In this show we look at the Koch Brothers and how they influence public policy — we hear from two guests: one is from the Charles Koch Institute and the other is a writer who was kept out of a secretive Koch donor retreat.
Listen to the full show here:
In late May the Charles Koch Institute hosted a panel discussion in Orlando about ideas to make Florida a leader in economic growth and job creation. The next day I interviewed Alison Fraser, the managing director of research and policy from the Charles Koch Institute about their conference. We talked about the institute’s recommendations for Florida like a small tax burden, reducing the “regulatory burden” on businesses, cutting funding for the Florida Enterprise Fund, education choice, smart investments in transportation and infrastructure and keeping Florida free from a state income tax. The Charles Koch Institute is separate from the Charles Koch Foundation.
The second guest joined us by phone. She’s Lauren Windsor, executive director of American Family Voices and executive producer of The Undercurrent. She has tried to get to the bottom of who is funding the Koch machine, but they take extraordinary measures to keep their donors secret. She wrote an article called “I tried to cover the secret Koch retreat and here’s what they did to me,” about this year’s donor meeting. We talked about who funds the Kochs’ political machine and its connection to ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council.
