The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industryespecially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers corporate interests. In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amhersts Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. And Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a kingpin of climate science denial. The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change, underwriting a huge network of foundations, think tanks, and political front groups. Indeed, the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policiesfrom health-care reform to the economic-stimulus programthat, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus.
The Billionaire Koch Brothers’ War Against Obama : The New Yorker
The Billionaire Koch Brothers’ War Against Obama : The New Yorker