Corporate / Private-Interest Cabal Robbing Revenues by Malign Manipulative Massage of Elected Legislators

Simplified situations set up dollar-denominated deals; electees overshadowed by corporate and private workers.

(SEASIDE, Ore.) - Famously, the true spirit of the First American Revolution was NOT anti-tax, but taxation without representation. It was clearly unwarranted tax imposition for the British tea monopoly that set off the passionate actions of our Founders.

That it led to inevitable and final destruction of British Empire control and economic conquest in a new continent was one remarkable consequence, not entirely unforeseen.

Today corporate/private-gain interests are desperately seeking to impose parallel and potent changes in current and past law, primarily at state level via strong use-and-abuse of the ALEC-system preparing model legislative acts for every Legislature, strongly reminiscent of that infamous British-imperialist attack on U.S. freedom and funds.

Given the longtime/coming total takeover of public policy across this whole nation currently, strongly driven by the proliferating and notoriously self-involved corporate interests continually strengthening for over 200 years, we should pay particular very-pointed attention to still-further subversion of everything and everyone for these even more imperial demands from corporate/private-gain interests.

Even broader and deeper dangers now exist --and continue to grow-- than those early Americans were forced to face, in creating what was originally intended to be a whole continent open to full development in the broadening scale of true human rights.

It is because of the dollar-driven greed of corporate/private-gain interests today that we must modify, manage and even protectively manipulate what society and government does to control, regulate, direct and project both policy and prompt action to protect and safeguard the commonwealth interest.

Can you imagine any grouping of our Founders allowing a seat at the table --paid for by lavish British-pound currency-- for the King’s representative from the British tea monopoly ?

In realistic essence that’s what we’ve allowed in current ALEC mechanism and the resulting massive manipulation. Those seats cost Private Sector participants as much as $25,000, plus fees, entertainment, costs for employees-involved, so you can see that this now-broken ALEC system must pay off for them.

Many states now are voting or preparing to do so on drastic changes in state voter registration, state-worker collective bargaining on benefits and wages, and on a bewildering array of other issues made into new law or its forerunner by action initiated via ALEC-activities. Many others are checking current and pending legislation to make sure it has not been sullied or otherwise damaged by what has been occurring in ALEC-actions sine 1973!

It is now well-established that more than a dozen GOPster-gang state governors, and multiple GOPster legislators or electees in every state, have joined forces for continual strongly-driven, dollar-powered efforts to make ALEC models into actual state law by new enactment or “reform” of past-passed statutes...and you can bet your bottom dollar --OR part of your democratic freedom-- on how they will change current or pending laws if allowed so to do by continuance of this flawed and now destructive ALEC-system.

Today we should surely reject and prevent the imposition of modern corporate contrivance viably-such ostensible "model legislation" --imposed via privilege paid for by dollar power-- on our elected representatives, gathered just one level away from each state’s Constitutional Legislature itself, simply to expedite the manipulative process.

That heavily dollar-driven special-attention manipulation, by trained and very-skilled masters of related management areas (read: lushly-paid persuasive-policy personnel placed in powerful position by potent private interests) put to work with much less-ready citizen-electees, should mean undue advantage unfairly achieved --and it does, for the Private Sector participants.

"Citizen electees" are trusted and chosen by voters, pledging themselves to work for the commonwealth interest, while “on furlough” from their normal life-and-family pursuits.

Their normally-required lifestyle and essential time-demands sometimes precludes the complete understanding of what’s at stake and in work on dialog and discussion of policy and protocol at these ALEC operating sessions --”operating” being the key word for what is often done to proper-sounding proposals, propositions and planned proper reforms.

That task can be massively supported and facilitated by mutual dialog-discussion and policy-decision with like-others via group process --sometimes aided by specialists from business and industry to bring into play their intimate knowledge and understandings uniquely valuable to citizens properly planning for effective new law.

Citizen-electees so situated can hardly be expected to compete on equal terms with specialists in language-nuances and shaping-component language-innovation or innuendo --standard tools of modern persuasive-product in all such projects, for which the Founders cannot have made any protective provision-- and those most extraordinarily-skilled are now mostly well-employed by...guess who !

