9thdoctor Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 This is all unfamiliar to me. The Koch brothers are suing to gain control of the Cato Institute? I don’t know enough about how think tanks are governed to understand what that means.http://reason.com/bl...-ownership-disp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiodekadent Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Basically it means that the Kochs will end up with control of Cato.I should add that the Kochs haven't donated huge amounts to Cato recently; they've mostly been funding conservative groups.Short answer is if the Kochs win control, Cato will shift in a more fusionist direction and start supporting the Republicans more.I don't want this to occur. At all. Cato is the most powerful libertarian think tank on the planet. If they end up becoming more conservative/fusionist, it would only make it harder to demonstrate to people that libertarians are not a subset of conservative, but rather an entirely different ideology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9thdoctor Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Looks like all the Koch's are trying to accomplish is to shut down Cato. They've already been directing their funding to other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiodekadent Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Looks like all the Koch's are trying to accomplish is to shut down Cato. They've already been directing their funding to other places.To an extent this does seem to be what is happenning. If Cato end up in Koch full control, they'll start being fusionistic and more pro-Republican.It may not shut down Cato but it will corrupt the world's greatest libertarian think tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9thdoctor Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 It’s possible that the Koch’s are attracted to taking over the building Cato has in DC, though whether they own that outright or lease it, I don’t know. Also they could gain control over whatever capital Cato has, it’s a fair assumption that they have foundations with commitments to providing annual funding for operations and projects. It's not always something a donor can undo if they start disagreeing with how things are run (e.g. the donor is dead, and they left Cato money in their will to be doled out over a period of years).It looks quite a bit like a hostile takeover in the private corporate realm. In this case, invest maybe a couple hundred thousand in legal fees to gain control over millions in assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reidy Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 More on the storyThis author seems to agree that a Koch takeover would move Cato in a more Republican direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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