Jane Mayer

Originally published: New York: Doubleday, 2016.

The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

Dark Money

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2016 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS, BEST NONFICTION A LITHUB BOOK OF THE DECADE The US is one of the largest democracies in the world — or is it? America is experiencing an age of profound economic inequality. Employee protections have been decimated, and state welfare is virtually non-existent, while hedge-fund billionaires are grossly under-taxed and big businesses make astounding pro ts at the expense of the environment and of their workers. How did this come about, and who are the driving forces behind it? In this powerful and meticulously researched work of investigative journalism, New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer exposes the network of billionaires trying to buy the US electoral system — and succeeding. Led by libertarian industrialists the Koch brothers, they believe that taxes are a form of tyranny and that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom. Together, they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in uencing politicians and voters, and hijacking American democracy for their own ends. Dark Money brilliantly illuminates a shady corner of US politics. It is essential reading for anybody interested in the future of democracy. PRAISE FOR JANE MAYER ‘Indispensable.’ The Guardian ‘Persuasive, timely and necessary.’ The New York Times

how a secretive group of billionaires is trying to buy political control in the US

Jayme Cochrane

Took a while to read because I could only stomach so much. Just full of revolting stories about the worst humanity has to offer.

Eitan Hershkovitz

This book has proven that the Republican party is no more. It is simple a front for the ultra rich to buy our government so that they can run it in the way they see fit. They want to attack the poor and enrich themselves.

This book also showed how wrong the supreme court was in their handling of Citizens United. They single-handedly turned our democracy into an oligarchy.

Systematically investigated, Jane Mayer reveals the true colors of the Republican party and how they have fallen into depravity.

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 rise 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, foremost among them Charles and David Koch. 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. When libertarian ideas proved decidedly unpopular with voters, the Koch brothers and their allies decided on 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. The political operatives the network employs are disciplined, smart, and at times ruthless. 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 reform has 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.

Andy Bosselman

Like many Americans, I find it hard to comprehend what has happened to my country. This book reveals more than I expected.

Although I was familiar with the "vast right-wing conspiracy," I had no idea that the the tentacles of the "Kochtopus" wrap around the hearts and minds of so many Americans.

This is a page turner, the writing is remarkable, fluid, and the book reads fast. When people talk about it being hard to read, they're talking about how troubling the subject matter is.

If you read one book in the next five years, this should be it.

Cindy Lieberman

A depressing book about the long con that’s been played on 99% of the American people by the super-rich, often descendants of robber barons. I often wonder why the Democrats can’t seem to get a succinct and powerful message across. And the reason is clear: when Democrats have money they tend to put it toward programs that help people, encourage voting, and generally support democracy. The incredible millions of dollars raised annually by the Koch brothers and others of their ilk have been deployed FOR DECADES in ways that undermine democracy, twist words around to their aims, and twist arms of politicians to help them further avoid taxes. Yet while they profess to abhor all forms of government (and especially environmental regulations), they are quick to accept industry subsidies for coal etc. A truly despicable group of humans that has brought us close to ruination as a nation under the guise of “improving well being” and buying support for their nefarious business interests.

Omar Fernandez

A great exploration of how money from the Koch brothers has influenced politics and the mechanisms they've used. Clever uses of money, super PACs, and a bunch of nonprofit organizations to pour untraceable, yet evidently large amounts of money into causes they care about as libertarians: less government, less taxes, less regulation. They want to get rid of the EPA, etc. Generally, they want to be free to seek profit. 

They have donated hundreds of millions of dollars and raised even more from other billionaires. They've been disciplined about using that money to influence election results around the US, convincing voters through misleading statements that universal healthcare is bad for them, that regulations hurt then, and lower taxes are good. They've spent a fortune developing and refining tactics and have become very good at it.

Jeremy Anderberg

“They said they were driven by principle, but their positions dovetailed seamlessly with their personal financial interests.” 

Since the Supremes Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010, which legalized unlimited corporate political spending, the money spent by individuals with hopes of swaying elections has exploded. Legendary journalist Jane Mayer’s book may be over four years old—pre-dating Trump even—but it’s as relevant as ever, and as disconcerting as any book I’ve read.

Largely focusing on the Koch brothers, Mayer details the rise of the billionaires who pour their fortunes into making libertarian ideas not only mainstream, but the law of the land. The Kochs, in particular, basically do whatever they can to reach a state of the lowest possible taxes and the least possible regulation. (I moved Kochland higher on my list after reading this book.)

Each page is more infuriating as the reader learns about how the richest people in the world fiddled with campaign finance law and evaded non-profit tax codes, only to see the bank vault doors blown open with that 2010 court decision.

Campaigns, even well down the ballot from the presidency, are basically billionaires going to battle. While Mayer mostly focuses on the funding of the right, there are Democrat-supporting billionaires doing this too.

Money rules politics in America, period. And it’s not going to end anytime soon.

If you feel like leaning in to the anger of the moment, Dark Money may be up your alley. It’s a gripping, expertly written and reported, albeit exasperating, read.

Rachel

Basically extremely rich people and businesses are taking over the US by "donating" in their political interests, including: subverting climate change science, taxing the poor rather than the rich, and infiltrating the academia world to teach students their way of thinking.

Dark Money The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

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