SO when it becomes entirely clear, by national exposure on a growing number of investigative websites, that these corporate/private-gain business interests are not only sitting in on dialog-and-writing sessions, but taking a lead role in development of new law, via ALEC-process, and paying lushly for that seat at the table --AND the veto it carries-- THEN it is time to call a halt to that process.

It has helped tremendously over the years to have this mass manipulation of these well-meaning but drastically unprepared electees take place under the aegis of any one of only three national organizations at work to shape and word and thus determine exact impact of crucial legislation determining, in every state, what can and MUST take place for ostensible neutral usage by all concerned.

BUT these are laws governing budget, funding, reform and reality for education and many other key activities !

They should never be allowed to be open and thus vulnerable to proven inevitable selfishness of corporate and private interest --as required by ALL corporate charters in use now, wrongly so "organized" by chance development of widespread business practice and protocol in past centuries.

Advice, guidance and expert consultation from business at all levels and from its leaders specially skilled in key areas under consideration by legislators should be one of the most valuable and most effective contributors to the broad understandings demanded for law-making in the 21st Century.

Surely it is possible --and just as surely clearly demanded-- to make absolutely clear that advisory-only role without allowing specific direction from massive numbers of specially-prepared “model legislation”, all too easily “adapted” and adopted to individual state need (read: copied “with very minor changes added” by state ALEC-participants.)

In many cases such “minor change” is now known to be both distorted and perverted to permit the promotion and support of corporate/private-gain interests rather than the legislative goal of commonwealth concerns and consummate benefits. (See numerous links to direct contact with reporting national investigative sites, in previous Op Eds.) The major protection against such ongoing essential abuse of the process and of the ALEC system is the constant contact and guidance of the state legislator in charge of the state participation in the ALEC-process system. For Oregon, that has been Rep. Gene Whisnant.

Current widely-applied ALEC-process allows immediate active intervention by corporate/private-gain interests within the finalizing of model legislation.

They pay what has been described as “a king’s ransom” for the privilege of participation via their seat at the table.

(See “ALEC: Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America”. Here’s your direct link: www.justice.org

IF any lobbyist were given choice of Heaven-sent full-opportunity, you can bet your bottom dollar he will name the writing and wording for essential function of state-level law.

That is a dream-come-true for any-such engaging in similar activities today, and has been so for a very long time.

Disclosure: Reflects earliest lessons-learned "the hard way" by mine own early-times working-stay in D.C., when K-Street was comparatively populated by beginners in an art of lobbying now presented by more than 10,000 participating there, more than 40 for every elected Representative or Senator --with parallel situations in every state.

That's the heart of the ALEC-debacle now drawing extreme and often painful interest at both national and every-state level: Once-honest, open- issue-problem materials now presented via "model legislation" cunningly, carefully, comprehensively and combatively produced by corporate/private-interest intervention with the usually-conscientious work of normal-natural but artless electees.

What results is a simple-seeming working-concept of ostensible-"model" legislative actions, skillfully provided by dual-group dialog and debate under guidance from carefully selected work process chiefs, which presents and promises what appears to be meticulous and "professional" production of "model legislation" -- rapidly then "readied" (read: copied) for realistically also-simple usage at home on the legislative floor --to become actual law.

Anyone who will but examine a fair sample of ALEC-model product will see how complex and comprehensively they may be managed and made into viable law-draft, difficult and time-consuming to achieve at the professional levels surely demanded for any possible transition into documents effective as realistic measures in court and the extremely vigorous atmosphere of real law-struggle, dialog, debate and jury examination.

(Note: ALEC Exposed website offers easy link access to a broad subject choice of such draft models; see with your own eyes just how complex they are and how difficult any substantive changes -- ostensibly to fit them closely to state needs prior to adoption-- really are.)

ALEC does not make easily available what it is that is produced in these sessions, nor is the content then laid fully open for the public even when in use as model for state-level legislation. The reader thus-far will surely recognize good reasons-why!

