Charles Koch and his brother do not control the Republican party, but the social democrats who despise them might begin wishing they did.
During a recent interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC news, Charles Koch sat down to discuss his frustration with the election, declaring that he believes the system is rigged, but definitely not by him.
Estimating that in a 5 trillion-dollar economy, the corporate tax code alone is costing Americans $1.5 trillion, he vehemently opposes laws that support corporatism.
“A great majority [of the benefits] are going to the wealthy,” Koch said, echoing the statement made by the interviewer.
“The poor aren’t paying the taxes, so it benefits the wealthy. I think the whole tax code needs to be thrown out and all these exemptions need to be eliminated and everyone needs to be taxed on the same basis,” he said.
How does Charles Koch’s position on eliminating corporate welfare fit their narrative? It doesn’t. Nonetheless, it has done little to minimize the fact that some high-profile celebrities continue scapegoating the Kochs, despite their philanthropic contributions.
“We benefit tremendously from all of them, but it’s not sustainable,” Koch said in the interview, contrasting the recent accusations made by the actor, George Clooney.
In a recent NBC interview, Clooney maintained that the Kochs are merely out for themselves. While Clooney is conducting massive fundraisers himself, the actor worth $180 Million believes that there is a distinction between the fundraising efforts.
If we succeed in electing an entire Congress – which would be quite a success – but, a Senate, and a President – the tax policies that they would enact would probably cost us a lot more money – uh – quite honestly, the Koch Brothers would profit if they get their way…there’s no profit for us in this…
The only clear distinction that can be made is Charles Koch’s agenda is to help the individual and not one collective group. He agrees with the idea that there is too much special interest in politics, but also understands that in order to accomplish this, one must be willing to “Get rid of all the goodies of special interests out”.
The Koch brothers disclosed that they haven’t spent a single dime on this presidential campaign season, even though they have spent about $30 Million last year on politics in general. $270 Million of those funds raised were contributed towards education and helping community organizations to that end.
With the current state of this election cycle –such that it is– Koch thinks that they will likely contribute less than half of the $450 million raised this year, but has seen the best return on investment at the local, not federal level.
I think [there has] been some good things, particularly at the State and local level. We’ve helped get rid of the occupational licensing and some criminal justice reforms… at the Federal level, we haven’t in any way changed the trajectory fo the country, of this two-tiered society…
Overall, Koch is disappointed with the current field of candidates.
“…It is hard to find somebody in politics to go against what’s popular and do what they believe will help people improve their lives.”
Still, social democrats will continue to spread the false message that the Kochs control everything, to which Charles Koch probably wishes were true.
“If I control the Republican party,” he said, “we would not have a two-tiered system. We would not have welfare for the wealthy, we would not have a tax code that subsidizes the wealthy, we would get rid of all that. So, obviously, we don’t control anything.”
