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I found this podcast, an interview with Charles Koch, interesting. There are two parts to it. Whatever the ideological issues may be, I found he spoke in an en

I found this podcast, an interview with Charles Koch, interesting. There are two parts to it. Whatever the ideological issues may be, I found he spoke in an engaging way. http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-hate-koch-brothers-part-1/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-hate-koch-brothers-part-... http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-hate-koch-brothers-part-2/ http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-hate-koch-brothers-part-...

aliasnexus0 9y ago
Both very interesting episodes. Also, I can't recommend the Freakonomics podcast enough.
pcunite 9y ago
Charles seems like a nice guy. Curious, what is the political problem with him? https://youtu.be/Z7Pj2rKdKII https://youtu.be/Z7Pj2rKdKII A quote from the video: If you don't learn to do dirty jobs, if you don't learn unpleasant work, by the time you're in your 30s, you never learn to work productively ... you learn from that you don't want to do that the rest of your life, so you had better find some aptitude. He says that after telling about a time his father made him dig out weeds.
- danso 9y ago
  I don't hate him, in fact, I've read a lot about and been impressed with some of his goals, particularly criminal reform [0]. However, I've never been overly political, and I'm currently not in the population most affected by the influence of his campaign spending. Someone who is greatly affected by something like, say, reproductive rights, would probably feel differently about how Charles Koch's money -- whatever its commendable intentions -- helps to elect politicians who aim to rollback reproductive rights. [0] https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-koch-brothers-really-care-about-criminal-justice-reform/386615/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-...
  - jackmott 9y ago
    My main problem with the Kochs is they have spent millions (billions?) of dollars lying to people about science. That is inexcusable. They have also somehow single handedly interfered with the appointment of supreme court justices. America should work to ensure no single unelected person has so much power.
  - Turing_Machine 9y ago
    The Koch brothers are pro-choice, as far as I know. They also support gay marriage and an end to drug prohibition. http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights-abortion-democrats/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights...
    - danenania 9y ago
      Does that match up with who they fund? My understanding is that they are funding lots of politicians who push xenophobia, homophobia, anti-feminism, and the drug war. Unless I'm mistaken about that, I don't think it particularly matters what their personal beliefs are, since they are working against those supposed beliefs with their money and their actions. If you're willing to sacrifice human rights to get tax cuts and deregulation, it shows what really matters to you, and what sort of person you really are.
      - Turing_Machine 9y ago
        Perfect politicians don't exist. Did you vote for Barack Obama in 2008, despite his opposition to gay marriage?
    - danso 9y ago
      That's what I mean, they may personally be great folks, not any more venal or dishonorable than any activist or benefactor. But the fact is that they also use their wealth to accomplish their goals in vast, wide-reaching ways. In an ideal world, they'd be funding politicians who supported exactly their personal beliefs. But politics is never ideal, and the Koch Brothers have apparently rationalized that the ends -- supporting the GOP's hold on power -- justify the means. So while I personally can't articulate reasons why the Koch deserve enmity, I sure as hell don't have the right to judge people who are directly disenfranchised because of the Kochs' choice in priorities.
- forapurpose 9y ago
  I don't think that quote tells us anything important, other than he can be charming. Lots of people, good and bad, are charming. > what is the political problem with him? Just do a quick search and you'll find plenty of material. Essentially, they have revived the goals of the John Birch Society, an extreme right-wing group in which their father played an important role.
- untog 9y ago
  You can't really make a political judgement about the man based on a soft video interview. The Koch brothers support both libertarian causes and are opposed to action against climate change, to name two. They also put private investigators to dig into the background of a journalist that was writing about them: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/nyregion/what-happened-to-jane-mayer-when-she-wrote-about-the-koch-brothers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/nyregion/what-happened-to... More broadly, they are able to affect the shape of the laws being produced in this country by bankrolling various politicians. Their qualification to do so is simply that they are rich. You can find that politically questionable even if you're in favour of their politics. You don't have to object to them personally, but you can't really say there is nothing for anyone to disagree with.
  - chestervonwinch 9y ago
    > The Koch brothers ... are opposed to action against climate change. Even after the results from Berkeley earth that was in part funded by one of the Koch foundations? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Earth https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Earth
    - untog 9y ago
      Yes? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-change-denier-willie-soon-funded-energy-industry https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-... You don't have to be completely binary in your judgements of people like the Koch brothers. They can still be politically questionable even if they do things you agree with from time to time. For instance, their views on criminal justice reform would probably be quite favourably received by many of the same people who oppose their views on climate change. That isn't a contradiction unless you make it one.
      - chrisco255 9y ago
        Sadly, I think nuance has all but been lost in today's political climate.
- guelo 9y ago
  They massively distort our democracy by spending billions on political advocacy for their pet causes.
  - mc32 9y ago
    Exactly, them and Soros have enormous wealth to push their pet projects --that's worrying.
lend000 9y ago
The conspiracy culture around the Koch brothers is cringeworthy. Yes, they are rich, very politically active, and they lean libertarian (although they often choose the conservative side over the liberal side when they come head to head). But they do not control large portions of the government and do everything for their special interests like many Democrats seem to truly believe. They have an ideology they strongly believe in, like many other people, and they do what they can to advance it in a contentious political climate where liberals currently seem to have the loudest voice.

