposed
ALEC Gets a Break From State Lobbying Laws | Mother Jones
Fair and simple taxes...
Then, build an economy that your kids can drive to the stars.
It ain't rocket science, y'all.
Bill Moyers said:Preview: United States of ALEC | Moyers & Company | BillMoyers.com
This week, Moyers & Company reports on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of — ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.
NY Times said:ALEC, which is registered as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, traces its roots to 1973, when the conservative activist Paul M. Weyrich and several other Republicans sought to create a state-level clearinghouse for conservative ideas. Although its board is made up of legislators, who pay $50 a year to belong, ALEC is primarily financed by more than 200 private-sector members, whose annual dues of $7,000 to $25,000 accounted for most of its $7 million budget in 2010.
Some companies give much more, all of it tax deductible: AT&T, Pfizer and Reynolds American each contributed $130,000 to $398,000, according to a copy of ALEC’s 2010 tax returns, obtained by The Times, that included donors’ names, which are normally withheld from public inspection. The returns show that corporate members pay stipends — it calls them “scholarships” — for lawmakers to travel to annual conferences, including a four-day retreat where ALEC spends as much as $250,000 on child care for members’ families.
“We know its mission is to bring together corporations and state legislators to draft profit-driven, anti-public-interest legislation, and then help those elected officials pass the bills in statehouses from coast to coast,” said the president of Common Cause, Bob Edgar. “If that’s not lobbying, what is?”
ALEC, a Tax-Exempt Group, Mixes Legislators and Lobbyists - NYTimes.com
Wall Street Journal said:ALEC Is a Lobby, Not a Charity - WSJ.com - The evidence is overwhelming: This nonprofit is not entitled to tax-exempt status.
A lot of ALEC legislation appears to have been drafted by companies that are members of the organization to enhance their profits. It's understandable, and not necessarily bad, that companies support legislation that benefits them. But the way ALEC hides its initiatives—wining and dining state legislators behind closed doors at resort hotels and then stepping into the background as those legislators introduce the bills under their own names—is deceptive.
More...
ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures | People For the American Way
What is ALEC? - Alec Exposed
ALEC Gets a Break From State Lobbying Laws | Mother Jones
Fair and simple taxes...
Public budgets that are balanced by law...
Transparency in all things politics.
It ain't rocket science, y'all.