12 horrible things the Koch Brothers have done

  • 04/02/2020 12:13 pm ET • Shaan Chagan
11 horrible things the Koch Brothers have done

Source: Flickr/DonkeyHotey

David Koch passed away August 2019 leaving his brother Charles Koch to handle the day to day operations of Koch Industries. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Koch brothers have done horrible things in the last several decades.

They’re against climate change, fund ill-willed political groups, and spend enormous amounts of money to manipulate legislation in favor of their business, Koch Industries.

Now, Americans For Prosperity, a pro-corporate group funded and founded by Charles Koch wants employees to return to work even if it goes directly against what public health officials are saying to contain coronavirus.

That’s not all! Here are other things the Koch brothers have involved themselves with:

1. First pushed $1B cut to CDC, now wants employees to return to work amid COVID-19

12 horrible things the Koch Brothers have done

Flickr/Gage Skidmore

A pro-corp group started and funded by Charles Koch, Americans For Prosperity wants employees to get back to work even as coronavirus ravages through the U.S.

This group headed by Koch also lobbied the Trump administration to repeal $1 billion in funding to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018 — an organization that’s today on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 outbreak that’s infected over 100,000 people and claimed 1,500 lives in the U.S.

They have also reportedly spent millions of dollars lobbying for corporate tax cuts and to cut social welfare programs — especially Medicaid programs that’s critical for sick patients.

2. Blocked a historic cap and trade bill

Trump blames Obama for coronavirus 1

Source: Barack Obama Presidential Library

In 2012, the Obama administration passed a cap-and-trade bill through the House that would signify a huge step towards tackling climate change. But, the Koch brothers wouldn’t have it.

They pulled out all the stops to ensure that the bill would never hit the Senate.

3. Seeing red and taking revenge

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Source: Flickr/Democracy Chronicles

The Koch brothers vowed that the Democrats would pay the price by flooding dollars into the Republican party to win the midterm elections in 2010. They started by developing a web of money groups that became known as the “Kochtopus.”

Seriously…

The plan was to get as many wealthy Republicans together to pitch in and create a donor network. It ended up working well as the GOP landed huge gains in the House and in state legislatures in 2010.

4. Benefiting from Trump’s policies

The 14 times Trump broke the law and nothing happened

Source: Flickr/The White House

Although there is no love lost between the Koch Brothers and President Trump, both the Koch brothers benefitted greatly from the Trump administration.

Due to Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the rich, deregulation, repealing of Obama laws and lax environmental policies, the brothers continued to grow their wealth.

5. Oil spills

Socialism for Big Oil? Industry got away with $18 billion break

Source: Pixabay

In the early 2000s, the Koch brothers were fined the largest amount for a company under federal law at that time. Koch Brothers industries had more than 300 oil spills in six states and were ordered to pay for new environmental projects.

6. Anti-Work safety

10 Jobs for Good 18

Source: Shutterstock

The Koch brothers spent millions of dollars since the 2000s on organizations that are completely against workers’ rights. They’ve targeted union efforts, fought against the public sector raising union pay and argued against unions who have any political or organizing power.

7. Anti-Healthcare

10 times Katie Porter has already killed it in 2020 5

Source: Pixabay

The Koch brothers financed the Tea Party’s fight against health care reform through their group, Americans for Prosperity. They spent fortunes to deprive people of healthcare since the early 2000s.

8. Anti-Immigration

'This is just the wrong time for you guys': CBP holds Iranian American for 10 hours at the border

Source: Customs and Border Patrol

The Koch brothers have also funded anti-immigration legislation through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). For context, ALEC is a conservative group that writes policies and offers them to state legislatures for use.

ALEC is involved in a ton of anti-immigration work, thanks to the help of the Koch brothers.

9. Two young teens lost their lives

11 horrible things the Koch Brothers have done 1

Source: Canva

In 1996, two teens had smelled gas outside of their mobile home in rural Texas. They decided to drive their pickup to see what was going on. The truck stalled after they drove into a fog-like cloud. It was butane vapor from a corroded pipeline that the Kochs refused to fix. After restarting the car, the two teens burst into flames and were burned alive.

10. Denying climate change

This freshman Democrat drives conservatives crazy: Katie Porter’s greatest takedowns and clapbacks 1

Source/ Canva

The Koch brothers are in the oil business. So naturally, they would oppose climate change efforts because it would hurt their business. For years, the Koch network has been funding and fueling climate denial and inaction by the government so they can focus on their own profits.

11. Killing public transit

This Is What Your Climate Change Commute Looks Like

Source: Screenshot/YouTube

For a long time, the Koch brothers have been funneling their money to kill proposed public transit projects nationwide. And it makes sense! Why would they want to expand public transit when it takes cars off the road? It would kill their business.

They led the charge in 2018 to stop a popular transit plan in Nashville that was backed by the whole state of Tennessee. They have done this in other states like Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, and Utah.

12. Supporting communists

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Source: Flickr/Segunda Guerra Mundial

While Obama was president, the Koch brothers continued to fund the Tea Party’s propaganda efforts to label Obama as a communist, terrorist and radical. Funny… their father Fred Koch, who made a fortune working in refineries, trained Communist engineers and played down the foundation for the Bolshevik oil infrastructure in the Soviet Union under Stalin in the 1920s and 30s.

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