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The Resource Dark money : the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right, Jane Mayer

Dark money : the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right, Jane Mayer

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Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against "big government" led to the ascendancy of a broad-based conservative movement. But as Jane Mayer shows in this powerful, meticulously reported history, a network of exceedingly wealthy people with extreme libertarian views bankrolled a systematic, step-by-step plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. The network has brought together some of the richest people on the planet. Their core beliefs--that taxes are a form of tyranny; that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom--are sincerely held. But these beliefs also advance their personal and corporate interests: Many of their companies have run afoul of federal pollution, worker safety, securities, and tax laws. The chief figures in the network are Charles and David Koch, whose father made his fortune in part by building oil refineries in Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany. The patriarch later was a founding member of the John Birch Society, whose politics were so radical it believed Dwight Eisenhower was a communist. The brothers were schooled in a political philosophy that asserted the only role of government is to provide security and to enforce property rights. When libertarian ideas proved decidedly unpopular with voters, the Koch brothers and their allies chose another path. If they pooled their vast resources, they could fund an interlocking array of organizations that could work in tandem to influence and ultimately control academic institutions, think tanks, the courts, statehouses, Congress, and, they hoped, the presidency. Richard Mellon Scaife, the mercurial heir to banking and oil fortunes, had the brilliant insight that most of their political activities could be written off as tax-deductible "philanthropy." These organizations were given innocuous names such as Americans for Prosperity. Funding sources were hidden whenever possible. This process reached its apotheosis with the allegedly populist Tea Party movement, abetted mightily by the Citizens United decision--a case conceived of by legal advocates funded by the network. The political operatives the network employs are disciplined, smart, and at times ruthless. Mayer documents instances in which people affiliated with these groups hired private detectives to impugn whistle-blowers, journalists, and even government investigators. And their efforts have been remarkably successful. Libertarian views on taxes and regulation, once far outside the mainstream and still rejected by most Americans, are ascendant in the majority of state governments, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Meaningful environmental, labor, finance, and tax reforms have been stymied. Jane Mayer spent five years conducting hundreds of interviews-including with several sources within the network-and scoured public records, private papers, and court proceedings in reporting this book. In a taut and utterly convincing narrative, she traces the byzantine trail of the billions of dollars spent by the network and provides vivid portraits of the colorful figures behind the new American oligarchy. Dark Money is a book that must be read by anyone who cares about the future of American democracy
Language
eng
Work
Instance
Label
Dark money : the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right
Title
Dark money
Title remainder
the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right
Statement of responsibility
Jane Mayer
Creator
Contributor
Author
Narrator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against "big government" led to the ascendancy of a broad-based conservative movement. But as Jane Mayer shows in this powerful, meticulously reported history, a network of exceedingly wealthy people with extreme libertarian views bankrolled a systematic, step-by-step plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. The network has brought together some of the richest people on the planet. Their core beliefs--that taxes are a form of tyranny; that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom--are sincerely held. But these beliefs also advance their personal and corporate interests: Many of their companies have run afoul of federal pollution, worker safety, securities, and tax laws. The chief figures in the network are Charles and David Koch, whose father made his fortune in part by building oil refineries in Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany. The patriarch later was a founding member of the John Birch Society, whose politics were so radical it believed Dwight Eisenhower was a communist. The brothers were schooled in a political philosophy that asserted the only role of government is to provide security and to enforce property rights. When libertarian ideas proved decidedly unpopular with voters, the Koch brothers and their allies chose another path. If they pooled their vast resources, they could fund an interlocking array of organizations that could work in tandem to influence and ultimately control academic institutions, think tanks, the courts, statehouses, Congress, and, they hoped, the presidency. Richard Mellon Scaife, the mercurial heir to banking and oil fortunes, had the brilliant insight that most of their political activities could be written off as tax-deductible "philanthropy." These organizations were given innocuous names such as Americans for Prosperity. Funding sources were hidden whenever possible. This process reached its apotheosis with the allegedly populist Tea Party movement, abetted mightily by the Citizens United decision--a case conceived of by legal advocates funded by the network. The political operatives the network employs are disciplined, smart, and at times ruthless. Mayer documents instances in which people affiliated with these groups hired private detectives to impugn whistle-blowers, journalists, and even government investigators. And their efforts have been remarkably successful. Libertarian views on taxes and regulation, once far outside the mainstream and still rejected by most Americans, are ascendant in the majority of state governments, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Meaningful environmental, labor, finance, and tax reforms have been stymied. Jane Mayer spent five years conducting hundreds of interviews-including with several sources within the network-and scoured public records, private papers, and court proceedings in reporting this book. In a taut and utterly convincing narrative, she traces the byzantine trail of the billions of dollars spent by the network and provides vivid portraits of the colorful figures behind the new American oligarchy. Dark Money is a book that must be read by anyone who cares about the future of American democracy
Accompanying matter
technical information on music
Cataloging source
TEFOD
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Mayer, Jane
Dewey number
324.2738
Form of composition
not applicable
Format of music
not applicable
LC call number
JC599.U5
LC item number
M373 2016ab
Literary text for sound recordings
other
Music parts
not applicable
PerformerNote
Read by Kirsten Potter
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Potter, Kirsten
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Koch, David H
  • Koch, Charles G.
  • Koch, Charles G.
  • Koch, David H
  • United States
  • Political activists
  • Libertarianism
  • Conservatism
  • Political culture
  • Radicalism
  • Corporations
  • Corporate speech
  • History
  • Politics
  • Nonfiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Conservatism
  • Corporate speech
  • Corporations
  • Libertarianism
  • Political activists
  • Political culture
  • Politics and government
  • Radicalism
  • United States
  • Nonfiction
  • History
  • Politics
  • History
  • Politics
  • Nonfiction
Transposition and arrangement
not applicable
Label
Dark money : the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right, Jane Mayer
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unknown
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unknown
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
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not applicable
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unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ocn935527115
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  • not applicable
  • unknown
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
1 online resource (1 sound file (16 hr., 45 min., 50 sec.))
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unknown
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online
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not applicable
Isbn
9780307970664
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not applicable
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not applicable
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unknown
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unknown
Media category
computer
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rdamedia
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  • c
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not applicable
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Sound
sound
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
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other
Stock number
921B203A-F70C-4094-9767-09C90343BCE8
System control number
(OCoLC)935527115
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not applicable
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not applicable
Label
Dark money : the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical Right, Jane Mayer
Link
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Capture and storage technique
unknown
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
not applicable
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Content category
spoken word
Content type code
  • spw
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ocn935527115
Dimensions
  • not applicable
  • unknown
Edition
Unabridged.
Extent
1 online resource (1 sound file (16 hr., 45 min., 50 sec.))
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
Isbn
9780307970664
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
not applicable
Kind of material
unknown
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
sound
Special playback characteristics
digital recording
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Speed
other
Stock number
921B203A-F70C-4094-9767-09C90343BCE8
System control number
(OCoLC)935527115
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable

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