http://www.reddit.com/user/yossarian9
yossarian99 karma2013-07-02 17:55:24 UTC
Prof Lessig. Don't know if you've seen OpenSecrets work on dark money, but I have a quiestion about futility.
Consider a few things
-- A while back, OpenSecrets reported that $10 million essentially vanished in transactions among a set of groups run by the same people, but nothing appears to have happened to the group that was underreporting: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/04/american-commitments-missing-millions.html
-- In another instance, a set of Delaware corporations received grants from a massive c4. Turns out most of these were "disregarded entities" of groups like Americans for Prosperity, but using the Delaware corps made the grants almost impossible to track: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/12/nonprofit-funneled-money-to-kochs-voter-database-effort-other-conservative-groups.html
-- A set of Liberal groups that are essentially mailboxes full of money repeatedly shut down and restarted immediately, making it nearly impossible for oversight by the IRS: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/05/shape-shifting-by-liberal-dark-mone.html
The question is this: with the endless loopholes for tax-exempt groups, is there any chance of disclosure without major changes (which are impossible in this climate)?
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yossarian99 karma
Prof Lessig. Don't know if you've seen OpenSecrets work on dark money, but I have a quiestion about futility.
Consider a few things
-- A while back, OpenSecrets reported that $10 million essentially vanished in transactions among a set of groups run by the same people, but nothing appears to have happened to the group that was underreporting: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/04/american-commitments-missing-millions.html
-- In another instance, a set of Delaware corporations received grants from a massive c4. Turns out most of these were "disregarded entities" of groups like Americans for Prosperity, but using the Delaware corps made the grants almost impossible to track: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/12/nonprofit-funneled-money-to-kochs-voter-database-effort-other-conservative-groups.html
-- A set of Liberal groups that are essentially mailboxes full of money repeatedly shut down and restarted immediately, making it nearly impossible for oversight by the IRS: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/05/shape-shifting-by-liberal-dark-mone.html
The question is this: with the endless loopholes for tax-exempt groups, is there any chance of disclosure without major changes (which are impossible in this climate)?
View HistoryShare Link