But recent national investigative action, by a number of public service agencies, has resulted in more than 800 complete copies of "model"-product, analyzed and summarized in several national publications. (See ALEC EXPOSED: The Right-Wing Group Subverting Our Democracy; The NATION Double Issue, Aug. 1/8/11.0}

Vigorous examination and investigation of the many numerous projects now known to comprise the current GOPster-attack on what some of them call "the politics of the past" --compiled comprehensively and committed to links for easy public access-- is readily now available in ALEC Exposed and its companion websites, where content thus obtained ranges the whole gamut of the "model legislation" recently linked and then analyzed in depth and detail.

When first word circulated among national leaders of Alex Exposed, tearing away the shield of silence and all-too-casual acceptance of the process in state working circles, one astute observer told a group:

"What a publishing bonus this will be to replace all those old, now-suspiciously outmoded lawbooks lining lawyer shelves nationwide!"

Many thousands of state laws --included as content crowding all those law-book pages, may well be in question for key words, phrases, and expressions now possible to expose as shaped and formulated and inserted by the ALEC-process revealed in the investigative work of many persons involved in those organizations.

For our part as thinking and active citizens, protecting our democracy against this concerted GOPster-driven, corporate/private-gain interest attack, we must remember and act upon those wise words of an early-Colonial leader:

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Wendell Phillips, American orator and abolitionist, 1832.

Or you may prefer: “Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason ? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.” -- Sin John Harington, English courtier and writer, 1612.

Part One: ALEC' UN-Elected, Writing U.S. Legislation Under Koch-Influenced Direction In Many States

Part Two: Corporate Interests Imposed On State Law/Drafts With Veto Power 'Worth King's Ransom' to Whole Crowd of Corporate Powers

Part Three: Oregon's ALEC Leader Rep. Whisnant Reluctant to Dialog On His Reasoning

Part Four: Op Ed: ALEC Proven Corporate-Dominated: Two Other State-Oriented Groups Bar Private-Interest Membership Influence

Part Five: 'Command' Approach Damages Legislature Role in Building State-Needs/Based Laws, Major Rules

Part Six: Will Oregon 'Fly With Own Wings'?
Will State Agencies Overlook Now-Demanded Duty To Seek Out Corporate Influence as Claim

Part Seven: ALEC-Model Legislation Undermining Constitutional Legislative Decision-Process

______________________

At 21, Henry Clay Ruark was Aroostook Editor for the Bangor, Maine DAILY NEWS, covering the upper 1/4 of the state. In the ‘40s, he was Staff Correspondent, then New England Wires Editor at United Press-Boston; later Editor for the Burlington, Vermont 3-daily group owned by Wm. Loeb, later notorious at Manchester, New Hampshire UNION LEADER for attacks on Democratic Presidential candidates.

Hank returned to Oregon to complete M. Ed. degree at OSU, went on to Indiana University for Ed.D. (abd) and special other course-work; was selected as first Information Director for NAVA in Washington, D.C.; helped write sections of NDEA, first Act to supply math, science, foreign language consultants to state depts. of education; joined Oregon Dept. of Education, where he served as NDEA administrator/Learning Media Consultant for ten years.

He joined Dr. Amo DeBernardis at PCC, helping establish, extend programs, facilities, Oregon/national public relations; moved to Chicago as Editor/Publisher of oldest educational-AV journal, reformed as AV GUIDE Magazine; then established and operated Learning Media Associates as general communications consultant group. Due to wife’s illness, he returned to Oregon in 1981, semi-retired, and has continued writing intermittently ever since, joining S-N in 2004. His Op Eds now total over 650 written since then.

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Hank Ruark November 18, 2011 12:20 pm (Pacific time)

To all:
This one speaks for itself:
Oregon Center for Public Policy Update
November 18, 2011

In this issue...
455 Million Reasons to Say "Thank You" to Voters

Yesterday, the interim House and Senate Revenue Committees received a report from the Legislative Revenue Office on the impacts of Measures 66 and 67.

The bottom line, as OCPP noted in a blog post:

Measure 66, the personal income tax measure, is now expected to bring in $215 million this biennium, and Measure 67, the corporate income tax measure, is now expected to bring in $240 million.

