Dark Money
by Jane Mayer · first published 2016
64% recommend33% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Investigative history of how the Koch family and other ultra-wealthy donors built think tanks, charities and political networks to shape policy; suits readers wanting background on money in politics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group. In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump's victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system. Why is America living in an age of profound and widening economic inequality? Why have even mod
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For a great book on how these 'charities' are corrupting American politics, and the specific tax loophole that enables them; check out the book 'Dark Money' by Jane Meyer Reforming this law would cause outrage among the non-profit and charity sector, because it would instantly dry up alot of US philanthropy. It still seems like a necessary reform however.
on “The Super-Rich Are Stockpiling Wealth in Black-Box Charities” ↗“Dark Money” by Jane Mayer was extremely enlightening. The influence of the Koch family on politics and public opinion has been devastating. The Federalist Society is a conspiracy against democracy.
on “Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake” ↗Foundation for Economic Education is a Partner to the Koch brothers, so likely a thinktank to espouse their point of view. Read Dark Money by Jane Mayer for more info. Source: https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Foundation_for_Economi...
on “$15 Minimum Wage Laws Are Wiping Out Jobs in New York and Illinois” ↗Another good book in that vein, but more in the political arena (think tanks etc.) is Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer.
on “The Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement (2013)” ↗Unfortunately, this is our reality. I’d highly recommend Dark Money by Jane Mayer if you haven’t read it already. Of course, this same machinery has already been built time and time again in the Valley.
on “Mike Bloomberg is plowing millions of dollars into a secretive tech firm” ↗Anybody who's discussing the quite unique tax situation around charity in the US, should give Dark Money by Jane Mayer a read. This uniqueness isn't by accident, and only is called charity as a minor, inconvenient side effect.
on “Donate Unrestricted” ↗The book this article is about " Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer" is amazing and a little depressing. The funding that is behind the PAC/Super-PAC is very scary, it's a tidal…
on “The Koch Brothers’ New Brand” ↗Nope. A lot revolves around them, but there are plenty of ultra-rich ideologues pushing their agenda this way. You can find some good investigative research on this in "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer, which details a lot of the history behind dark money influencing politics, and the ideals these guys are trying to advance. The Mercers are another influential family she's written about…
on “Groups funded by the Koch brothers are campaigning against municipal broadband” ↗Read Jane Meyer's Dark Money. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/books/review/dark-money-b...
on “Groups funded by the Koch brothers are campaigning against municipal broadband” ↗…James Kwak (on the naive use of Econ 101), Global Inequality by Branko Milanovic (a better, or at least much more legible, analysis of inequality within and among countries than Piketty's tome), and maybe Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer (about campaign financing in the last two decades in the US).
on “A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality” ↗…went to conservative groups. From: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2014/jun/23... Another relevant source: https://billmoyers.com/2014/04/10/nothing-really-compares-to... You can read Dark Money by Jane Meyer if you are actually interested in this.
on “New Study Indicates Silicon Valley’s Elite Are Not as Liberal as They Think” ↗Completely agreed. I recently finished reading the book Dark Money by Jane Meyer. She lays out convincing evidence for how our political discourse and democracy is being undermined by monied interests. The Citizen's United court decision likely accelerated this as well.
on “Citing parental freedom, Arizona lawmakers move ahead with anti-vaccine bills” ↗…funding the ultra-right wing US ecosystems of think tanks and academics, and a large part of the motivation is to prevent action to deal with climate change. They're fighting. But fighting back is wrong? Dark Money by Jane Mayer is a good place to read more. Charles Koch hired private investigators to tail her back when she was working on the book. That's a strong endorsement!
on “A Landmark Climate Trial Turns on Whether Exxon Cooked the Books” ↗…Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News-and Divided a Country by Gabriel Sherman [1] - There is also a Showtime miniseries based on the book you could watch. Pair with the movie Bombshell 3) Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer [2] [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52118381-the-system [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15981705-the-loudest-voi...…
on “U.S. Capitol Locked Down Amid Escalating Protests” ↗> How did we end up with such a gross lack of accountability? Have a read of Dark Money (Mayer) and/or Democracy in Chains (MacLean) to get a picture of the why and how.
on “Ohio Republicans close to imposing near-total ban on municipal broadband” ↗