Don't just tax the churches--tax the think tanks.

Yes, I know we have examples on the Left as well, but if you really want to see why all this stuff happens at random--yet, it doesn't seem to be at random--look no further than the Heritage Foundation and their ilk.

http://www.heritage.org

Look at who is on the board of directors, who are their policy experts--and how many they have. Consider they may have interns monitoring boards such as ours, DailyKos, MyDD, etc.

Is this what we want for the country--even if we do have them on our side as well?

They are fully tax-exempt, by the way--just like churches.

FWIW--the link isn't working for me now, but I know the URL is correct?!

Edit--URL works now.

I picked up on this too... How the HELL these things can be called 'non-profits' is simply threading a loophole in the law.

So, "contributions" to the Heritage Foundation is tax deductable when "straight" political contributions are NOT?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Foundation
"Though it boasts considerable clout on Capitol Hill, the Heritage Foundation insists it doesn't "lobby." Like all other political advocacy groups, left and right, this allows Heritage to retain tax-exempt status as a "charity" under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This status, in part, helped it collect $29.7 million in 2004 corporate and individual donations. Core funding comes from conservative foundations and individual donors: In 1995, 31 checks accounted for $8.5 million; another 123 donors supplied $2.6 million. The foundation receives comparatively little from corporations, which shy away from Heritage's activist approach to policy advocacy. Through direct mail fundraising, Heritage obtains millions more from small donors. Among Washington think tanks, Heritage is unique in obtaining a large, popular base of funding support."

"All other political advocacy groups"??? Funny I can't deduct my contributions to the ACLU - what about MoveOn.org:
"Contributions to MoveOn.org are not tax deductible because they will be used to influence legislation."

What's the freaking' difference?

I say close this loophole - political advocacy groups should not be considered "charities" even if it benefits our side...

policy differs from lobbying. In some ways, I think this kind of thing is even more insidious, since its far more stealthy. I just cringe when I the HF presented as a credible source in a news story.

I seriously don't think we in the center or on the left are paying nearly enough attention to these "foundations."

:kick: all you can, burro, but this one's tanking way faster than it should...