In other words, thanks to Oregon voters we have $455 million in revenue that we otherwise would not have -- $455 million to support schools, public safety and health and human services that Oregonians count on each day.
==============================
We'll continue examination of ALEC-"model legislation" dangers, damage and destruction soon.

Hank Ruark November 11, 2011 7:12 pm (Pacific time)

Mark:
This is last time will be so easy on you...next time will use record of your emailer left when you send to us and relay bill for space used at going commercial rate...advertisers deserve unhampered run of attention from our readers and you are destroyig that very commercial unavoidable part of our businss, which this is...A/G/OR and other states has already warned perps doing this that they face dollar-damager suit if channelowner sues...

See you in court soon ????

Hank Ruark November 12, 2011 12:19 pm (Pacific time)

My Momma taught me to keep clear of strange men, especially any talking to themselves in confusion of convoluted terms misunderstood even by professionals --
Years later, four fine gentlemen "from Virginia", two of them black, taught me to ignore any fulsome declarations from ANYONE who wears a mask and refuses to speak-own-name while vigorously selling fulsome sounding stuff more sound-and-fury than common sense accepts.

Most of this musty mishmash has no focus on well-documented facts set forth in my Op Ed series: Corporate/private-gain gurus are gutting out American laws by distortion/perversion generated by deceitful, dollar-driven manipulation of legislators who should know better --and be protected from self-and-community harm if they don't.

Definite documented damning proof exists of definitely UN-Constitutional and most probably UN-lawful actions at every ALEC session. See any and all direct-link contacts given in these Op Eds, taking your pick among leading national investigative groups known for their authentic service to community and nation.

See-also Whisnant-written article (linked in early Op Ed) in ALEC's own magazine,, setting forth in his own words actions in Oregon as described; check out Eugene Weekly article (also linked) which reported ALEC distortion/perversion even before award-winning record at ALEC Exposed; then see (again by link-given) the Whisnant response stating clearly that it was a matter of his choice but not revealing what was known at the time about corporate dollar-driven malign interference.

Do you really want corporate/private-gain involvement precisely patterned as if British tea-monopoly was sitting in on Founders dialogs by access costing a shipload of Brit-pounds ????

Continuing attack goes far to prove pattern of malign misdirection by musty mishmash and repeated complexified anti/common-sense recitations of rote dogma from Far Right economists.

Hank Ruark November 11, 2011 3:55 pm (Pacific time)

To all:
Here's few lines from middle of the NATION article by Moyers:
",,,The National Association of Manufacturers announced that it was moving its main offices to Washington. In 1971 only175 firms had registered lobbyists in the capital; by 1988 nearly 2,500 did. Corporate PACs increased from fewer than 300 in 1976 to more than 1,200 by the mid-80s. From Powell's inpetus came the Business Roundtable, the American Exchange Legislative Council (ALEC), the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Manhattan Institute, Citizens for A Sound Economy (precursors for what we now know as Americans for Prosperity) and other organizations united in pushing back against political equality and shared prosperity. They triggered an economic transformation that would in time touch every aspect of our lives.

SURE AS HELL SOUNDS LIKE A CABAL TO ME !!!!

Hank Ruark November 11, 2011 3:40 pm (Pacific time)

Mark:
So, no guts ? Break attention-line here if possible ? Avoid head-on ? "Attak" by dispersion and dispute ???
Let's get it on: DJ is correct albeit you will never so admit.

" Henry after reading your series and the comments, it appears that many have missed the points you were making. Possibly people are more concerned with how bad the economy is, and how it has gotten worse during the current administration?

Never score with everyone allatonce, keed...that line proves your intention since any ordinary fool already understands it. and most have sense enough to pay attention to what's killing them off personally...none of which relates to theme here which stands on own as classically destructive for the common person and family.

One thing for sure, the country is far more divided than it was in 2008 don't you think? As far as Mr. Rich , I still have never found anything that he actually accomplished as an economist, do you have something in that regard?

It's Reich as you well know, and distortion proves again your intention; when you have professional courtesy to come direct and ID self, thrn will furnish you with massive proofs.

