George Rebane

The local blogs and my emails have been buzzing with questions and charges of how non-profit 501c3  organizations (like SBC) and private California corporations (like CABPRO) should deport themselves.  Apropos such organizations, attorney Barry Pruett (Inside NC Politics) has given good tutorials on the relevant sections of the tax code.  My problem with the Sierra Business Council arose during recent KVMR commentaries and on-air Prop23 discussions with Mr Steven Frisch, president and CEO of SBC.

In my mind the situation was pretty clear and simple.  SBC gets a big hunk of its funding from government grants that are dispensed from the federal government’s general fund into which all the country’s taxpayers pay.  SBC says it spends these monies in support of various federal and state environmental programs.  And it follows that the more complex and extensive the regulatory environment is for such programs, the more SBC can propose to do and then receive more funding from its government and institutional sources.

If Prop23 fails, California will feel the full fury of AB32.  Newly minted carbon control, monitoring, and enforcement regulations will multiply like fleas and ticks after a warm summer rain.  It will be a windfall for NGOs like SBC.  As a salaried employee of SBC, it is in Mr Frisch’s self-interest to promote the continued relevance and funding of his employer and his employment.  So it is natural for Mr Frisch to appear at as many public forums and media outlets as possible speaking against Prop23 – in doing so, he is simply a professional singing for his supper.

My point here is that when he does make such statements, his audience should know his self-interests in the matter.  In my view, he should not pass himself off as just another concerned private citizen purveying debatable ‘information’ about AB32’s effect on California’s economy.  Now, our local leftwingers are opposed to Mr Frisch (and anyone else) having to make such disclosures, and KVMR has made it clear that it also felt it was wrong of me to point out SBC’s relationship to the implementation of AB32.  In fact, their position was that the money trail from the American taxpayer to the SBC coffers was only an unsubstantiated opinion that I hold.

Having said all this, the local left has countered with questions about CABPRO which is a private California corporation that espouses publicly stated conservative positions, causes, and candidates as it is allowed by law.  All this has been done in a so far successful rush to divert attention from the blatantly progressive SBC that, I believe, promotes liberal causes under the guise of a publicly funded (government and tax deferred grants, and tax-deductible contributions) non-partisan organization.  As the wizard said, ‘Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!’ 

I suppose all this is just local politics in action.  And I again remind the reader that I am a member and former board member of CABPRO.  However, in these commentaries I speak for myself as a private citizen and without the approval and/or endorsement of CABPRO.