Propaganda: Socialism in Big Business

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 The BIRCH BARK BBS / 414-242-5070
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 America's Future, Inc., Behind The Headlines, May 1996
 
 
 Big Business Is Promoting Socialism
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 by F.R. Duplantier
 
 You'd think that Big Business interests would support free
 enterprise, but the bulk of their annual corporate giving goes to
 nonprofit groups promoting increased regulation and higher taxes.
 
 An expert on corporate philanthropy claims that "corporate
 America is funding its enemies." Austin Fulk of the Capital
 Research Center reports that "many corporations give away their
 investors' dollars to special interest advocacy groups that favor
 irresponsible government policies harmful to a corporation's own
 best interests." In a recent issue of Human Events, Fulk charges
 that "big business is undermining American values by freely
 contributing to tax-exempt groups that work against a free and
 competitive market." He points out that "tax-exempt groups
 receiving the biggest share of corporate charitable dollars
 repeatedly offer status quo proposals to solve America's most
 pressing problems: racial quotas, increased welfare and
 entitlement programs, higher taxes and more government spending,
 command-and-control environmental laws, and regulations on
 employers."
 
 More than 300 nonprofit advocacy groups got contributions from
 America's top 250 corporations in 1993, but only 35 of those
 groups received more than $250,000 apiece. Austin Fulk reports
 that nearly two-thirds of these 35 groups "favor the liberal,
 tried-and-failed policies of bureaucratic government. Groups such
 as the Nature Conservancy, the NAACP, the Center for Community
 Change, and Planned Parenthood get big corporate grants."
 
 Liberal groups with a Big-Government bias aren't the only
 beneficiaries of corporate largesse, however. "Corporations not
 only fund groups working against the general interests of
 business, but some also support radical activist groups that are
 principled opponents of America's enterprise tradition," says
 Fulk. "Corporate funding, even in small amounts, affects the
 fortunes of radical activists far out of proportion to the actual
 dollar amount. A corporate gift lends respectability to radical
 groups. It gives them a credential so that they can ask other
 corporations, individuals, and grantmaking foundations for
 funding."
 
 Donations to nonprofit groups that promote big government also
 undermine the work of legitimate charities. "Private charities
 have a record of effectively delivering services," says Fulk.
 "But too often their work is overshadowed by failed government
 programs that perpetuate the social problems they were supposed
 to address. The mission of charity is hurt when government
 programs replace private programs, and when taxpayer funding
 replaces private contributions and individual voluntarism."
 
 Austin Fulk of the Capital Research Center urges American
 investors to hold corporate management responsible for foolish
 and self-defeating philanthropy. If managers can't make
 charitable contributions wisely, they should make none at all.
 "Corporate managements do shareholders and the nation a grave
 disservice when they fund leftist advocacy groups," says Fulk.
 "If the welfare state is to be replaced by an opportunity
 society, support for nonprofit institutions must become more
 discerning. Individuals as well as corporations must champion
 charities and advocacy groups that encourage self-reliance. And
 they must refuse support to nonprofit groups that draw strength
 from government."
 
 America's Future, 7800 Bonhomme, St. Louis MO 63105
 
 Phone: 314-725-6003 Fax: 314-721-3373
Category:Second Cold War