What the Koch Brothers Can Do & Dare Not

Posted on April 28, 2011 in Morals & Ethics Scoundrels

The Koch Brothers are on the defensive with a bright new campaign describing all the charitable causes to which they are giving money. “How can you possibly say we are inhumane (even though we financed the Tea Party which is now out to destroy Medicare and Social Security along with collective bargaining and unions?)” You’re giving part of your millions to help others while investing more to make yourself more money through lobbying efforts and hot houses like the Cato Foundation and the Foundation for American Growth is how.

Jesus set a high standard for charity:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”((The full passage is Mark 10:17-31))

Everything. Not just a piece of a vast empire, but everything. Then we can start talking salvation. Christians, take note and do not be fooled by the Koch Brothers. They are nowhere near meeting the level of commitment that is expected of this passage.

But let’s take a kindlier tack. What could the Koch Brothers do to start meriting a little more respect from the average American? Not God, — certainly not one of their paid lobbyists — but a member of the 98%:

• Stop giving money to self-aggrandizing “think tanks” like Cato.
• Support free speech and the right to make up one’s own mind about one’s vote. Stop interfering in your employees’ decision about who to vote for, ending the cycle of threats that you resorted to in the last election.
• Come clean about your role in buying the Citizens’ United decision and call for a rehearing with Scalia and Thomas recusing themselves
• Stop taking the glory for cancer research with your board membership in the [[American Cancer Society]] while supporting government efforts to cut it.
• Give a substantial amount of cash to some less glamorous causes like literacy and research into mental illness
• Improve your employees’ health benefits beyond Obamacare.
• Leave Medicare and Social Security alone unless you have a plan to make conditions better for those who rely on them without privatization.
• Support the funding of the [[Environmental Protection Agency]].
• Support [[OSHA]] so that your employees’ lives will be safer.
• Let the Tea Party fend for itself. Be honest about how you started this pretense of a social movement.
• Be honest. You’re no libertarians. Stop calling yourself ones.
• Publicly repudiate [[Ayn Rand]] and those who follow her.
• Sell off your gold and give the shares to charity.
• Give your tax rebate to the government to help fight the deficit like able Patriots should.

Do this, Charles and David Koch, if you want to rescue this country from the economic crisis and the shadow of fascism that you have cast upon it.

And if they don’t, America, vote them and all their candidates down down down to the hell of powerlessness.