As far as what the poster said about corporations and taxes, well are you aware that Canada has half our corporate tax rate, which some attribute as heading off a recession a few years back? Some have said that it was the further development of their energy industry, but the economic formulas I've seen clearly demonstrates that lower tax rates create more revenue.

DJ already disjointed yours nicely and neatly. SO why not cite links to your points if you have them, for all to see, rather than continue disjointed disclaimers done deliberately for differentiations that don't decipher the situation a damned bit...

Then there are people like Krugman and Rich who opine for the opposite, but they have no evidence or past models to prove their opinions.

Again-done for same reasons but it IS Reich. Re "no evidence", where's your list of publications, nationally syndicated columns, and long publication pile of books ? When you can put up, come on back; until then, might as well shut up since we've got you spotted....

People like proof don't you think?
CAN agree with that --and have 60-year working record, with nearly 7 MILLION published words, most paid for after selection by tough editors, and some 650 OP Eds here for examination any time by anyone. Not to mention special experiences as writer ever since 1932; M.Ed. and EdD.abd, classroom, college and university, special seminars and presentations for business and industry, and public information responsibilities for associations, state agencies and both large and small private corporations and business.
Laying it all out since you brought up the question, and my squib with coverage above only begins to tell the whole story about why I write, what I feel about responibilities involved, the shaping forces for what i do and so on...

Hey have a great Veterans Day, you were a WWII vet, right?
No doubt about it: blind left eye yanked me out of 10th Mountain group headed for Italy; Soent three years in Army communications, from typewriter to small command as operating sargeant; wrote, photographed 16 and 35mm, did radio programs, wrote command officer text, et al, et al,et al,et al,et al....hellish experience but no quarrel since never got shot-at, avoided many physical dangers while subjected to other psychological and working-situation ones.
Where were you ? You are invited to lay yours out in detail, too...for readers here to check and cogitate about when they seek to be professionally informed, which is the function of the journalist.
Don't bother to tell us the function of whichever tribe of economists you claim to belong in...do they recognize you ??

Mark November 11, 2011 10:45 am (Pacific time)

Henry after reading your series and the comments, it appears that many have missed the points you were making. Possibly people are more concerned with how bad the economy is, and how it has gotten worse during the current administration? One thing for sure, the country is far more divided than it was in 2008 don't you think? As far as Mr. Rich, I still have never found anything that he actually accomplished as an economist, do you have something in that regard? As far as what the poster said about corporations and taxes, well are you aware that Canada has half our corporate tax rate, which some attribute as heading off a recession a few years back? Some have said that it was the further development of their energy industry, but the economic formulas I've seen clearly demonstrates that lower tax rates create more revenue. Then there are people like Krugman and Rich who opine for the opposite, but they have no evidence or past models to prove their opinions. People like proof don't you think? Hey have a great Veterans Day, you were a WWII vet, right?

DJ: Two things, Mark. The first is that lower taxes do not produce greater revenue. That's a conservative myth. You say there is evidence, I would like to see it.

The second thing is that Canada's economy did not fall in the toilet like your economy because our banks have stayed regulated. We have the most stable banking system in the world.

Hank Ruark November 10, 2011 2:48 pm (Pacific time)

Mike:
      Yours suffers so badly from scleratic nonsymphonic misogyny that best link is hankatlma@ipns.com and challenge fruther dialog there --if you have the guts ! Our readers deserve full attention to theme of article rather than avoidance technique wrapped in jargon and symptomatic as described above.
     Re Reich, his record will surely survive your distorted vision of what he has accomplished and revealingly thus of what constitutes " actual real world business activity".

Elias: Thanks for link, will check and respond when time allows, fighting copy deadline elsewhere today...

To all: For solid coverage of reality and acknowledged place of ALEC in corporate cabal, see Bill Moyers "How Wall Street Occupied America: WHY the Rich Keep Getting Richer and Our Democracy Is Getting Poorer", NATION 11/21 issue.
   He confirms longtime corporate/private-gain cabal out to "buy more democracy than anybody else" and do with it what willl best protect their dollar-deals.

