"Considering the powerful influence money welds in our modern society, Goode's call for greater transparency from corporations and political groups should be taken to heart"

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TedX Gives $1 Million Award to Battle Anonymous Corporations Secretly Funding Politics
By Tess VandenDolder, March 19, 2014

Every year, the well-respected TedX, a non-profit dedicated to sharing and promoting world-changing ideas, gives $1 million to a thought leader to make their biggest wish for improving society come true. This year's wish? To create a national registry of all those shadow organizations secretly funding political campaigns.

Charmian Goode, the co-founder and CEO of Global Witness, a non-profit working to shed light on the economic networks behind conflict and corruption, was the winner of this year's TedX prize. This week, she called on the business and tech communities to help her in working towards abolishing the anonymous corporations behind some of the world's worst corruption.

"My wish is for us to know who owns and controls companies so they can no longer be used anonymously against the public good," she says. "It's doable. There's already incredible momentum and recognition of the need to end corporate secrecy. It's a driver of conflict and corruption, and it keeps millions of the world's poor in poverty."

The United States is the starting point for most of the world's anonymous corporations, thanks to tax havens such as Delaware, which make it easy for individuals to set up shell companies used to funnel money. Goode specifically sites the use of an anonymous shell company to steal money intended to be used for developing world aid as just one example of how shadow corporations can contribute to corruption undetected.

Goode's answer to these problems is establishing a national registry giving public access to the people and funding behind every organization.

Creating a public registry is easier said than done however, particularly in the United States where corporate secrecy is often a direct benefit to politicians. Take for example the issue of dark money, which is currently a hot topic on Capitol Hill. This is money given for political causes by organizations secretly tied to a politician or political group. Known as 501(c)(4)s or "social welfare nonprofits," these groups are not required to disclose the money they give to political activities. This means an individual, let's say Ted Cruz's mother, could theoretically give millions to a nondescript 501(c)(4) say, "Americans For a Better Future" which would then in turn spend those millions on ads supporting Ted Cruz. The public would be left thinking that a cohort of their peers looking for a "better future" were supporting Ted Cruz, when really it would just be his dear old mom.

There are some small steps the U.S. government is looking to take to reduce the power of these anonymous groups. For starters, the IRS wants to force 501(c)(4)s to report their political activity. Another Senate bill currently awaiting a mark-up would require state's to record the names of the owners behind any company seeking incorporation.

Considering the powerful influence money welds in our modern society, Goode's call for greater transparency from corporations and political groups should be taken to heart. Hopefully the $1 million pledge from TedX will get the ball rolling on ensuring we know the real economics of the world we live in.
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