Big Philanthropy vs. Democracy: The Plutocrats Co to School

In reality, the limits on political activity barely function now: loopholes, indirect support for groups that do political work, and scant resources for regulators have crippled oversight. Because they are mostly free to do what they want, mega-foundations threaten democratic governance and civil society (defined as the associational life of people outside the market and independent of the state). The Broad Foundation covered the $160,000 salary of Matt Hill to run the district's Public School Choice program, which turned so-called low-performing and new schools over to private operators. Some possible changes seem obvious: don't allow administrative expenses to count toward the 5 percent minimum payout, increase the excise tax on net investment income, eliminate the tax exemption for foundations with assets over a certain size, and replace the charity tax deduction with a tax credit available to everyone (for example, all donors could subtract 15 percent of the total value of their charitable contributions from their tax bills).