#MoneyTrail #CuiBono #Deception
I'm puzzled: who's funding this? We've received a couple of fancy, glossy mailings from a 501(c)4 educational nonprofit about how our local electric utility is unfairly putting it to consumers, and we should tell our elected reps we don't like it.
Well, I lose no sleep over the company's shareholder earnings or their executive' salaries. However, I want to know who's funding the expensive mailings. My sense is that these often are put out by catspaws for a competing mega-business.
I searched for the funder, and found a Pro Publica site that said the organization, Alliance for Competitive Power, Inc., received $3.4M in 2024 donations and paid their sole employee, the executive director, $140K for an estimated 10 hours/week. He acknowledged a conflict of interest, but what it is seems not to be specified. If I understand right, the exec's a lawyer involved in stockholder disputes, insurance defense, and other plausibly relevant areas. This does not sound like a consumer advocate.
I detest companies' hiding under "We're here for you" smoke. The contributor or contributors of the 2024 $3.4M is not specified. Where else should I look for this kind of info?