aliasnexus0 9y ago

Both very interesting episodes. Also, I can't recommend the Freakonomics podcast enough.

pcunite 9y ago

Charles seems like a nice guy. Curious, what is the political problem with him? https://youtu.be/Z7Pj2rKdKII https://youtu.be/Z7Pj2rKdKII A quote from the video: If you don't learn to do dirty jobs, if you don't learn unpleasant work, by the time you're in your 30s, you never learn to work productively ... you learn from that you don't want to do that the rest of your life, so you had better find some aptitude. He says that after telling about a time his father made him dig out weeds.

danso 9y ago
I don't hate him, in fact, I've read a lot about and been impressed with some of his goals, particularly criminal reform [0]. However, I've never been overly political, and I'm currently not in the population most affected by the influence of his campaign spending. Someone who is greatly affected by something like, say, reproductive rights, would probably feel differently about how Charles Koch's money -- whatever its commendable intentions -- helps to elect politicians who aim to rollback reproductive rights. [0] https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-koch-brothers-really-care-about-criminal-justice-reform/386615/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-...
- jackmott 9y ago
  My main problem with the Kochs is they have spent millions (billions?) of dollars lying to people about science. That is inexcusable. They have also somehow single handedly interfered with the appointment of supreme court justices. America should work to ensure no single unelected person has so much power.
- Turing_Machine 9y ago
  The Koch brothers are pro-choice, as far as I know. They also support gay marriage and an end to drug prohibition. http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights-abortion-democrats/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights...
  - danenania 9y ago
    Does that match up with who they fund? My understanding is that they are funding lots of politicians who push xenophobia, homophobia, anti-feminism, and the drug war. Unless I'm mistaken about that, I don't think it particularly matters what their personal beliefs are, since they are working against those supposed beliefs with their money and their actions. If you're willing to sacrifice human rights to get tax cuts and deregulation, it shows what really matters to you, and what sort of person you really are.
    - Turing_Machine 9y ago
      Perfect politicians don't exist. Did you vote for Barack Obama in 2008, despite his opposition to gay marriage?
  - danso 9y ago
    That's what I mean, they may personally be great folks, not any more venal or dishonorable than any activist or benefactor. But the fact is that they also use their wealth to accomplish their goals in vast, wide-reaching ways. In an ideal world, they'd be funding politicians who supported exactly their personal beliefs. But politics is never ideal, and the Koch Brothers have apparently rationalized that the ends -- supporting the GOP's hold on power -- justify the means. So while I personally can't articulate reasons why the Koch deserve enmity, I sure as hell don't have the right to judge people who are directly disenfranchised because of the Kochs' choice in priorities.
forapurpose 9y ago
I don't think that quote tells us anything important, other than he can be charming. Lots of people, good and bad, are charming. > what is the political problem with him? Just do a quick search and you'll find plenty of material. Essentially, they have revived the goals of the John Birch Society, an extreme right-wing group in which their father played an important role.
untog 9y ago
You can't really make a political judgement about the man based on a soft video interview. The Koch brothers support both libertarian causes and are opposed to action against climate change, to name two. They also put private investigators to dig into the background of a journalist that was writing about them: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/nyregion/what-happened-to-jane-mayer-when-she-wrote-about-the-koch-brothers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/nyregion/what-happened-to... More broadly, they are able to affect the shape of the laws being produced in this country by bankrolling various politicians. Their qualification to do so is simply that they are rich. You can find that politically questionable even if you're in favour of their politics. You don't have to object to them personally, but you can't really say there is nothing for anyone to disagree with.
- chestervonwinch 9y ago
  > The Koch brothers ... are opposed to action against climate change. Even after the results from Berkeley earth that was in part funded by one of the Koch foundations? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Earth https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Earth
  - untog 9y ago
    Yes? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-change-denier-willie-soon-funded-energy-industry https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-... You don't have to be completely binary in your judgements of people like the Koch brothers. They can still be politically questionable even if they do things you agree with from time to time. For instance, their views on criminal justice reform would probably be quite favourably received by many of the same people who oppose their views on climate change. That isn't a contradiction unless you make it one.
    - chrisco255 9y ago
      Sadly, I think nuance has all but been lost in today's political climate.
guelo 9y ago
They massively distort our democracy by spending billions on political advocacy for their pet causes.
- mc32 9y ago
  Exactly, them and Soros have enormous wealth to push their pet projects --that's worrying.

lend000 9y ago

The conspiracy culture around the Koch brothers is cringeworthy. Yes, they are rich, very politically active, and they lean libertarian (although they often choose the conservative side over the liberal side when they come head to head). But they do not control large portions of the government and do everything for their special interests like many Democrats seem to truly believe. They have an ideology they strongly believe in, like many other people, and they do what they can to advance it in a contentious political climate where liberals currently seem to have the loudest voice.