Here’s a ridiculous, mind-blowing thread about the influence the Koch brothers have on the American political system. (1/x)
Kochs announced they’ll spend $400 MILLION on the 2018 Midterms. For context, it costs an average of $1.5 mil to win a US House race and $11 mil for Senate. So they could fully fund candidates for 61% of the House or all 34 Senate races in 2018. (2/x) time.com/5121930/koch-b…
The Republican Party spent $673 million on the last midterm election. So, by spending $400 million, the Koch brothers essentially constitute their own political party in size and scope. But what are they doing this for? More money. (3/x)
Consider this: the GOP tax bill the Kochs “invested” in is going to make them $1 BILLION EACH YEAR. So $400 million to buy an election every two years returns their investment many times over. Literally buying the system. But it’s deeper than that. (4/x) ibtimes.com/political-capi…
It’s deep because this is our economic and political system. Buying GOP politicians earns donors serious money. But does it work on other side? Does giving Democrats $400 mil translate into $1 billion in personal profits? No. And it shouldn’t. But then how do we compete? (5/x)
Like we can ask rich people to spend out of the kindness of their heart, but it’s not going to be at the same scale as the people investing to make themselves richer. And it’s a huge challenge for everyday people, even millions of us, to compete with the Kochs of the world.
