Notorious Pro-Corporate Group ALEC's Hidden Role in Stoking Class War in Wisconsin and the Rest of America | | AlterNet

Notorious Pro-Corporate Group ALEC's Hidden Role in Stoking Class War in Wisconsin and the Rest of America | | AlterNet

"Its principal funding comes from large corporate backers and right-wing foundations. About 300 corporate sponsors pay membership fees ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Its backers include American Express, Coors, Wal-Mart, Texaco, GlaxoSmithKline, Philip Morris, Corrections Corporation of America and Koch Industries as well as the National Rifle Association. Among its telecommunications backers are AT&T, Sprint and Verizon as well as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA).

ALEC actively supports repealing the minimum wage, privatizing Social Security and replacing guaranteed health benefits with medical savings accounts. It gives large donations and other perks to legislators, most often reactionary Republicans, in states across the country to carryout corporate initiatives. A couple of these efforts are illustrative."

"ALEC is, formally, a non-profit group that drafts model legislation. It has an estimated membership exceeding 2,400 state legislators from both political parties, but most are conservative Republicans. It regularly invites members to all-expense paid private gatherings with corporate executives and lobbyists where they devise model legislation to fulfill their political agenda. These legislators, in turn, return to their home states and promote the legislation at state houses throughout the country. Many of their initiatives are enacted."