=============================================================== The BIRCH BARK BBS / 414-242-5070 =============================================================== America's Future, Inc., Behind The Headlines, May 1996 Big Business Is Promoting Socialism ----------------------------------- 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