Monday, September 27, 2010

The New York Times exposes the simple function of Americans for Job Security: serve as a front for corporations and business owners with a political agenda “to sidestep campaign disclosure rules.” It is set up as a 501(c)(6) trade association with members paying “dues” that are often one-time payments for attack-ad campaigns against specific politicians or referendum issues. AJS is spending more than $2 million in ads attacking US Reps. Larry Kissell, Bobby Etheridge and Heath Shuler, all Democrats. The 501(c)(6) tax-code classification allows the group to avoid disclosing the identify of any of its “members,” and at least some of them likely treat their “dues” as a business expense that they deduct from their personal or corporation’s taxable income. That means they reduce their tax bill by over $150,000 for every $500,000 they spend on attack ads, so the net cost to them is $350,000. It’s an odd form of publicly subsidized campaign financing that is helping fuel a corporate takeover of elections. As AJS’s ads become more direct in calling for the defeat of candidates, rather than just smearing them via “issue ads,” the donors should lose any tax benefits, but a Federal Elections Commission ruling still allows plenty of ways for AJS’s donors to remain anonymous.