Pathfinder, Volume 11, Number 1, December 1988 Page: 3
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Public Issues
BIG CORPORATIONS HELP THE ENEMY
During a recent telephone call between
this writer and a super-bright scholar at one
of the nation's major conservative think
tanks, I made the following observation, 'All
too often when conservatives hear the term
firing squad-they form a circle." This was
followed by uproarious, if nervous, laughter
partly because it was so devastatingly true
and partly for the remark's clarity and candor.
This conversation was inspired by a most
remarkable book recently published by the
Capital Research Center and currently en-
joying a series of rave reviews all across the
country. Patterns of Corporate Philanthro-
py tells us that seven out of every 10 dollars
given to public groups by U.S. corporations
goes to left-of-center organizations. That's
sad but correct. Our corporations are giving
money to groups who virtually hate their
guts or whose policies at least are often di-
ametrically at odds with what corporate
America is all about.
The book's author, Dr. Marvin Olasky,
teaches journalism, history and media law
and ethics at the University of Texas at Aus-
tin. His newspaper columns have appeared
in such newspapers as the Wall Street Jour-
nal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Post,
Detroit News and Oakland Tribune. His
UPI radio commentaries are carried on
more than 50 radio stations, so his skill at
telling it like it is comes as no accident.
An editorial in the Arizona Republic
gives us an example: "Honeywell (Corpora-
tion) is not alone in spreading hush money
around. Out of every $10 given by the top
25 U.S. corporations to public affairs organi-
zations, $7 goes to left-of-center groups-
some outright radical-that, in many cases,
promote causes clearly at odds with the po-
litical and economic interests of American
business.
"Olasky suggests that corporations ought
to subject their philanthropy to an ideologi-
cal test. It is self-delusion, he reasons, for
them to pretend that corporate grants to
public affairs groups-as opposed to arts
and cultural organizations, hospitals and
the like-are politically neutral. Corporate
balancing acts, doling out grant money willy-
nilly across the political spectrum in the ex-
pection of fostering moderation or goodwill is vain, self-defeating and irresponsible.
'American business should support or-
ganizations that favor private property, free
markets, limited government and broad
personal freedom."
Paul Harvey quotes Olasky, "Corpora-
tions in the name of philanthropy are con-
tributing to their own destruction; that most
of the money they donate to 'public affairs
groups is used against them.
"Olaksy's book," says Harvey, "deserves
more attention than it will get."
But Ralph de Toledano, one of the coun-
try's truly great conservative columnists,
writes to give the Olasky book great credit
citing several examples. One reason, how-
ever, which suggests the book may get
somewhat more of the "great credit" it really
deserves comes from one paragraph where
de Toledano dissents:
"I find myself in partial disagreement with
the Olasky thesis that the great corpora-
tions finance their enemies to appease or
quiet them. This is true to a degree. But any-
one who has had any dealings with those
corporate officers who control 'philanthrop-
ic' funds knows the sardonic antipathy with
which they hold conservatives and support-
ers of a free enterprise America. What they
may say at board meetings is one thing, but
it does not reflect their secret sympathies-
and therein lies the problem."
There's more to Olasky's Patterns in Cor-
porate Philanthropy, much more.
But de Toledano does indeed have a
point. Considering that Idaho's largely left-
wing governor, Cecil Andrus, was virtually
put in office through the enthusiastic sup-
port and credibility bestowed upon him by
Idaho Power Co., Albertsons and a few other
big business interests in Idaho, perhaps my
first observation above was wrong. Why?
Well, instead of "forming a circle" for the
conservative firing squad, this time they
seem to have formed a square-and elect-
ed him to office.
-Ralph Smeed
Ralph Smeed is a Caldwell, Idaho, busi-
nessman. This article was written for the
Idaho Press-Tribune.INVEST IN GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE
Three years ago, the Center published a
short monograph entitled, Texas: Yesterday,
Today, and Tomorrow. This monograph de-
scribed some of the economic problems in
Texas at that time; the state was mired in a
depression. The summary proposed a pos-
sible resolution:
The State of Texas is in a period of transi-
tion. Some of the most important industries
are in a period of decline, and the future
there does not look bright.
New jobs must be created in the state if it is
to continue to prosper as it has in the past.
And, the economy can no longer rely so
heavily on the oil industry and agriculture.
What Must Be Done?
The solution is to invest in general knowl-
edge rather than industry-specific knowl-
edge. Then, no matter what happens, the
state will be ready to adapt. No one can pre-
dict which sectors of the economy will be-
come more important as other sectors
decline. The only thing we can predict is
that there will be change. Texas must be
ready for that change and development.
The way to prepare is the accumulation of
human capital. Knowledge is the growth
sector of the future. This task can be ac-
complished only through the development
and support of a great university system.
On November 10, the Department of
Energy selected Texas as the site of the
multibillion dollar superconducting super
collider, which is expected to generate
4,500 new jobs and an additional 5,500
jobs in support companies. Most people be-
lieve that scientists at Texas A&M and other
state universities played an important role in
securing the project. Texas A&M President
Dr. William H. Mobley said he was" ... grat-
ified that nearly a decade of hard work by re-
searchers in Texas has paid off."
This reinforces the conclusion of the
Center's monograph: investment in knowl-
edge pays off.page 3
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Texas A & M University. Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise. Pathfinder, Volume 11, Number 1, December 1988, periodical, December 1988; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1031902/m1/3/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.