Hank Ruark November 10, 2011 3:04 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Vague recall of former contact with this "interview" brought on rapid check. What's there is simple racial-ethnic diatribe not worth time, attention or a breath from anyone...there should somehow, somewheres be a electronic crap-detector triggered instantly any such is offered on Internet...but then, what would that do to massive blogger population ???

Hank Ruark November 10, 2011 2:53 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Further solid, factual confirmation and documentation available at: progress@americanprogressaction.org in article reporting whole series of polls from authoritative sources. Article is titled: "Sabotage ?" But remember "you read it here first" !

Elias November 10, 2011 11:43 am (Pacific time)

You guys are going to thank me for the following link. www.rense.com/general66/rosen.htm It's none other the Harold Wallace Rosenthal interview of course. In this interview which the interviewer refers to as confession, is what's has destroyed the United States in particular and much of the world in general. Make sure you read it all the way through. It's a real eye opener. Read it now thank me later.

Mike November 10, 2011 7:07 am (Pacific time)

Henry thanks for the ALEC series, and as you know, a Corporate tax is a VAT. It's a hidden tax paid by the consumer. have you noticed that Wall Street Occupiers are bellowing "Save the nation! Tax corporations! Tax the rich!"There are other Americans, on both the left and the right — President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, for example — who call for reductions in corporate taxes.

But the University of California at Berkeley's inexperienced (in doing actual real world business activity) economist Robert Reich disagrees, saying, "The economy needs two whopping corporate tax cuts right now as much as someone with a serious heart condition needs Botox."

Let's look at corporate taxes and ask, "Who pays them?"Virginia has a car tax. Does the car pay the tax? In most political jurisdictions, there's a property tax. Does property pay the tax? Neither a car nor property pays taxes. Only flesh-and-blood people pay taxes!" What about a corporation? As it turns out, a corporation is an artificial creation of the legal system and, as such, a legal fiction. A corporation is not a person and therefore cannot pay taxes. When tax is levied on a corporation, who pays it?

There's an entire subject area in economics, known as tax incidence, that investigates who bears the burden of a tax. It turns out that the burden of a tax is not necessarily borne by the party or entity upon whom it is levied.

For example, if a sales tax is levied on a cigarette retailer, the retailer does not bear the full burden of the tax.
Part of it will be shifted forward to customers in the form of higher product prices. The exact amount of the shifting depends upon market supply and demand conditions.

What about raising taxes on corporations as a means to get them to pay their "rightful share of government"? If a tax is levied on a corporation and if it is to survive, it will have one of several responses or some combination thereof.

One response is to raise the price of its product, so customers share part of the burden. Another response is to lower dividends, so shareholders share a part of the burden. And a considerable portion of reduced dividend burden falls on ordinary nonrich people.

According to the Tax Foundation, 19% of federal tax returns report dividend income, but 42% of taxpayers older than 65 report dividend income. Therefore, it is people, not some legal fiction called a corporation, who bear the burden of the tax.

Because corporations have these responses to the imposition of a tax, they are merely government tax collectors. The largest burden of corporate taxes is borne by workers. We discover that by asking a simple question, such as: Which workers on a road construction project earn the higher pay — those employed moving dirt with shovels and wheelbarrows or those doing the same atop giant earthmovers?

You'd guess the guys operating the earthmovers, but why? It's not because they're unionized or because construction contractors have a fondness for earthmover operators. It's because those workers have more capital (tools) to work with and are thereby more productive. Higher productivity translates into higher wages.

Tax policies that raise the cost of capital formation — such as capital gains taxes, low depreciation allowances and corporate taxes — reduce capital formation. As a result, workers have less capital, lower productivity and lower wage growth.

In 1980, Joseph Stiglitz, now a Nobel laureate, said that workers share the highest corporate tax burden in the form of lower wages. A number of economic studies, including that of the Congressional Budget Office, show that workers bear anywhere from 45% to 75% of the corporate tax burden. Adding to the burden is the fact that capital has the kind of mobility that labor doesn't. Corporate capital can flee to other countries easily, but workers cannot.

Politicians and leftist elites get away with corporate-tax demagoguery because economists haven't done well in making our subject understandable to ordinary people, not to mention that we have derelict news media people with little understanding.