Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:00 AM

ellenrr (3,862 posts)

Koch Brothers' fortune doubles during Obama years

Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars building a conservative network to oppose Democrats, have actually done very well for themselves since President Barack Obama took office.

The Koch brothers, who believe strongly in a market-based libertarian philosophy, each had a net worth of $19 billion in 2008, the year Obama was elected to office, according to Forbes. The fortune dipped slightly in 2009 to $16 billion amid a financial crisis that was caused, in part, by the kind of limited government oversight they believe in.

But the Kochs have rebounded nicely. According to Forbes, the brothers are now worth $41 billion each, meaning their fortune has more than doubled under Obama.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/koch-brothers-net-worth_us_56a3ac86e4b076aadcc6d1f4

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6 replies	Author	Time	Post
Koch Brothers' fortune doubles during Obama years (Original post)	ellenrr	Jan 2016	OP
Damn that Obama!	Human101948	Jan 2016	#1
Which oppressive regulation did Obama get Congress to pass that impeded the Koch brothers?	merrily	Jan 2016	#2
They are libertarians...any regulation is too much regulation...	Human101948	Jan 2016	#3
You claimed they would have been much richer with a Pres. other than Obama.	merrily	Jan 2016	#4
It's a joke! Sorry if my delivery did not make that clear...	Human101948	Jan 2016	#5
I'm so happy for them.	Octafish	Jan 2016	#6

Response to ellenrr (Original post)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:20 AM

Human101948 (3,457 posts)

1. Damn that Obama!

I am sure they believe that they could have quadrupled their fortune without oppressive government regulation. And they are probably correct.

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Response to Human101948 (Reply #1)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:26 AM

merrily (45,251 posts)

2. Which oppressive regulation did Obama get Congress to pass that impeded the Koch brothers?

Unless I'm mistaken, the very rich got richer faster during Obama's administration than in any time during US history.

I'm not saying that is the fault of Obama, though TARP and Bernanke were certainly helpful. I'm not saying it was the fault of Bush, who was the first to appoint Bernanke and who also helped. I'm not saying it was the fault of Bubba, either, although legislation for which he lobbied was certainly very helpful as well. But saying they would have gotten richer faster under another President seems far fetched.

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Response to merrily (Reply #2)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:34 AM

Human101948 (3,457 posts)

3. They are libertarians...any regulation is too much regulation...

Has nothing to with Obama. They love extractive businesses. Materials for almost free that they turn into products they can sell for huge profits while leaving behind destruction and piles of pollution. Now, if there were no government regulations about the toxic by products they would make even more money!

Take West, a small town in Texas, for example. With the explosion of a fertilizer plant, West experienced the fall-out from the “economic freedoms” so beloved by the Koch brothers and the forces in their empire. Here is what that absence of regulation produced: Fourteen dead, 180 injured, and destruction of a major part of the town where the fertilizer plant that held a stockpile of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer so volatile it’s been used by terrorists to build truck bombs, exploded...

....At the time accounts of the tragedy appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the country, the New York Times had a column about how Charles and David Koch were holding one of their seminars for like-minded industrialists and wealthy libertarians who oppose regulation, love the Tea Party, and do what they can to reduce the size and functions of government, including its critical regulatory function. The Kochs and their ilk want much less oversight of industry and little or no environmental regulation. Why? Their views dovetail with--guess--their corporate interests!

http://blog.nj.com/njv_linda_stamato/2014/02/the_koch_brothers_rabid_righte.html

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Response to Human101948 (Reply #3)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:39 AM

merrily (45,251 posts)

4. You claimed they would have been much richer with a Pres. other than Obama.

My question related to that claim of yours. Your reply does not address my question.

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Response to merrily (Reply #4)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 06:50 AM

Human101948 (3,457 posts)

5. It's a joke! Sorry if my delivery did not make that clear...

They would hate any regulation under any president. They would probably make much more money without any regulation.

I was mocking the way that Republicans blame everything on Obama.

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Response to ellenrr (Original post)

Sun Jan 24, 2016, 08:59 AM

Octafish (55,745 posts)

6. I'm so happy for them.

They really have put it to good use backing people like, uh, Gov. Rick Snyder, who really had nothing personal against unions or Flint. It was just business.

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