In February 2025, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published its ‘Essential Policy Solutions’ playbook for 2025, doubling down on its decades-long campaign to eliminate state corporate and individual income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes—a regressive shift …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Lisa NelsonArthur LafferState Policy NetworkHeritage Foundation+4 morealectax-policystate-legislationcorporate-corruptionregressive-taxation+6 more
On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law, enacting the most sweeping tax reform package in 30 years and permanently slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to a flat 21%—a 40% reduction representing the largest corporate tax cut in American …
Donald TrumpPaul RyanMitch McConnellKevin BradyOrrin Hatch+5 moretax-policytrump-administrationcorporate-corruptionwealth-transferdeficit-spending+5 more
On May 22, 2012, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117, implementing what became known as the ‘Kansas experiment’—the most aggressive implementation of ALEC’s corporate tax-cutting agenda ever attempted by a U.S. state. The legislation eliminated state …
Sam BrownbackArthur LafferAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kansas LegislatureKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policykansassupply-side-economics+5 more
On May 4, 2012, the Heartland Institute erected a digital billboard on the Eisenhower Expressway near Chicago featuring Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) with text reading “I still believe in global warming. Do you?” The billboard remained live for 24 hours before widespread …
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), in cooperation with The Nation magazine, launched the ‘ALEC Exposed’ web project on July 13, 2011, posting 850 model bills created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over a 30-year period and exposing the systematic corporate …
Center for Media and DemocracyThe NationAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Common CauseKoch Industriesaleclegislative-capturecorporate-corruptioninvestigative-journalismregulatory-capture+1 more
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals Americans for Prosperity (AFP) as the Koch brothers’ primary astroturfing operation, transforming billionaire corporate interests into fake ‘grassroots’ movements. Founded in 2004 when Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation was …
Americans for ProsperityCharles KochDavid KochKoch IndustriesTea Party movement+1 moreorganizational-profileastroturf-organizingkoch-networktea-partyfake-grassroots+4 more
In 2007, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) launched its first annual ‘Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index’ report, co-authored by economist Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and ALEC staff. The report ranked all 50 states based on 15 …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Arthur LafferStephen MooreJonathan WilliamsKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policyrace-to-bottompropaganda+4 more
On May 5, 2000, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Natural Resources Task Force adopted the ‘Environmental Literacy Improvement Act’ at ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit, with full approval by ALEC’s Board of Directors in June 2000. The model bill was …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Sandy Liddy BourneHeartland InstituteKoch IndustriesExxonMobil+4 morealecclimate-denialeducationdisinformationmodel-legislation+3 more
Between 1990 and 2010, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Environment Task Force—directly funded by Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, and Peabody Energy—systematically passed over 100 model bills designed to weaken state environmental protections. The task force operated as a …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Koch IndustriesExxonMobilPeabody EnergyDuke Energy+2 morealeclegislative-captureregulatory-capturefossil-fuelsclimate-denial+3 more
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals Cato Institute as mechanism for laundering corporate deregulation agenda as ’libertarian principle.’ Founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch with $500,000 initial funding from Koch Industries, Cato packages opposition …
Cato InstituteCharles KochEd CraneMurray RothbardPeter Ferrara+3 moreorganizational-profilelibertarian-covercorporate-deregulationkoch-networksocial-security-privatization+3 more