G.O.P. Senators Question I.R.S. Scrutiny of Donors

Subject: Public Policy
Area: National

MPA applauds the move to heightened scrutiny of donations to 501©(4); and ask that they include, all other non-profits, charitable organizations and the “Community Block Grant” funding.

Yahoo! Yes. There is both misuse of funds intended by design and misuse of funds due to non-accountability - Either way, it gets out of hand and the people pay. The power-players dominate where it goes. It goes for too often conflict of interest endeavors, efforts that disenfranchises those who are not around the table or without means, put in office too often uninformed and uncaring individuals and groups of individuals that are able to get around the word and spirit of our laws; yet they are the first ones to wrap themselves in the American Flag or platitudes for persuasion of “our forefathers” or the “American People want – don’t want”.

The climate is getting worse. Anything goes. We see it every election – local to national. Raising money is “big business” – by any means necessary.

We see the polarizing-demonizing-victimizing of race, class, area of the country, good old boys and girls, big business, big and greedy businesses, real estate barons, union and non-union, blue collar and white collar, educated and uneducated.

We fail to recognize the obvious. There is only one planet/place we – most of us will live on in a lifetime, no matter how much money you have, no matter what party you are in or race you belong to. It is the planet Earth.

Right now, she is sending us some powerful messages through the various climatic forces. Sometimes the “climatic forces” create a domino effect and unleash some of our man-made disasters; as in the 9-point earthquake to the tsunami to the explosion of the nuclear plants in Japan. The disaster will have decades of repair and fallouts all over the planet Earth.

Yes. We say look long and hard. But do not stop there. Bring it to the City of Milwaukee and other cities receiving Community Block Grant Funding and the leaders and handlers refuse to talk with the citizenry about what they are doing and how they can improve; refuse to honor public records requests in a timely fashion – if at all – and when they do, it is mumbo jumbo and authoritative jargon.

We say to the Finance committee, put forth prerequisites for change and better monitoring oversight that includes the PEOPLE - to help not only the Internal Revenue Service’s but those of us at the local level seeking scrutiny of federal dollars that are sent for one thing (jobs, entrepreneurship, affordable housing, crime prevention and intervention, transportation/quality-of-life and economic development) and the funds are co-opted by those elected-appointed-hired-volunteered - being spent for so many other non-related things while they cry for more funds using “protected classes” as shields. And, at the end of decades of annual funding, the city and neighborhoods are buried in more and more Enduring Concentrated Poverty – adding to the debt of the country because they (generation-after-generation) are not allowed to grow and contribute their hidden talent and emerging markets.

For Wall Street Article, go to:
G.O.P. Senators Question I.R.S. Scrutiny of Donors
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: May 18, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/us/politics/19donate.html?_r=1&hpw