Koch Brothers: Free Market Enthusiasts

According to the liberal left media, Charles Koch is gearing up to help raise and spend $88 million during the 2012 election cycle. Most African Americans have never heard of billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, but if they could be "good people to know." Charles and David Koch are the owners of Koch Industries, which is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Their annual revenues are estimated to be $100 billion. Their holdings include: Oil refineries, four thousand miles of oil pipeline, Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra. Koch Industries is the second-largest private company in the USA, after Cargill. If Koch Industries were a public company it would rank about 16 in the Fortune 500. Their combined fortune of $35 billion is exceeded only by those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Charles Koch is Koch Industries, Inc's chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Charles and David Koch's and his strategy for running a business, Market Based Management (MBM), is described in his 2007 book The Science of Success, which promotes long-term planning for success even at the expense of short-term gains. The Kochs are empirical examples of successful capitalists. Koch is a libertarian and his philanthropy includes co-founding the Cato Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Mercatus Center.

The Kochs and their affiliates have recently been recipients of received negative media coverage. Charles and David Koch were raised as Libertarians, and advocate individual liberty, especially freedom of expression and action. Liberal Democrats accused the Koch brothers of funding opposition against Obama Administration's policies. It's a spurious argument, the Kochs and their foundations have been donating to many pro-free market organizations and think tanks long before Obama came into the White House. For more than 40 years these brothers have been steadfast proponents of individual and economic freedom. Through their personal involvement and private foundations they lawfully support activities and causes consistent with their beliefs. Koch Industries is the source of funds for free market foundations and causes. Koch Industries and its subsidiaries spent more than $20 million on lobbying in 2008 and $12.3 million in 2009. Enterprising Black groups and individuals may want to take note that the Kochs' network of non-profit groups, once centered around sleepy free-enterprise think tanks, seems to some to be emerging as a more ideological counterweight to Bush-era GOP political operatives. This has cheered fiscal conservatives seeking to reorient their political apparatus and aspirations around free-market, small government principles and candidates. In recent years the Koch brothers have increasingly focused their giving on more activist groups, and, perhaps more significantly, they have used their influence to help guide millions more in contributions from other major conservative benefactors, primarily through twice-a-year donor summits they have been organizing since 2003. The conferences bring together roughly 150 wealthy conservative business titans or their representatives to hear presentations from politicians and thought leaders to fund their non-profits. At the most recent summit in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the Kochs and their invited donors pledged to contribute $49 million towards an $88-million budget goal for policy and political projects in the 2012 election cycle.

To prosper, Blacks should steer clear of "hating those they know not of." Among the hundreds of organizations that have received support from Koch companies and/or the Koch foundations are Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Youth Entrepreneurs® Kansas (YEK) was founded in 1991 by the Charles G. Koch Foundation to teach business and entrepreneurial skills in high school classrooms, and offers hands-on experience to help students succeed as business owners or employees. YEK chapters teach free enterprise fundamentals through hands-on experiences and encourage students to start their own business, enhance their business skills for future career opportunities and continue into higher education. Many Koch-funded YEK programs are located in inner-cities. Students write a business plan, participate in classroom competitions, and receive school credit for successfully meeting class completion requirements. YEK graduates' involvement is maintained through the Alumni Program, which promotes continued learning opportunities and community service.

 

William Reed is available for speaking/seminar projects via BaileyGroup.org