Investment In Failed Solar Firm Solyndra Raises Questions About Nonprofit’s Purpose
28th September 2011
Six years ago, Senate Finance Committee investigators mounted an inquiry into an exotic variety of nonprofit organization that they feared affluent families were using to warehouse wealth while simultaneously earning themselves lucrative tax breaks.
One nonprofit group singled out for scrutiny was a low-profile organization based in Tulsa. That group, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, later became the biggest investor in Solyndra, the solar company that collapsed last month after burning through a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money.
And this is why the ‘raise my taxes!’ meme is such bullshit. Beyond a certain level, being rich is not about having ready money but about having power, and power can be exercised through a tax-free foundation as readily (and sometimes more readily) than through a fat wallet — and the public relations benefits are far superior. ‘Do this or I won’t give you money’ uses after-tax dollars; ‘Do this or my foundation won’t give you money’ uses pre-tax dollars — and the power exercised is exactly the same.